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Hooking Up Anglers Since 2011.
Now that the Football Season is over for another year!!
&
BIG Congratulations to 2011 Premiers Geelong!
& that the BIG race at Bathurst has passed.
Each passing week will see a slow & steady rise in anglers fishing both Western Port & Port Phillip Bay. With this weekend forward seeing many keen Melbourne Snapper anglers commencing their Snapper seasons fishing. Recent bouts of some typical Spring weather in the form of sudden downpours of rain coupled with strong winds has put a few gaps in days of suitable weather for some.
However its during the tail end of these fronts when the barometer has steadily climbed that has seen a more reliable bite window for most. Water temps have climbed slowly since mid Sept, with ave temps in W/port & Port Phillip Bay around 13.5/14 or so depending on tide. On occasions there has been some smaller spikes in areas where temps have been around 15 or higher. The passing of the full moon this week will see tides slowly gain in strength & should see a spike in Snapper being active for many anglers.
Some Sounder pics below were taken in Port Phillip Bay in early September & as you can see, there is certainly some quality Snapper about.
Click here for Think BIG Snapper Charters, Bookings & Information on Spring Charters
Our ever reliable hard working Lowrance X-135 displaying some good clear sharp images of Snapper & the structure these fish have possibly been hanging close to for much of Winter along with Rock Cod, that can be seen hovering above the actual structure.
More good imagery from a slightly shallower mark.
Some recent Charter Pics of Snapper from Western Port & Port Phillip Bay
Jade Shannon from Cobram was a recent guest at the Somers Holiday Village
Having never fished Western Port before it was a pretty stoked & shaky Jade in pic above after landing this lovely Western Port Snapper during a run out tide off Lysaughts. Bait was a simple strip of fresh Calamari.
Somers Holiday Village Manager Jason also had some fun & opened his Snapper account for 2011 with this fine specimen, again on Squid on a single 6/0 circle hook.
Nice result after a few hours fishing.
One of our field team Think BIG Members ' Pete aka Bloats' with yet another nice Snapper from Western Port. Peter has found good success recently on a variety of baits including Squid, both freshly caught & the increasingly popular alternative Californian Squid & the humble but deadly early season bait, Pilchard.
Nick brought along his daughters for a quick arvo session on a blustery day recently & was stoked to land this plump Snapper.
His daughter couldn't help herself with another nice fish & was very keen to hold it for a pic.
Winga with his lovely daughter Billie braved some chilly conditions & had this typical school sized Snapper engulf a generous sized Squid Ring bait. Billie has been putting in some enormous missions with Dad in recent weeks & has to be one of the most dedicated young anglers I've seen for a while, she has great patience & understands the waiting game is part of it all at this time of year.
To the victor go's the spoils, this Snapper was the result of a focussed & dedicated campaign in Western Port & was also a historical moment as it was landed by Billie, with a little bit of guidance of course by Dad. These larger fish of 7kg or better aren't easy pickings & are the result of putting in the time & sitting tight & not racing all over the place trying to find a quick bit of action....
Snorzey Pawsey & Josh do it again!!
Yes these two lads have been keeping busy on the Snapper in the past few weeks with some very good quality the result of spending time on the water. Once again a variety of baits has worked including Californian Squid & Pilchard.
Josh with another good quality Western Port Red landed last week during a top session.
This Snapper was landed in some average weather conditions on Port Phillip Bay recently, bait used was Silver Whiting.
Landbased Snapper are always a very good angling achievement, bagging out though is something that doesn't happen all that often. Local Melbourne super keen angler Eren has been doing extremely well of late with quality Snapper. As is the case in many landbased scenarios when chasing Snapper, the timing of these sessions is possibly the most important factor.
In a nutshell you need to be fishing these locations as soon as the wind has turned from a Nth Westerly & back into a Southerly or Sth Westerly. When this occurs the barometer will immediatley be on the rise & this usually see's an increase in Snapper landed in landbased areas. You'll also notice the turbid water in the background, this cover will see a longer period of Snapper foraging inshore, but may only last as long as 24hrs or so before it's over as waters clear with settling weather patterns.
Click here for Think BIG Charter Info on Gummy Shark Charters
One of our most popular species with clients are Gummy Sharks & we've had a superlative Winter season on these sleek grey tidal cruisers.
With some memorable dusk shots it makes for a good evenings session on the greys.
Shaun Carter & friends had a great session on Gummys.
Mick with a perfect sized Gummy for some fresh mouth watering Flake fillets.
Shaun again with another sizeable Gummy that fought very well & was soon released as they should be soon after pic was taken.
Hold them gently but firmly into the current and allow time to recover, making sure they are breathing nicely & you'll feel them pulse & kick as they revive. Once your certain it's ready, release & watch her swim off gracefully to where she belongs. Think Future ;)
And the night just got better & better with Shaun holding another beautiful Gummy Shark.
Long time friend & amazing mechanic, builder, seasoned deckhand, & occasional Sub catcher....you name it Mick Torpy can do it...holding a top Gummy of better than 15kg prior to release.
This Gummy had a sneaky agenda & was initially brought up along boatside & was about to be netted, when it decided to let go of the Yakka chunk bait it had been just hanging on too...something I hadn't seen until now. It swam off & within 3 mins had taken a bait from the rod next to the first & was eventually landed & is held here by Mario.
Regular Think BIG Clients, Matthew Elliott, Chris Karapavlou & Big Shaun Dennehey all help to hold this Seven Gill Shark for a quick pic before release.
These big spotted bait stealers with heaps of sharp leader chaffing/destroying serrated teeth aka Seven Gill Sharks have also provided some fun for quite a few clients over the last few months. There is one thing common with all of these we've landed, there all over 50-60kg's & are always greeted with a lot of wow's!!, as many clients have never seen a Shark, let alone hold one of these sizes in Melbourne waters.
Click here for Think BIG Charter Info on Whiting Charters
While most of Melbournes anglers are being swept up by Snapper fever, there is also some very good alternatives for the lighter rod brigade...
Yes those very popular Whiting aka 'Spotted Bones' have been showing up in recent weeks in a few areas of Western Port.
Here's Jamie Martin with a sample of the quality Whiting available now.
At better than 43cms & as thick as a medium sized Don Salami. From this size upwards these Whiting aren't smallgoods & really do put up a spirited fight when hooked. Strips of tenderised squid has worked well.
A HUGE Thanks also to all recent & ongoing Think BIG Charter Clients.
See you on the Water,
Cheers,
TBC
This Fishing Report was submitted on 11/2/2012 4:21:36 PM by Seamus and last updated on 11/2/2012 4:21:36 PM.
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