SOUTH Australia’s snapper season officially opened at midday on Friday 30 November after the annual month-long closure. Expectations were high at many of SA’s recognised snapper hotspots as keen fishos counted down the minutes until it was time to start fishing.
The opening of the season usually boasts hot fishing with schools of large fish holding over recognised wrecks and reefs prior to spawning, which is usually a common occurrence after the month long ban.
We were graced with fine weather conditions for the first two days of the season but the fish didn’t show on a number of drops for the first time since the snapper-ban management strategy was introduced back in the year 2000.
It was a situation shared out from Arno Bay and Port Broughton where hundreds of hopeful fishos visited local snapper haunts, but the fish did a “no-show” with most boats returning to shore fishless. An incredible situation compared to previous seasons…
Let’s hope the schools show on local drops soon and that it’s just a cyclic situation and not a more damaging or permanent situation.
The season opens to the commercial sector on the 15th December so it will be interesting to see whether the fish have shown by this stage.
