Much has been written about targeting snapper in Port Phillip and Corio Bays but as Geoff Wilson explains, there are variations in techniques that can still be explored.

November’s full moon saw my friend Robert Coon and I headed east into the Corio Bay outer harbour aligned with the Hopetoun Channel’s green starboard piles now diminishing in our wake.
Boats were anchored up along the edges of the Wilson Spit Channel to our right as we approached the Wilson Spit itself which was our intended destination but then the sounder displayed a couple of promising marks; promising enough to put the anchor down and break out the squid we’d caught earlier for bait.
In the beginning there were no boats within cooee, but as the sun went down and the camera flash illuminated each of us and the fish we’d caught, other boats began anchoring around us. Such was the case until we left at 10:00 pm with our combined bag limit of 6 fish from 4.5 to 6.8 kg in the box and a seventh that took the last bait as we packed up, released.
Did the folk arriving post camera flash catch any snapper?
If they did we neither saw nor heard any sign of it; in fact the only confirmation of anyone other than ourselves catching a snapper that night was a distant whoo hoo screamed at the top of somebody’s lungs, but nothing close to us.
THE SIXTIES
Since I caught my first snapper worthy of the name as a teenager back in 1961, I’ve seen many changes to the approach. Some have been helpful to those seriously seeking to catch a big red or two, like improved fishing tackle, quality rod holders and electronic wonders including fish finders, GPS units and the like. Other changes to the approach have simply been reinventions of the wheel so to speak, usually minus a few spokes.
I fished land based in those days – usually with my fishing companion Ross Middleton – but still managed to catch a respectable number of big snapper, some over the old 20 lb mark, and that was mainly during the winter as a teenage kid on a pushbike.
In the late 1960s, I fished with the late Ian Munro from his 6.6 m timber boat powered by a 6-cylinder Holden engine. That was mainly during the usually quiet snapper time through late December and January, and without the technological developments we enjoy today, but I can’t recall that we ever returned without at least a couple of decent snapper.
Of course we fished through the night which is the most productive time for the larger fish, the majority of which were taken during the early hours of the morning and up until perhaps an hour or so after sunrise. And that is pretty much the picture with those getting out before sunrise usually catching the tail end of the bite as the all nighters begin heading back to the ramp with their booty.
The early sixties was also when I wrote my first magazine article on snapper, not to fulfil any ambition I had as a fishing writer, for I had none, but to make the point that there were a handful of anglers who did catch big snapper in Corio Bay (the Geelong Arm of Port Phillip), during winter, something which was contrary to the culture of the time.
Since then, I’ve fished for snapper in several states and written a good number of snapper articles, as well as a couple of books on the subject. I didn’t expect to be writing any more on this subject but have been encouraged to so by confusion over variations in the approach in more recent years, particularly to those seeking snapper in Port Phillip and Corio Bays.

RODS AND REELS
Standard fishing tackle used for snapper in Port Phillip when I began fishing for them consisted of a short and fairly stiff boat rod on which was mounted either a wooden or Bakelite centre pin reel filled with quite heavy line.
Of course this approach was totally unsuited for land based fishing because one had to peel the required amount of line off to cast out; not the most unsatisfactory situation from a jetty, beach or rock groyne, particularly at night. In addition to that, the conventional snapper rod was also useless in this approach as well.
My choice, and that of others who fished from these locations including Ross, was to use revolving drum surf reels (two Pflueger Sea Kings in my case) usually mounted on a rod just over two metres in length with a suitably long butt for the leverage required to make adequate casts. In fact that combination is basically what I use today. The difference in those days was that we had to make up our own rods with suitable butt lengths, nowadays, they are freely available.
However, through one means or another, our approach caught on and the time honoured standard for snapper fishing was replaced with more suitable fishing rods on which were mounted either drum reels, or more usually in later years, threadlines or eggbeaters; the latter being more manageable for most anglers within the confines of a trailer boat.
Another positive development in fishing tackle was the bait runner reel by Shimano and others that copied it. However, what was not clearly understood was that bait runner mode simply provided a free spool mechanism to eggbeater or threadline reels that has always been standard on overheads.
Unfortunately, even at that time, the old myth that you had to let the snapper run with your bait before striking was still alive and well despite abundant evidence, and indeed proof, to the contrary. For that reason, a good many snapper were missed by anglers bottom fishing on Port Phillip and Corio Bays with these excellent reels, but in free spool or bait runner mode.
Worse still, some who did eventually get the message that fishing with the drag engaged and set at a kilogram of tension was more productive than fishing in bait runner mode, did the unthinkable and screwed up the tension on their free spool adjustment at the back of the reel, to a kilogram of tension thereby providing a good deal of business for those doing reel repairs; something I witnessed in spades while working in fishing tackle retail.

Strips of fresh squid produced the goods: The circle hook is a 5/0 Owner Mutu attached with a small cable tie. The top or sliding hook is an 4/0 Owner octopus pattern, the eye of which is sleeved with a short length of 2 mm plastic tube which is bound to the shank of the hook so that the hook now slides, but under pressure, to accommodate larger or smaller baits.

