SEASON TO CASH IN ON SNAPPER
MANY of the veteran Gold Coast fishermen I talk to are claiming this year to be the best snapper season in years, and nobody is complaining.
Not only have good numbers of snapper been caught but the quality and size have been exceptional as well.
To top it off, apart from the big southerly wind earlier in the week, we have had a run of near perfect weather.
Three Gold Coast charter boats who have been operating here for years have recorded their biggest snapper ever this season, the biggest being a 98cm beast.
The great news is you don’t have to burn a lot of fuel to get among the action yourself.
While some good quality snapper have been caught on the 50-fathom line off the seaway, most of the big boppers have been caught either on the 36-fathom grounds or closer in on the 18-fathom grounds.
In fact, after a big southerly wind like we had last Sunday it is not unusual to see the odd big snapper move into the seaway and quite often some big ones are caught in the days after a big wind from the rocks off the southern wall.
The biggest difference between those getting the big snapper on the closer reefs and those not is a berley trail. You need one.
Don’t throw away your old pilchards – keep them in the freezer for your berley mix.
Also, your best friend while fishing for snapper is your sounder; look for the fish and float a pillie down the berley trail.
The current isn’t too strong at the moment so this has been the most effective method of hooking into the big ones.
Remember your bag limits for snapper is four per angler and no more than one fish over 70cm.
It is possible that big snapper longer than 90cm could be more than 30 years old, so I know its easier said than done, but getting a photo of the beauty and letting it go is a great option – just promise me you’ll send me the photo so I can show it off in the paper. Good luck.