Been a while since I have been able to head out with a couple of good mates and the last time I fished with Dan and Dale was the week before my wedding when we headed to Portland for a bucks turn and chase some Tuna.
I had just got home from Adelaide and had a quick nana nap when Dan mentioned to me on facebook that they were fishing in the morning and there was a spot on the boat should I want it, I was exhausted from the quick trip to Adelaide but how can I resit a day with my mates on Port Phillip Bay chasing a few Snapper around.
For me it was all about jigging as I have just started to get into it for all manner of species but realy enjoying the challenge of Snapper, its something that is fairly popular around the rest of the world but for some reason in Victoria its un heard of so why not give it a crack. The other 2 stuck with mixed baits of Squid, Pilchards and Silver Whiting.
We Got to the boat ramp at Patterson River at about 0345 on a Sunday Morning and were met with a que about 200 meters long all the way back to the road, after a few pleasantries we parked the car and loaded up to walk down to the Coast Guard pontoon to meet Dale who was already floating, we got moving and received a phone call from a mate who was in the que that was now more than 1.5km long, lucky we were not 15 minutes behind. Victorian Government need to pull a finger out here, facilities for less than 10% of the boats owned in Victoria and snapper season and a nice sunny day see's kaos reign, thank God for the Hogans and there crew for keeping it in as much order as it can be.
We started sounding around a few area's that had produced well over the last few days but alas the fish had moved on, the bay was lit up like a Christmas Tree with boats as far as the eye can see so we looked for a place as far away as we could from the crowds, this was a bigger task than you think with the amount of boats on the water and more arriving by the minute. We started to head deeper when the sounder lit up with a screen full of fish. We need travel no further we found fish and not another boat in sight.
Anchor down and lines out, I started tying knots and setting up my jigging gear, it only took about 5 minutes before Dan had loaded up and a fair sort of fish before I had even got a jig n the water, I had a feeling that I would get panced by the boys and their baits. I kept on keeping on and finaly as Dale lands another I am in the water jigging. Things were looking a bit grim as more fish started pouring in over the side while I gave my arm a work out. Things were looking grim as I was pulling in Flathead after Flathead and it was starting to look as though I would not see anything other than flathead.
It took a while but in the end I managed to pick up a small one on a Blue and Pink Inchiku Jig and another on a 80g Quick flutter jig. Not the first snapper on jigs for me but I am fairly confident that things will get better as we work out teh best technique to get the snapper going, I used a mix of fast slow big small rapid and jerky styles with nothing being the stand out. I was using a PE2 Prototype Jig stick we are working on teamed up with a Shimano Ocea Jigger 2000NRHG, combo felt nice in my hands and made an easy task for the hours we were out.
We fished until about 1300 in the afternoon and decided to try and make it in before the crowds also made their way in, however, we got back in at about 1310 and did not get on the trailer till about 1400.
All in all it would not have mattered if we caught nothing, the time on the water with friends mucking around and laughing all day was what it was about, catching fish was the bonus.