SINKERS
A running sinker was standard back in the sixties and earlier, and our version of that was usually a bean or ball sinker weighing between 80 and 100 g, a range of weights we found most suited for fishing land based, particularly in the distinctly tidal environment of the Grammar School Lagoon where making a reasonable cast was also a requirement.
Mind you, nothing changed when I say (collectively) we continued fishing from the boat using the same approach, partly because sinkers of 80 to 100 g, made casting the revolving drum reels we had become so familiar with, easy, and partly because we out-fished our guest anglers at various times. Well, those who insisted on using unweighted baits anyway.
Yes, that’s right, the old adage of using the lightest possible weight on your line when bottom fishing for snapper does not hold water, especially when bottom fishing for snapper with several rods. And worse still, I now see folk fishing with small sinkers on their traces running between hook and swivel, another retrograde step that negates the advantages of using a running sinker.
The thing is, snapper don’t necessarily run away from the boat after taking a bait, and if that bait is unweighted, a fish swimming toward the boat will give scant warning before the line is caught around the outboard leg, anchor rope or anywhere you wouldn’t expect it to be.
Or sometimes the snapper will simply drop the bait after dragging the unweighted line around without the angler even realizing that there is a fish on his line.
On the other hand, with a substantial running sinker you do get a warning as the rod tip trembles to the rolling of the sinker across the bottom. At that point you can wind up and get tight on the fish before any problems arise.
THE RIG
The rig is simple. The line is threaded through the sinker and tied to the swivel or ring on your pre-rigged trace which should be about half a metre in length and about twice the breaking strain of your main line. There may be a single hook tied to the end of your trace or two hooks; one fixed and the other sliding; but of course there are no sinkers on the trace itself.
At this point I feel obliged to point out that initially I used 15 lb breaking strain Du Point Mason monofilament as both main line and trace and lost very few fish. Doubling the breaking strain of the trace reduced those losses to zero.
In the sixties we always used the Mustad 92554 in size 4/0 or 6/0, depending on bait size, which we sharpened to a fine point. One had to maintain the point with a stone though because once the nickel plating was removed, the hook would rust.
While the old 92554 is still available and a great old workhorse, you still need to sharpen it. Nowadays there are more hi-tech options with high carbon steel, chemically sharpened hooks, still in the beak configuration but now known as the octopus pattern; the best examples being produced by manufacturers like Owner and Gamakatsu.
These are more expensive, high performance, hooks rather than workhorses, but they do the job better than their predecessors. However, they do rust and once the point is lost they should be discarded responsibly.
Rigging as described with suitable baits like small fish, fillets of fish and squid, or the heads of either, and you will trump all of the new-fangled flasher rigs; the decorations on which do absolutely nothing to attract the snapper and only obstruct the baiting procedure.
Should you doubt me, fish your flasher rig with no bait on one rod along with the rig I have just described with a carefully prepared bait on another, and you will clearly see what I mean. However, the advertising, marketing, and presentation of these rigs has been so successful that when I worked in fishing retail, I witnessed punters walking out of the shop with armfuls of these rigs at close to $12 a pop while they ignored our, arguably more effective, pre-tied plain and undecorated rigs, at a quarter of the price.
Circle hooks have been about for ages but were initially manufactured for commercial fisheries. More recently the manufacturers of circle hooks have targeted the recreational fishing market, and with a good deal of success. Unfortunately, there was also resistance from some quarters, and that, coupled with complaints from anglers who didn’t understand the imperative of keeping the gap between the point of the hook and the shank clear of any obstruction, have probably kept sales of circle hooks lower than what they should be.
Circle hooks have proven particularly useful when small and undersize snapper attack baits in such numbers that bait fish or fish fillet, or even a robust strip of squid, doesn’t go the distance. Attaching the head of a large whiting or similar size fish head to the circle hook with a length of hat elastic or strip of rubber band, solves the problem by thwarting the pinkies until a decent size fish comes along.
SUPER LINES
Other products that have made fishing for snapper, and other species, more effective, include polyethylene gelspun lines, either braided or fused. Unfortunately, many folk using the fairly new gelspun lines – and they’ve only been available since the early to mid nineties – did not take the trouble to learn how to rig with them and hence you hear statements like “I’m never going to use that stuff again”, or “I lost a fish of a lifetime because I was conned into using that rubbish”.
Of course, some of the companies that brought out gelspun lines after mainstream producers like Berkley and Spiderwire hit the market running were less than great. Overwhelmingly though, problems arose because of consumers’ poor line management skills along with a distinct reluctance to brush up on some.
To that end I once wrote an article entitled Super Lines for Super Fishermen which upset some advertisers; but I still meet fishermen, and have done so as recently as the week before writing this article, who have sworn off gelspun lines claiming that they’ve been conned into using an inferior product.
The fact is that these folk have been on a long holiday using nylon monofilament, the most forgiving line in the history of angling and – although one can buy these newer products – the skill to use them needs upgrading regardless of what claims those advertising such products make.
STRIKING
Previous to fishing in company with a variety of other anglers through the years, I can say that I never really used to strike fish in the way most folk consider normal. The process for me had always been – even in the days when I fished with my reel out of gear and the ratchet on – to tighten up and put a working curve in the rod; giving and taking line as dictated by the fish.
As I began to fish with other folk, and sometimes as a guest on charter boats, I was amazed, not only at the great strikes some folk would not only initiate, but continue to perform throughout the fight. It’s a common but flawed approach that has more to do with testosterone levels than hooking fish. Worse still though, it damages the line and can cost fish; good enough reason to review the striking process, especially as demonstrated by serial strikers as they bring in hooked fish.
PROCEDURE
Having cast out, the rod is placed in the rod holder and excess slack is wound up. Then, after checking that the drag on the reel is set to yield line at approximately a kilogram of tension, all that is required is the patience and the discipline to check baits at appropriate intervals and wait for the rod to bury; hooking the fish with no help from the angler.
And finally, don’t be in too much of a hurry to move if no bites are forthcoming. Remember, fishing for large snapper is a waiting game, and – aside from having good tackle and fresh bait – patience is your greatest ally.
Geoff Wilson has been fishing for snapper in Corio and Port Phillip for over four decades. He is one of Australia’s foremost authors and illustrators on fishing knots and has written several books and hundreds of fishing articles.