HOW TO CATCH SNAPPER

LOCATIONS: Snapper are predominantly located on offshore reefs in depths between 5m and 200m but are most commonly caught in 10m to 100m of water.

SIZE: Snapper can grow to 1m in length and 15kg but are most commonly caught between 30cm and 90cm or 0.5kg to 10kg.

AVAILABILITY: Snapper can be caught all year round.

PEAK SEASON: Peak season for Snapper is generally between May and December.

TACKLE/RIGGING: Snapper fight very hard and will try taking cover in the reef. To help avoid getting cut off, line/leader size of 20lb to 40lb is preferred. Rod's between 6-7ft and 5-15kg are ideal. Spinning reel size of 3000-6000 will suit most applications.

BAITS/LURES: Snapper will take a large variety of baits and lures. Smaller fish are best targeted in 30m or more with a bottom/paternoster rig, 4/0 hooks and cut baits like pilchard, squid, mullet and tuna. Larger fish are best targeted with bigger baits (5/0-6/0 hooks) on a running rig with the least amount of weight needed to get the bait down to the fish. Soft plastics on light jigheads (1/4oz to 1/2oz) is a very effective way of catching big Snapper over shallow reefs between 10m and 30m.

EATING QUALITY: Snapper are superb eating and highly sought after. Smaller Snapper up to 50cm have a delicate sweet flesh and are great steamed or baked whole. Larger Snapper are less flavorsome and are best to be seasoned in portions for the BBQ / grilling and also go well in fish curries or a seafood laksa.

Pictured Above: Ian Black was pretty happy with this Big South West Rocks 'Knobbie' Snapper.

Pictured Above: Mitchell Maric with a nice Snapper caught off Grassy Head on a Nomad Micro Jig and light tackle.