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Snapper go crazy
  |  First Published: December 2011



Well we all new it was going to happen it was just a matter of when. As soon as we got that magic water temperature, it was on!

October and November are always good months to fish as we get the arrival of all the summer species and the first off the mark are snapper. Snapper have just come on the bite and anglers are flocking to all parts of south Gippsland to get a share of snapper action.

Most of the snapper have been caught during the early morning tide change or just as the sun’s going down on an evening. However there have been some days where the snapper have gone crazy during the middle of the day.

The prime bait at the moment seems to pilchards, with some anglers catching on squid. A running sinker rig is the rig to use but the paternoster rig is still good.

The offshore guys are also getting plenty of gummies pushing 10kg. Amazingly like the surf, there are also plenty of seven-gills offshore and some are pretty huge. It’s also been pretty easy to get a feed of flathead outside, and the better flathead are moving in closer now.

For inside snapper, Port Albert has been fishing well. Along the snake channel seems to be producing many fish, however the 2kg specimens that are perfect for the table have been going well around the old port. The only concern has been slimy weed frequented the area.

There have been some very big snapper caught, with specimens up to 14kg caught.

The tide changes seem to be when they bite, and you don’t seem to have to long to catch them. Much of the time the action only lasts for 30-60 minutes then its all over. However there have been a few days where the snapper have been taken at all stages of the tide. I cant believe the amount of anglers fishing these days, especially now that the snapper have turned up; it shows how popular the sport has become.

Offshore Port Albert is also producing the odd snapper but nowhere near as many that are inside.

Now is the time to get out those soft plastics for flathead. The estuaries have just started producing the bigger flathead that we all wait for: fish well over 60cm. This is only the start and this sort of fishing will only get better. The bigger flathead are in the shallower waters and the run-out tide seems to be the go. Minnow-style 3” soft plastics are very successful matched to a 1/8oz and 1/4oz jig head.

There are also plenty of bread and butter species still around such as garfish, whiting and mullet. Pipis and squid fished on a very light running sinker rig or float rig seems to be the way to go. There are still big sea gars in of around 40cm so if you don’t care too much about snapper, there are plenty of other species to target.

For more information, contact Will at Allways Angling in Traralgon on 51748544, you will get expert advice and great deals on fishing tackle.

Stu Tennant with a cracking snapper.

Reads: 2013

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