A season or thereabouts

[Daisy Burnett]

Hi Jack
Good thread. I see you have been getting out a bit and the snapper look really good. I also like the idea of a few mountain trout. I was trying to get up to Wanangatta Station one more time before I head off for Townsville but it does not look like I am going to make it. I will be making some time to do a little night fishing in PPB chasing the snapper. I was talking to a bloke last week,as I stopped by the Mordialloc ramp on the way to work and he was showing me a lovely 8kg snapper he picked up on the change of light conditions.

Cheers
Daisy

[Jarrah Jack]

Time for an update seeing this is supposed to be snapper season....Did a trip to PPB last week for zip, nothing, so it does happen but rarely. Perhaps the fish have moved on from my particular area because they are getting them in large numbers further around the bay.

The fish generally do a circuit of the bay (PPB) during the season and spawn somewhere around the top end. I was talking to a guy who maintains some of the piers around the bay. He was working on one of the piers close to the CBD and noticed a huge school(an acre+-) of densely packed large snapper move in around the pier in a few meters of water. Must have been an amazing sight, its a pity he didn't have a camera or a rod more likely.

While we were getting the donut last week a mate sent a message saying that he had bagged out in an hour in WP, so it felt that we were simply in the wrong bay at the wrong time, for my spots anyway. He did the same feat again a day later so you know where I headed this morning.

Up at 4 and away to a ramp 15 minutes away in WP bay. My mate, who always likes to crack a tinnie first thing was on the job as usual. He brought his dodgy outfit which I shouldn't have allowed on the boat, as I had enough gear and more importantly the right gear..He lost THE big one in the first 15 minutes of fishing..Ahh lifes lessons the hard way.

I've always been taught that you fish for the once in a life time fish so you have eveything perfect for that monster. Nothing ingraves itself on the brain more than losing that fish, especially for the wrong reason.

To be fair the fish wasn't that big, I hope ,but big enough. Twenty lb leader doesn't cut it or the reverse in this case and did cut on the outside of the gills, I suspect.

Aah well, in not much more than an hour we got our bag of nice snapper (3 each) and headed off and got that nice squid thats in the pix. It may even be converted into that special fish tomorrow morning..You'll know about it if it does..

[charleville]

Ya done good, JJ.

Well done!



.

[Jarrah Jack]

Went out again on tuesday at sparrows fart or as my wife sometimes says jarrah's fart. The early mornings aint easy at all. Two in a row can start taking its toll, allright for you young buggers but for us ageing lions??

It proved to be the best day of the season with a flat calm and just the right temperature. We anchored at the same spot as monday and expected to bag out in no time. I took out a mate who has never caught a snapper in his life, a snapper virgin as I like to remind him, but not anymore.

Similiar as monday, the first cast got onto the BIG one. Remember mondays was lost due to something dodgy. Luckily for this fish it fell to my mates designated rod. To be on such a big snapper at five in the morning and your first ever big fish is a bit of an ask. A huge screaming run stopped when the hooks pulled. Richard, who should remain nameless, forgot to set the hook in his excitement and naiveity!!You cannot really say that it was the reason that the hook pulled, but as we like to do when analysing causes for such grief you look for something that wasn't spot on so as best to avoid the problem next time.

It took us a long time to get the bag of good snaps this time as for some reason they were a bit finiky on the bite. When we got to the spot we were the second boat in the area. We were quickly joined by another thirty or so who all disappeared by the time we left eight hours later. Most would've gone looking for a better spot as the bites really tailed off with the tide change.

We hung around as I knew that the fish were about and would come back on the bite at some stage. I thought that was better than looking for another spot and was proved correct. The last three or four fish came in a flurry with a double hookup as we were packing to leave with our bag limit so back they went.

The good size fish thats in the photo was taken on a new bait presentation for me. I put a half pilchard inside just the pointy end of the fresh squid thus presenting two scents to the fish. As the bait wasn't wrecked by the first fish I put another pilchard inside and caught another smaller fish then did the same trick again with the same results.

That trick may be worth a try up north even with frozen squid?

[neaptide]

Hi JJ
Just a note of thanks from a Victorian who usually goes north to fish. You've inspired me to get to a line in closer to home. Really appreciate the commentary. Any chance of fishing marks for your second best spots?
Cheers
Neaptide

[Jarrah Jack]

Hi JJ
Just a note of thanks from a Victorian who usually goes north to fish. You've inspired me to get to a line in closer to home. Really appreciate the commentary. Any chance of fishing marks for your second best spots?
Cheers
Neaptide

There really aren't any marks as such. Places that worked in PPB the last few years don't work at the moment. The fish aren't there. Most people are catching heaps between Frankston and Carrum in 18 mtrs of water. Be there at sun up or sun set and you should do ok. You won't be alone thats for sure. There will be heaps of boats there. The same goes for WP, where there are boats there are snapper.

The right baits, time and technique will catch you fish. Nothing beats time on the water.