Tip 2: Tides Each location can be different, but the prime for fishing is usually 2 hours before and 2 hours after a tide change Remember though, fish are fish and often
times feed
when they feel like it.
Where is the
best place
to catch snapper?
Snapper will often be seen on your sounder as arches sitting up off the bottom and throughout the lower half of the
water column
When targeting Snapper on deeper reefs look for broken or rough ground, ledges or steep drop-offs. Once again watch your sounder for arches in the bottom third to a half of the water column.
What is the best bait for Port Phillip Bay?
Pilchards are considered by many to be the best bait for snapper in Port Phillip Bay However, snapper is often caught on other baits including whiting fillets, flathead fillets, squid tentacles and squid hooks. Some people also use chicken breast to great effect.
Where are the snapper biting in Port Phillip Bay?
The area around Mordialloc has the reputation as the premium Snapper location on Port Phillip Bay and Bluey’s is the only boat hire operation that provides access to the waters around the Famous Five reef systems. Just 5-15 minutes by boat and you are right in the middle of the action!.
What depth should a snapper be?
Snapper are commonly found in the depths of between 15 to 25 metres in larger bays, however, they can be found anywhere from 5 to 120 metres.
What is the best lure for snapper?
Popular options include ZMan 5″ Scented PaddlerZ, 6″ SwimmerZ and 8″ Mag SwimZ It’s the jerkbait style plastics that dominate the snapper catches however and these are the best starting point for those getting into offshore soft plastics fishing.
How do you target snapper?
They can be targeted by simply soaking a bait or you can challenge yourself with a multitude of lures and techniques from trolling deep diving hard bodies or sending a plastic down to the depths. Snapper can be caught over sand, mud, natural reefs, artificial reefs, rubble and in shallow and deep water.
What fish are biting now Port Phillip Bay?
bread and butter species such as squid and flathead can be caught all
year round
. In Port Phillip bay you’re likely to come across Snapper ( pinkies ), flathead, whiting, salmon, squid, Gummy sharks, gurnard, snook, mulloway, bream, trevally, garfish, and leather jacket.
What fish are caught in Port Phillip Bay?
When it comes to fishing on Port Phillip Bay, the world’s your oyster. Some of Australia’s big names in seafood, including red snapper and
king george
whiting , lurk in these waters. There’s gummy shark, mulloway and garfish, flathead, trevally and bream, along with more squid than you can poke a jig at.
Can you catch prawns in Port Phillip Bay?
You can’t collect prawns in waters less than 2m deep (the intertidal zone) in Port Phillip Bay Click here for more information on Port Phillip Bay’s intertidal zone. You can’t collect prawns in Marine National Parks and Sanctuaries. Click here for more information on Marine National Parks and Sanctuaries.
How do you target snapper from the beach?
During incoming tides, the water is both moving and getting deeper, and these are the best feeding conditions of red snapper. I suggest starting your fishing trip right after low tide and be there during the whole incoming tide Things will get better as you move to the high tide.
Does snapper like dirty water?
To target snapper from the shore, we’re actually looking for similar conditions to what we would when fishing inshore reefs. Dirty water, good tides, inshore structure and fishing dawn and dusk periods are all important factors when chasing snapper from the stones.
What size hooks for snapper?
Suicide hook patterns ranging from size 1/0 for pinkies, through to size 5/0 for large snapper are recommended. Best times would be early morning and evening although snapper can also be caught throughout the night. Medium-sized soft plastic lures in minnow or shad patterns are also very effective on snapper.
Can you catch snapper at night?
Snapper are nocturnal so you will not need a spot light unless you want to catch squid and flying fish in the light. It is nice however to have a few lights to light the inside of the boat so you can see what you are doing. We used to wear them slap out at night.
How do you target a large snapper?
Exploiting these habits, the two primary methods for catching snapper from the shore are stray-lining (dead baits and soft-plastic baits) and fishing dead baits on the bottom Whilst snapper can be caught on faster moving lures and live baits, these are generally far less effective.
What is the best time to catch King George whiting?
While you can catch whiting year round, May to September are often the best times of year to target them in Victoria. Whiting respond well to a range of baits including pipis, bass yabbies, small cut strips of squid, mussels and sand worms.
What is the best bait for King George whiting?
It is largely accepted that fishing with bait is the best way to catch King George whiting. The best baits are squid, sand or blood worms, prawns and whitebait threaded onto a long shank hook.
Can you catch whiting at low tide?
Fresh live worms and good bait presentation is critical to whiting success. Stand well back from shallow low tide gutters to avoid spooking the fish A shallow closed end gutter is a top spot to target on low tide.
Is chicken a good bait for snapper?
The great thing about chicken is its flesh density and softness. It is very palatable to fish and its neutral taste means it can represent just about any food item in the water…. and this is where its real value comes in. Over the last couple of years I have experimented with chicken as bait.
What is the best bait for snapper in Port Phillip Bay?
Snapper will take on any given day Squid, Pilchards, Whiting, Barracouta, Salmon, Mackerel, Bonito, Flathead, Cuttlefish, Crabs, Garfish, Octopus, Mullet the list is endless. My preferred Bait for snapper fishing in Port Phillip Bay is fresh Squid , with the head being the bait of choice.
Are snapper easy to catch?
Catching red snapper is easy In fact, some grouper fishermen will tell you that it’s too easy because the aggressive snapper will get to their baits before a grouper can even think about eating them.
What time of day is best to fish?
Fish generally prefer early morning and evening sun to the bright midday rays. In midday, the surface temperature of the water is also hotter, forcing the fish to move deeper.
What do snappers like eating?
They prey predominantly on crustaceans, but they also eat shellfish, sea urchins and other fish.
Are there sharks in Port Phillip Bay?
Gummy sharks, also known as flake at your local fish and chip shop, are a smaller breed of shark found all over Victoria, but especially in Port Phillip Bay These sharks are much smaller than their relatives, and are usually quite thin with greyish colouring and white spots across their back.
What fish are in Patterson River?
Fishing at Patterson River You can target bream, mulloway, salmon, mullet, flathead, flounder, garfish, trevally & estuary perch However, bream will likely be your main target species. Fish can be caught any time of day, although they often get a little more aggressive at sunrise and sundown.
Is there commercial fishing in Port Phillip Bay?
The Andrews Labor Government is delivering its election commitment to remove commercial fishing nets from Port Phillip Bay by 1 April 2022 , with eight snapper longline fishery licences remaining.
Citations
http://fishingmonthly.com.au/Articles/Display/2925-A-Recipe-for-Snapper-Success
https://vfa.vic.gov.au/science-in-fisheries/fisheries-research-findings/science-supporting-key-species/tracking-snapper-in-port-phillip-bay