Ask your local tackle shop about slide baiting

 Yeah thanks..

I was looking into that, but its going to cost be a bit of cash to setup for it. Need a new heavier rod.

For now I will just try swimming them out with a hook behind the head.

How far you trying to get out and how bigger baits are you using ?

not really pembo. you can get away with it pretty easy and cheap. get a breakaway sinker that hold will hold in the sand or as wel do it up here off the cliffs on reefy ground a sacraficial sinker attached to the bottom of your main line w a swivel w a thin bit of line so when you hook up the sinker breaks away. to make sure you have a good angle on the line runnin g to the water just get a rod tube or make one that is at least 1.7m - 1.8m high you then get a really good angle on your line running into the surf. You can just go buy the small snapper clips and make your snoods up however long you want them. Then just clip the little kamakazi fish on and let it slide down and into the surf and swim down. This works pretty well for us up here, havent done it for surf fishing but do do it for coral trout off the cliffs. There are different techniques but i found this is easy cheap and very effective. see how ya go. A 12/13ft rod is all you need as the rod tube with its length will add the extra length and angle needed on the line! good luck.

I used them in South Africa, I have seen them in BCF, work well for live bait, and prevents the bait swimming back to shore. I find the 'prong' or pyramid sinkers work best, you just have to leave the sinker in the water for a couple of minutes before attaching the bait, to make sure it has anchored properly.
Have a look on You Tube for the correct action to get the bait sliding down your line. Also a word of warning, they do not work with weed in the water.

http://www.tackletactics.co.nz/slidebaiting-example.html

 Thanks for that. Will check it out. 

Im Not using big baits. Just a live herring or whiting.

but I could probably slide something larger out. 

For now, I am mainly trying for mulloway. Not had any success on dead baits, so thought I would try live bait. 

There's lots of good info on slide baiting available by using the search function...

Be careful when you swim the bait out, you don't become the bait. Hmmm

 depends what fish you are live baiting too, things like whiting,  garfish and tailor are more prone to comming of on a cast, but if you go with herring or trumpeter I'm sure they would survive the impact. those bloody trumpeter could be live baited on gang hooks. If using the more delicate fish just be very gentle handling them, preferably use a damp cloth.

You have to rig them quite heavily if you don't want them to come of during the cast. The heavy rigging cramps their natural movement and they don't last long. I found that with the normal clips they seldom swim down to where you want them. I rig the livies with a bridal through the nose and a lightly pinned hook in the tail, depending on the size of the bait. Invest in non-return slides and you'll be rewarded.

 In surf I use a grapple sinker with a live bait clip that is attached to the main line. 

U get non return ones if u want them to. 

I also cut the bottom bit of the back tail off so it keeps diving 

Then from the wrocks I use a balloon best by far.  

 Herring are very tough. I just make up a standard beach rig with three way swivel and use an impact sinker to lob em out.