Another snapper season is in full swing with plenty of reds being found out in the bay for land-based anglers and those with boats. Best of all, there has been a wide spread of fish with plenty of solid specimens in the shallower areas, as well as the deeper water.

The deep water is really starting to heat up with big schools of smaller fish on offer to keep anglers feeling like an one-armed paper hanger trying to keep up with multiple rods buckling over.

As it always seems to do at this time of the year, the pier has seen numbers of solid snapper coming in for the land-based anglers with a lot of the fish being caught ranging from 4-7kg, and while it’s the rough conditions that generally produce the best fishing there has still been the odd big fish taken in calmer weather, often in the middle of the day, so it goes to show that a bigger bait is always worth having out.

When it’s calm however the squid fishing has been excellent with anglers getting numbers of small calamari on a daily basis.

In the creek itself there has been a good run of mullet for anglers fishing small baits suspended under floats, while a small soft plastic thrown around the mouth of the creek has also seen some small salmon being taken.

Out wider the snapper are the focus for anglers with areas like the Hump and out to the 16m area have been producing some good fish early in the mornings. The 18-20m area have been producing solid numbers of fish during the day and into the evenings.

For those who want to chase some big snapper now is also a great time to get in really shallow water 4-6m during rough conditions with places like the Horse Paddock and Parkdale Pinnacles being perfect areas to look at. Best of all when it’s really rough you can catch solid reds in these areas all day long.

Up into Beaumaris Bay, the garfish have also been in good numbers along with big numbers of squid. I would also ask that boat anglers give the land-based crew fishing the pier a bit of space, they don’t have the luxury of moving around and it makes it difficult when the boats move in close to the pier.

Up off Ricketts Point and through to Black Rock there are still plenty of pinkies on offer with a good mix of better snapper in among them to keep anglers on their toes. A lot of anglers are fishing bait, but plastics are now a really good time to get out a few deep diving minnows. Or what’s even better is to combine them with a downrigger to get the lures close to the bottom and work the reef edge, and any other area for that matter. You will quickly learn that trolling snapper on hardbodies isn’t just a fluke but a very successful method.

Out deeper the 14-16m area is holding snapper with locations like Black Rock. Now is also the time that places like the Gasso and its surrounds will really fire up as the snapper move into the area to feed on the mud bottom.

This stretch of the bay can be awesome at this time of the year, especially if you like to fish really shallow, with places like the Anonyma shoal and the area known as The Gully, which is the area just out in front of the Rock Groynes at Hampton producing excellent fishing at night and when it is rough.

For land-based anglers the Rock Groynes at Hampton and the end of Sandringham breakwall will and have been producing snapper in the rough weather. When it’s calm and the water is clear there have also been some good numbers of squid found through the area.

Out wider, the edge of the shipping channel is holding snapper with the T1 and T2 area through to the Fawkner Beacon well worth fishing, especially if you want numbers of school sized fish in the 2-4kg size.

The trick that has been working well in this area over the past weeks has been to berley hard and be patient. The snapper haven’t necessarily been feeding for long periods but when they do, the action has been fairly flat out, especially on dawn and dusk. During these times the snapper move out of the deeper water in the shipping lanes to get up on the shallower areas to feed.

Up off Brighton breakwall anglers are reporting excellent flathead fishing for both land-based and boat anglers, which is a nice by-catch while waiting for the big snapper to bite. I have heard of a few solid fish in the area, however the coming weeks should get really good off this breakwall and surrounds.

While the squid have been excellent in the area over the past months I know a lot of anglers are crossing their fingers in the hope that good numbers of garfish will also start to show up – only time will tell.

Up off North Road area and towards St Kilda reports have been a little leaner however this month should see these locations really fire up and, fingers-crossed, it will be with those big snapper that love to get in the very shallow water at night through places like Elwood and towards St Kilda breakwall.

If you have never done it, I suggest doing a late night session in this part of the world as the snapper are generally big and they fight so hard you will think they are bigger than they are!

Some good fishing has been on offer in around the boats on swing moorings behind St Kilda breakwall with soft plastic anglers finding pinkies, bream and some nice trevally over the past weeks. In along the other piers and land-based locations, anglers have been finding pinkies and small salmon. Boat anglers are starting to work the shallow areas at night between St Kilda and Station Pier, with some customers saying that one fish will be a kilo and the next over 5kg, which makes for some very exciting fishing.

Anglers fishing wide at areas like P2 and along the Shipping Channel that leads towards the mouth of the Yarra River are also starting to see better numbers of snapper. There is little doubt that in the coming weeks this area will go crazy with the bulk amount of snapper pushing up to these areas as they always do during this month.

Winter has been and gone for another year and once again everything revolves around that red fish with blue spots – you have to love snapper season!

1

Calamari like this are still in big numbers in this part of the bay.

2

It is a great time to troll lures on downriggers for snapper.