The snapper fishing in the bay was patchy, with reports of snapper biting well offshore. A treat for offshore anglers is the arrival of the whales passing our coast.
Whale sightings are now very common during the cooler months, and even a day of not much fishing action can be saved by the joy of viewing these magnificent mammals in their natural element.
One morning last week, I fished one of my favourite spots for snapper but only caught one grinner. On my way to the fishing spot, I saw a few fish around a hole but passed them to head out to my preferred fishing area.
Before returning to the boat ramp, I checked the fishing over the hole. I drifted over it and caught a snapper around the 30cm range. I paddled back, drifted over this spot five times, and caught five snappers between 30 and 35cm. It was great fun catching them on light gear.
The tailor fishing was a bit disappointing last week. The evening conditions were perfect for angling but not for the tailor. I only caught one around 50cm, which was smoked and made into delicious fish cakes. I had reports of tailor late at night, but my late-night fishing sessions are past.
A tip with catching tailor on ganged hooks is to use fine bait cotton to bind the pilchard onto the hooks. I set the bottom hook into the pilchard, lie the other hooks alongside the pilchard, and fasten with bait cotton.
Binding helps with the hook-up rate because the hooks are not buried in the bait, and the bait stays fastened to the hooks for longer.
Raymond Kennedy fished the North Pine Dam on Sunday with Mark Masters. The fish were scattered in small schools, with many of the fish under 30cm and a few with bass between 35 and 45cm. They caught a total of 107 bass.
If you have any fishing questions or would like a fishing session, please get in touch with Michael at [email protected]
