SNAPPER OFF THE STONES
Hiking out to remote rock platforms adds a whole new dimension to the challenges and excitement offered by one of our most popular southern sportfish, the mighty snapper. JAMIE CRAWFORD reports.
AFTER a moderate trek through a winding scrub track we eventually ended up on a rock ledge perched some 2m above water level. We were tucked inside a protected bay, and in the early morning light we could make out scattered patches of reef dotted amongst the seagrass. The water was quite shallow but a bit clouded after some recent wind.
It definitely wasn’t a text-book landbased snapper location though, and to be honest it didn’t look all that inspiring. Nevertheless, there had been a few fish in the bay of late so we rigged up and fired out a couple of baits.
It took me by surprise, but my first bait was instantly hit. I could see my belly of line slowly tracking to the left, and I was soon hooked up to what felt like a pretty damn good fish. After a solid fight in the shallow water, an 11kg red was hoisted up the rocks – stoked!
Snapper are a great fish to catch in any situation, but there’s something special about pulling a nice red from the rocks. I remember my first landbased snapper – it was only a small fish but after putting in the effort and scouting various rocky possies, it was pretty rewarding to come up trumps with the target species.
Targeting snapper from the stones is a whole lot more challenging than from a boat. Not only do you have to find a suitable location, but you also need to identify the best weather and tidal conditions, battle the elements of fishing from the stones and, as is often the case, hike to the location.
Most of the snapper rocks we visit these days involve a hike of some description. Some are just an easy stroll from the car, but a few of the better possies involve up to an hour of rigorous hiking. Carting tackle, bait and associated equipment out to the rocks is hard enough, but the hike back to the car can be even harder when you score a couple of nice fish.
Snapper are structure oriented, and hence the locations which boast significant reef close to shore are good starting points. We look for significant reef that drops away into deeper water – and it’s this deeper water or channel adjacent to the reef where we want to be fishing.
We often find the snapper patrolling around the base of these reefs in the deeper water, while on top of the structure we catch a lot of “rubbish fish” such as sweep, drummer and rock cod. Unfortunately, fishing close to this structure from the shore does spell loss of terminal tackle, which is frustratingly part of the game.
Our better landbased snapper grounds are set in around 5m of water with limestone ledges and nuggets of reef nearby. We try to position our casts along the side of this heavier reef, just as it begins to level out into pockets of sand and shoaly reef.
We rarely lay our rods down when we target snapper from the rocks; instead we hold them and allow a belly of line to wilt just above the water surface. Watching the line gives a good indicator of what is happening, and when a red picks up the bait it feels minimal resistance.
I prefer fishing with my reel in gear, and when a fish starts to move off with the bait it’s easy to strike. If we haven’t had a bite for around five minutes, we hold the rod tip high and retrieve flat-out; this helps to minimise tackle losses. Don’t let your bait waft around for too long as it will inevitably roll into reef.
Fishing after periods of stirred-up water is best for these shallow locations. We try to hit the rocks straight after a blow if the swell isn’t too big, and during a blow (if you can brave the conditions) the fishing can be red hot. When fishing off shallow-water rocks, good tidal movement is important, and we have noted a definite feeding period early in the day and late in the afternoon. The majority of the snapper we catch off the rocks are pan-sized fish of 40 to 50cm. We do get the occasional larger red from these shallow water settings, and from tight water they’re great fun to catch.
It is possible to target landbased snapper in deep water too. We have an awesome national park nearby where we hike out to some ledges and target reds. The depth tapers away incredibly off these rocks, and we’re fishing in 25-odd metres of water just a short cast from the rocks. The fish we get from this location are never on the large size, but with the adventure of hiking out to location it makes for a pretty cool day out.
We get a lot more by-catch off these rocks, especially pesky “rubbish” fish, but mixed in with the snapper are nannygai, swallowtail and the occasional queen snapper (blue morwong). To fish these rocks, we are actually targeting very different conditions when compared to the shallow water scenario. Out here we are after slow tidal movement, calm weather, and we don’t specifically target the twilight periods.
In deeper water the tide can be exaggerated around a headland, and it can, on some days, be difficult to hold bottom. When the baits are constantly dragging, the number of snags also inflates. We’ve had days of strong tidal movement when we’ve had to bump up to 6oz of lead just to hold bottom – not an ideal weight to cast with our standard tackle.
We aim to hit these rocks when the weather conditions are favourable, with light or offshore winds and low swell. These rocky locations are open to southern swell in my area, and hence the window of weather is important. Although we have noted a definite late arvo bite period off these rocks, we generally make a full day of it and we do catch some neat fish throughout the whole day; it’s just a case of putting in the time.
The tackle for both of the detailed situations is pretty standard, and is linked more to suit the conditions and terrain rather than the size of the fish. We use light to medium surf rods of nine to 10ft in length which provide good casting distance, and the extra length in a surf rod aids in propping the mainline away from rocks, and helps to steer fish as they near the rock ledge.
I use a 6-10kg Shimano Tiralejo rod which, at 9ft, is ideal for this type of work. I avoid using braid off the rocks – it can be unforgiving stuff when you’re snagged or if your mainline rubs the rocks under load – instead I’ve spooled with 8kg mono.
Because of the reefy nature of these landbased locations and associated snags, keep the sinker lower than your hooks to help lift the bait just off the reef. We use a 30cm dropper of 40lb mono, onto which a pair of 5/0 hooks in an octopus pattern are attached. We then have a 50cm dropper on which the sinker is attached, also of 40lb. Some people drop the strength of the sinker dropper lower than the hook dropper to break the sinker free if it gets wedged into reef, but this promotes a lot more line-twist between both the droppers. The size of the sinker will vary according to depth of location, but for most of our shallow-water fishing we use a 2oz, and on the deeper ledges we use a 3oz.
We don’t use much berley from the rocks, although this is more of a practical decision rather than preference. It’s not always realistic to carry the extra weight of berley out to a rock fishing possie. Preferred baits from the rocks include squid and fresh fish fillets (trevally, mackerel, snook) as the No.1 option, with pilchards and whole baitfish such as herring, mackerel and trumpeter as a second option. There can be a lot of little picking fish when targeting snapper from the rocks, so it’s necessary to use firm baits on most occasions.
When hiking out to some of these rock fishing possies, it’s important to remember a few fundamental hiking guidelines. These include: always carrying a basic first aid kit; notifying someone of your plans; carrying adequate water (we take 3L each for a day hike); packing a spray jacket or other protective clothing should the weather turn sour; taking a torch; and carrying some food. On top of this you’ll still have your fishing equipment, bait, camera etc so it doesn’t take long to accumulate a lot of weight in your backpack. Handheld GPS units are more readily available now than ever before, and they can be an invaluable tool when hiking through thick scrub.
Exploring the rocks for snapper is an addictive quest, and it’s great exercise! The results may not start immediately, and don’t expect to score fish on every outing – but that’s all part of the landbased mission. Put in the effort and in time some nice fish will come your way.
