Tips for a Spring snapper sensation

by Jarrod Day on 17 Nov 2013 We are now past the coldest part of the year with winter behind us and with each day that passes the future looks very promising. While many anglers had their boats in layup over the winter and for those that stayed indoors, spring is a great time to get back out on the water.

Despite the recent winds and rains, there are still plenty of fishing options should you be able to pick a break in the weather.
While mid October can still be known as the early snapper season, it is now that all your fishing maintenance should be done. Boat trailers repaired, motors serviced and safety gear in check but also rod and reel maintenance is a high priority.

Some reels at the end of the seasons are stowed in the garage, still salty and neglected, the last issue you need is to send them away for a service only to be told by the manufactures service department that you will be waiting two weeks or longer. If you are going to have this done, do it now. Same goes for re-spooling your reels with new line. Mono fishing lines deteriorate over just a few months and UV rays have a big impact on this, add in some salt that may corrode the spool and you can be one very disappointed angler should you lose a quality fish at the beginning of the season. For the cost of a few bucks, it will pay to strip the line from your reel, give the spool a good wipe and wash and re-spool with some new line for the season. Rods may require a wipe down and it pays to run a rag through the guides wiping away any crusty bait, you may even find a chipped guide that needs replacing which may have to be sent to a rod builder. Again, it could be another two weeks to get this repaired so by being organised and getting all the maintenance done know you’ll have a lot more confidence when on the water.

Once everything is in check, some may use the coming weeks to go bait gathering for the snapper season, some may use this time to do some research finding new reefs or areas where fish may be holding and some may just head out in the warmer temperatures in search of a fish for the table.

Bait collection: Spring is a great time to begin gathering fresh baits for your season snapper trips. Early season snapper are hard enough to locate let alone get to take a bait. Having fresh baits will aid in increasing your chances.
When it does come down to gathering fresh baits these include, garfish, calamari, silver whiting and salmon. The calamari this year has been nothing but sensational and they are very wide spread throughout both Port Phillip Bay and Western Port. Even if you didn’t want to drag the boat out to catch them, it may be worth hitting the piers for a few hours, Mornington, Portsea and Flinders won’t let you down.

Garfish are also a top bait and when used fresh are like lollypops to a passing snapper. Garfish can be caught in the shallows. I tend to concentrate in around 4 meters of water over grass beds. Western Ports Middle Spit is a great location as is under Oliver’s Hill at Frankston.

Another worthy bait is salmon. Salmon can be used as whole baits if caught at their minimum size or as fillet baits left to drift in the current. Salmon are quite a hardy bait and will stay on the hook well. A good location to find these smaller salmon is around the mouth of the Patterson River or by fishing in the wave break on any of our surf beaches.

Although many anglers purchase silver whiting frozen, they can be caught locally. When the weather is calm, offshore locations around Red Point just outside the Eastern Entrance or along the Flinders Bank outside the Western Entrance are thriving with silvers. If you anchor or drift in these areas there are more than enough silver whiting to be caught. Most average 25cm but few larger are caught. Small hooks are required, usually a long shank size 10 will be adequate and as for baits, small strips of calamari works a treat.

The one thing about catching fresh baits is how to look after them. After a period of time in the freezer they can become freezer burnt. To keep them in prime condition I place my baits into sealed freezer bags filled with saltwater. The saltwater takes a day of two to freeze solidly but when defrosted the baits look as though you just caught them. If you are going to catch fresh baits, you’ll want to look after them otherwise it may be a waste of time in doing so.

Holding grounds: What I also like to do during spring is to head out to do some research. Usually we go and catch our bait and spend a few hours driving around watching the sounder. This unveils some excellent territory that you would never know existed. In a three or four hour session you may not work a large area but you will find structure that may hold fish in the season. Each time you head out for a bait collection session and each time you do a little research it is amazing just how many locations you will have GPS marked in your sounder once the fish arrive. When the time finally comes around to head out to catch snapper, you’ll have plenty of areas to fish and see if the fish are holding on those particular reefs. Some will and some won’t hold fish but it gives you a good starting point and keeps you away from the crowds.

Use spring to your advantage, get all your gear in check and stock the freezer ready for your best chance at catching some real quality fish this season. The snapper are rife, get your bait and get out there.