Not only are they found in Australia and New Zealand but they are also found in China, Japan, Taiwan and the Philipines. A rising trend amongst conscious anglers is to take a photo of larger Snapper and release them. Snapper Snatcher Basics – How To Best Use Black Magic Flasher Rigs 2019-04-16T12:06:40+12:00 Project Description The iconic Black Magic flasher rig, a.k.a. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); The best time of day to target snapper is first and last light give or take a few hours. In dirty water and overcast days use brighter colours such as your pinks, yellows and whites while in clearer water go for your browns, blacks and reds. They can be fished with or without bait. Photos courtesy of Robbie Riches, David Fox, Steph Hutchings and Brett Mensforth. Cut the engine, drop your baits over and once they have hit the bottom engage the reel. Match it with a 3000 to 5000 reel and you’ll be able to flick lures or baits with it all day without getting tired. Snapper will often be seen on your sounder as arches sitting up off the bottom and throughout the lower half of the water column. Once again watch your sounder for arches in the bottom third to a half of the water column. When fishing for snapper with small to medium sized spin reels choose a braid in the 15-30lb range to suit your outfit. Snapper Season is Around the Conner Stock This Year With Australia's Own Brand . Brett Mensforth’s winning 101cm topwater snapper entered in the Get Fishing Tournaments 2015. Vary the action and speed of retrieval until you find what is working best on the day. Attach 2-3m of 15-30lb fluorocarbon leader to your mainline using an Albright Knot, GT Knot, FG knot or similar. Once you have marked a spot you wish to fish drop the anchor up current/wind (whichever is strongest) from the mark. Again, use the same baits that work in shallow water. Snapper are more widely distributed than you think. I cut 4 or 5 pieces of pvc pipe 5’ long and zip tie to attach them to a leg of the T-top, I slide the bait rig lead first into the pvc pipe and hook the last hook on the edge. Fishing at anchor in deeper water requires a slightly different approach to fishing shallow water. Once the anchor has held the first thing to do is work on getting a nice berley trail going to bring the fish to the boat. When targeting bigger Snapper head baits or butterfly baits of slimey mackeral, whiting, tommy rough work well. Cast lightly weighted soft plastics or baits as far as you can into the berley trail, let off a few meters of line to allow the lure/bait to slowly flutter towards the bottom. If this is the case try a different approach with your anchor setup or try drifting instead. In terms of moon phase the lead up to the full moon is a good period for targeting Snapper. There is no need for a great big cast just simply cast a few meters off the back of the boat and leave the bail open until you are in the strike zone. Soft plastics would be up there with the most effective methods. A berley trail is advantageous if the current is not too strong and if the current is going off the back of the boat or to the side where you are fishing. Examples include Squidgie whip baits, Zman Jerk Shads and Zman Grubs. When planning to fish baits and set the rod in a rod holder, engage the Baitrunner function and wait for the fish to take off line, and then strike after a few seconds. Slab or fillet baits of slimy mackeral, whiting, tailor, yellowtail, trevally, salmon, sergeant baker etc. When targeting Snapper on shallow inshore reefs look for patchy sand/reef or rubblier bottom structures around known Snapper grounds. Fish a slightly firmer drag than you would in shallow water to try and keep the fish off the bottom. Flasher rigs are based on the same principal, but add flashy materials tied to the shanks of the hooks to further entice a fish to bite. This particular rig can be used by fisherman to target several types of fish throughout the world, whilst bait fishing from any platform like your boat or … ‘Snatcher’ does suffer an identity crisis. Vary your cast length and vary the depth of retrieve until you locate where the better fish are most plentiful. Other great strip baits include cuttlefish, squid and octopus. Ideally you will have the berley flowing out off the back of the boat. 5x Brighter Then a Flasher Rig. Double Uni Knots are not recommended as they are a low-breaking strain knot and will bust eventually. When targeting Snapper on deeper reefs systems, both fishing at anchor or drifting are worthwhile techniques. This method will also increase your chances of hooking into other welcome species such as Kingfish, Samsonfish, Mulloway, Teraglin, Bonito, Cobia, Mackeral plus a host of other species. When targeting Snapper on deeper reefs look for broken or rough ground, ledges or steep drop-offs. One of the things most people hate about catching bait is how to store the Sabiki rigs at the end of the day. If the current is heading towards the bow/anchor then the anchor and berley approach might not be the best option. In shallow water less than 20m use a jig head that will allow your plastic to flutter to the bottom in the current. Also try different size, shape, and colour plastics to suit the conditions. Choose a small bean or ball sinker that allows the bait to waft down to the bottom slowly. Information courtesy of Get Fishing Tournament founder Robbie Riches, Perth WA and Department of Fisheries WA. Snapper will take a wide variety of lures. Sinker/jig head size often needs to be increased to ensure your lure/bait reaches the bottom. When using soft plastics once again focus your casts in and around the berley trail and throw the odd cast to the sides into ‘dead water’ or even under the boat. Reedy's Rigz New Ultra Pre Tied Fishing Rigs. In shallow water Snapper have been known to smash lures/baits merely seconds after hitting the water, therefore adjusting your drag mid fight is a recipe for disaster. However, if the conditions are right get a nice berley trail going and send lightly weighted baits down. 6, 80-pound-test SPRO Power Swivel. While threadline reals are my preferred real of choice when targeting Snapper on plastics, Baitrunner style reels like the Shimano Baitrunner are ideal for baitfishing in this scenario and there are few better sounds to a Snapper fisherman’s ears than a screaming Baitrunner as it bellows off line in the direction of a rampaging Snapper. You can go lighter but when it comes to stopping 10kg+ fish you might be a little under gunned in most situations. I double my main line with a Bimini twist, then tie the double line to a No. Then I tie on six feet of 40- or 50-pound fluorocarbon and a 5/0 to 8/0 circle hook, based on the bait … If you are losing bait to pickers before reaching the mark use larger/harder baits and decrease your drift length. An ideal outfit to use is a 5-8kg spin rod around 7′ to 7’6″ in length. You don’t need large bulky outfits to target snapper. In most cases you will get hit on the drop. If drifting simply motor 50-60m away from the mark in the direction that you will be drifting from (the deeper the water and stronger the current the further you will need to go). As with most forms of fishing, but particularly important when targeting Snapper, when you get a solid take be sure to strike hard to ensure the point of the hook penetrates firmly into the fish’s hard bony mouth. Amazon's Choice for snapper rigs Savage Tackle Premium Saltwater Bottom Rigs w/X2 Circle Hooks- Multi Packs- EggWeights-150# Leader 5.0 out of 5 stars 15 $23.99 $ 23. If using multiple rods spread the baits out and vary your cast distance. Berley flowing up towards the anchor is not ideal and will limit your results. Snapper Fishing Tackle Company Reedy's Come Inside And See More . If you find you are going past the mark before your baits have reached the bottom try going further to increase your drift length. However, they are great on the table so if you decide to take home a feed be sure to look after your fish properly by immediately bleeding and placing on ice, preferably in a salty ice slurry.