Fishing Australia

SOUTH COAST SNAPPER

Over the last few weeks all sorts of weather has been thrown at anglers and knowing what to do in certain fore casts can be a big help. Waiting for the swell to be at manageable size is half the battle, the next step is to check what winds are predicted.

Light winds are of course ideal when you are lucky enough to get them, especially seeing the snapper fishing has been great on reefs around the deeper the 50 to 60 meter mark. In particular reefs at this depth between Kiola and Moruya have been fishing well, but Ulludulla, Merimbula and Eden are also producing some good snapper.

Light winds ‘usually’ mean the drift is nice and slow, providing of course the current isn’t too fast. When both wind and currents are suitable it is much easier to get down to the bottom in deeper water and keep your bait there.

Anglers using the standard 6 ounce snapper lead with two droppers above it are doing well. Best baits are tuna, slimy, yakka, squid/pilchard cocktails and carp strips.

In really good conditions you can even use the larger soft plastic snapper outfits combined with a heavy jig head to get down to the 60 meter mark.

Bucktail jigs between 2 and 4 ounces are ideal for this; even better if you add a small bait or scent up the fibres. One lucky angler scored 9 snapper between 54 and 98 cm snapper using this set up and had a ball in the process!

If the westerly’s are likely to be up then an early start is needed before the drift gets too quick. A sea anchor or drogue can ‘help’ slow the drift to a manageable rate.

Swell permitting; the Westerly’s have been ideal for suitably prepared kayak fishos thanks to the nice flat seas that form in close to the shore. The secret is to set up drifts and keep covering new ground. The snapper fishing hasn’t been as good as it is out deeper, but there is still more than enough fish to keep things interesting and score a tasty feed.

Use white or bright coloured soft plastics on 12 pound fluro carbon trace at dawn and dusk. During the day give a clacking rap a go on 6 pound leader; the new smaller 6 cm size is proving to be a hit with snapper.

The moss back shiner, red crawdad and of course the white ‘glass ghost’ colors are good options, but the rattle is what attracts the fish the most. Importantly though, don't rattle the lure too loudly for snapper.

Let one dangle below the boat at mid water with no added rod action, the waves will make it tap away gently. Leave this lure there while you try everything else and often the biggest red of the day will hit this lure. Bizzare I know, and a few other seasoned snapper anglers are reporting the same - go figure.

ESTUARIES

A few estuary perch are being caught in the Clyde above Nelligen Bridge. There is also some yellowfin bream getting about, but mainly small ones. Over at Tuross there is some bigger bream around the leases but many are on the skinny side at the moment.

Flathead will become lots easier to catch in a month or so, especially if we get a spell of warm weather to get them moving and feeding.

PROTECTING NATIVE FISH FROM AFTER EFFECTS OF BUSHFIRES

Hundreds of endangered native fish in Victorian streams are being protected from threats to their environment resulting from the devastating bushfires earlier in the year.  In a move funded by the Victorian Government with contributions from the Murray-Darling Basin Authority (the MDBA), 394 Barred Galaxias and 35 Macquarie Perch have been taken into “temporary captive maintenance”.  The affected fish species have been moved to safe refuges at Heidelberg and Snobs Creek until stream conditions recover.

Scientists from the Department of Sustainability and Environment’s Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research feared the fish populations could be in danger from a drop in water quality if rain washed ash and sediment into streams and waterways in the bushfire affected areas.

The protected fish have come from  Robertson’s Gully, Upper Taggerty River, Little Rubicon River, Keppel Hut Creek, Luke Creek, Criss Cross  Creek, Kalatha Creek, Stony Creek, Torbreck Creek, Rubicon River, King Parrot Creek and  Hughes Creek.

The nationally endangered Barred Galaxias is only known in 21 populations worldwide and exists in a small area of Victoria that has been severely damaged by fires in 2006 and 2009.
 

See you on the water.

Rob Paxevanos