Spring is one of the easiest times to catch snapper in Port Philip Bay, but summer is very productive as well, and better still the whole family can join in the fun while on holiday.
Three Generations of Snapper heads; myself, daughter Emily Paxevanos (also a big fan of this site) and her Grandad Tony recently hit the 17 meter line off Mornington and caught around a dozen snapper between 30 and 70 cm-kept a couple for the BBQ, YUM!
The set up is very simple: -
Four quality 6 kilo outfits. No surprises that I use Okuma Fishing Australia outfits that I designed for this purpose and come spooled with premium quality 6 kilo Sufix line.
When fishing in places with little or no current, all you need is a bean sized (7 gram) sinker on the 6 kg main line running straight down to a single 6/0 VMC Perma Steel hook.
Whack on a bait and they all work well; red rockets, silver whiting, small Californian squid, but best of all is a fresh yakka, gar, salmon or slimy etc. caught on site. Use a slightly heavier 28 gram (one ounce) sinker if using a live yakka.
Cast the rods in various directions. It can be hard to judge which way the berley is going especially if the boat is swinging a lot on the anchor.
A berley bucket is a big help, keep that trickle of scent happening.
Importantly keep checking and re-casting the baits every five minutes or so. Flathead, sea lice, etc will get them, and besides big snapper often like taking the bait on the drop.
This weekend (14th and 15th Jan 2012) there is a southerly wind, and the tide is running in from just after lunch up to around dusk so this is the time to fish so you won’t be fishing up your anchor line. There should be good fishing from Bradford Rd/Mt Martha right up to Frankston in anywhere from 16 to 22 meters of water. Just keep the berley trickle going, it’s a big paddock out there and you want to attract the snapper to your area.
2-4 kilo is the average size with lots of small ones in the mix. Just stick to the 6 kilo mono all the way through, the water is clear and you won’t do as well if you fish heavier. You can land 10 kilo snapper on this set up (no trace needed in light current/open flat areas) if you take your time, and the average size fish go really well on this class of tackle.
Good easy fun, give it a go.
Rob Paxevanos
