Snapper Season 2009 - Rise of The Plastics

[Simonosy]

Snapper Fishing in Port Phillip and Westernport Bays using Soft Plastics

Snapper season is fast approaching in the bays and this year is gonna be interesting. The last few years have seen a huge boom in soft plastics fishing and particularly this year I am predicting a huge number of people who will convert to them for chasing the big reds. The problem I find most apparent for people who are getting the hang of plastics is getting that first fish. For most people it is SO difficult to crack the code that they will give up before they get the gist. Getting used to the lightweight jigheads and fast action rods with braid is a big step from uglystiks and baitrunners but it is one well worth making. The fishing is exciting and intense and more importantly, if your good at it, produces better results. I'm wondering who will be converting to them this season and who is already using them. For those new to it, the best advice I can give you is:

1. Get yourself a proper set-up. Good rods and reels are not that expensive at the moment and if your serious about fishing at all you wont have too much trouble parting with $300 for a decent stick and turner. The Daiwa Heartland is a great rod for a reasonable price and alot of people also opt for the Berkley Drop-Shots. I know quite a few people who are using the ABU Cardinal reels but for me personally I would try and go a little bit better. Spend a little more and get a reel that wont fail under any circumstance. You should be using fairly small gear and too lose that giant snapper because your reel froze would be a crying shame. A fast action rod between 10 and 20 lb and a 2500-4000 reel will suit the job just fine.
2. Braid Braid Braid. Just do it. In my opinion braid is a definate must for fishing soft plastics. They casting is an added perk but the most predominant reason for braid is the feel. The sensitivity in the water is a key element as it allows you to keep in touch with your lighter jigheads at depth, keeping it in the strike zone and letting you know when the fish is picking it up. Alot of the time the snapper will slam the plastic hard enough to pucker-up your backside while your holding the rod but sometimes they will pick it up and come towards the boat or take it on the sink, and being able to recognise when this happens can be the difference between fishing and 'a nice day boating'. You should be fishing between 10 and 20lb braid to match your rod and reel. Dont be afraid to go a bit lighter as a good rod and reel will work magic and you can fit 300m of 10lb onto a 2500 reel spool.

3. Fluorocarbon. Use it. Anywhere around 1.5m leader of fluoro is ok but it really does make a difference. More takes = more fish, so taking the time to tie good knots and use a leader is worth the effort. Learn some specific braid to fluoro leader knots before you go. Its important to recognise that braid alone is hard to tie knots with and especially difficult when tying it to a hard cased flourocarbon line. Most people tie a short double first (in the braid) and join it that way, but there are many different knots that can be used.

4. Jigheads. As light as possible but still maintaining the ability to sink to the bottom. Port Phillip you can fish right down to 1-16 heads without too much difficulty as the tide is fairly slow through the bay. Its harder to gauge what is happening at the buisness end but a lighter jig head will allow more time for the plastic to sink on the drop during retrieve, which is when most strikes will occur. Hook size is more simple. The hook should match the size plastic you wish to use. I it should come well clear of the plastic and should be straight and well rigged to optimise its action in the water. Its not hard to re-rig the plastic on the hook so if you dont get it right first time, pull it off and try again, dont just think 'that'll do'.

5. Colours. There are so many colors, patterns, shapes and styles that it can be a nightmare trying to chose one. As a start, 5-7inch minnow/jerkshad/flickbait style in any of the major brands. Honestly, its difficult to beat a nuclear chicken or lime tiger color in the 7 inch Gulp! range. Berkley have got things pretty well sorted out at the moment and I use them almost exclusively. SLAM are also a good snapper plastic and well worth a go. Sometimes if the fish are quiet a color change will speed up the strike rate, if your using bright, try something more natural or vice versa.

6. Retrieves. There is no book on retrieves. Just keep trying until you find something that works. Get the plastic to the bottom and then work in in towards the boat lifting it through the water and letting it fall back down on its own weight. There is a bit of a twitch to it but nearly everyone has a slightly different action that works for them. Its just about trial and error really. But try and keep your plastic as close to the bottom as possible.

All in all. The key things to consider: Learn as much as you can before-hand by talking to people who are already doing it, reading magazines, talking to the blokes at the tackle shop, forums, anywhere you can: Get some good quality gear designed to do the job: Dont give up, it is difficult-thats for sure, but once you have cracked the code soft plastics fishing is a whole new world of angling, heaps of fun and can really improve your scores. If anyone has any questions feel free to ask and I will try to reply as well as I can. :-) Gone For A Quick Fish...

[JB]

3. Flurocarbon... not so sure about that mate. Been catching fish on the good ol penn 10x no problems this winter.. starting to think the fluro is a wa%k.

[plastic_paul]

i'm all for fluro, have used it for years in estuaries, but in 40+ meters of water i personally havent noticed much difference, i guess if youre using 1/16 jigheads youre fairly shallow?

[tunaticer]

One point most people overlook or are not aware they are doing it or not is not fishing tight to the plastic by giving a nice droop of slack in the line and maintaining the droop. By fishing by feel you are holding usually too much tension on the line resulting in short takes nipping off the tails or you get less attention than the guy next to you who is fishing with some slack. Most fish inhale a bait unless they are being aggressive, the slack in the line lets them inhale fully.

The fluro debate will continue forever but my pwn preference is for a dull hard coated fluro leader material. Do not confuse leader material with fluro main line, mainlines are generally not good around any snaggy territory, leaders are. Nitlon DFC is my preference for leader material.

[Simonosy]

We have found that most of the bigger snapper on plastics have been coming from 8-25 meters and pulling 5-7kg reds from 10 meters of water is pretty intense stuff (if you can in them in that shallow stuff). Interesting that some people find fluoro isn't that good for them. I reckon its the knees. Definately true about the slacker line on retrieve. I would say probably 80% or better of our hits are on the drop just after a long twitch.