snapper & plastics

[stingermuz]

Beefaman, Mattooty, Serge, Hi-yo et al.... Thanks for the advice guys, you're invaluable! Go ausfish!

One of these days I'll hopefully have something useful to add around here myself

[tangles21]

Ill put my 2 bobs in.Ihave to agree with fish as light as possible.
I also find that giving the plastic a couple small violent jerks on the way down.

I have read alot about slow retrieves for squire.Slow lifts have yet to be sucsessfull for me.But maybe thats because i am to impatient.

if i am fishing in 6m of water i would cast out(in front of your drift)let the plastic drift down through the water giving it a couple of jerks about every couple of meters.Once it gets to the bottom i use a couple of dif retrieves.
1 a slow lift say 50cm-1m then twitch it 2-5 times and let it sink again.
2 two -five jerks straight of the bottom then let it sink
3 The shake and retrieve.shake the rod tip so it is moving back and forth and wind at the same time.Do this for about 1-2 m off the bottom and then let it free fall back to the bottom.

It definatly pays to experiment so you can find out what is happening on the day.And keep a close eye on your slack line on the drop as sometimes the tinyest of twiches in your line could be a good squire.

There is nothing like the feeling of watching that slack line take off and the noise of your reel screaming.

hth leigh

[once_bitten]

Thanks 4 all the advice. Im out there this w/end fc weigh in if all goes well ill be able to post a pic of my first snapper on plastics


Nino

[tengals123]

ahhhh....that 1st ever feeling of a snappa on plastics, mate you'll rarely fish bait again.

good luck.

cheers

[Wyoming]

Blokes - my experience has been similar. I found it really difficult to get my first fish on Tupperware bait, but now it is the only bait that I use. Dead right regarding the lightest gear possible while being sure that your plastic makes it to the bottom, unless, of course, it gets smacked on the way dow. This is really frequent - getting a hit on the way down and rarely when you are on the retrieve. On those days when the boat is bouncing around, it is not unusual for a fish to take the plastic while the rod is simply resting in the rod holder - that seems to be enough movement to attract them.

I have been most successful on the outgoing tide, say 30 minutes after the top of the tide. If the breeze (and your drift) is going with the current, then all the better. Fishing when the water is really clear is the most challenging. So; there is my two bobs worth.

[davo]

After two seasons of snapper on plastics I'll never use bait again. Find a good drop off but also look for bait. As with the others most of the hits come on the drop or even in the rod holder. The more you fish them the more you learn. In the two months a mate and I have caught fish up to 82cm and today 90cm. I am now fishing lighter jigs than I started with. So fish light and actually hunt for the fish. We move around a lot until we find them. Think of them as a "floater" as you would use offshore.

[Duncs]

Theres some great advice here - my little bit is to watch the sounder for structure and bait and gps mark everything you find. just because you don't get a fish on a particular piece of reef one day doesn't mean it won't fire tomorrow. Also if you find reef + bait + current you have a recipe for serious snapper action. On the odd occasion that there has been plenty of bait around but no snapper, fishing elsewhere for a couple of hours, then coming back to the the spot will usually do the trick.
I have a theory that on the reef edges around the bay islands fish best when the current pushes up against the reef - so I fish the NW side of Peel on a run in tide or the SE side of Mud on a falling tide and so on. I especially have had good action when the tide pushes a dirty current line up against the reef edge. It seems to work for me but I would be interested to hear what others think.
Lastly, some of my best days snapper fishing have been really tough for much of the day, sometimes going 2 hours between fish. Once you find a school of them though, the action can be a fish a cast - persistance pays. When you hook a fish, get the other person in the boat to cast exactly where you hooked the your fish -often you will get a double hookup.

Cheers

Duncan

[once_bitten]

Yesterdays catch consisted of 4 flathead (2 at 35cm 2 at 50 cm) and 1 leatherjacket at 48cm sorry no pic I dropped the cam in the water SSSSSHHHHH dont tell the missus

[once_bitten]

all on plastics 35 mtrs deep