VFM August 2006

By the time you read this article snapper fishing will be in full swing along our Bass Strait coastline with anglers chasing these new season fish as they start their annual migration into our bays and inlets.

The’ red tide’ as its known is one of Australia’s great piscatorial migrations and sets the heart beat of the majority of Victorian anglers racing as memories of last years bumper season flood back .

Offshore fishermen are usually first to get a shot at the early arrivals and often the first fish of the season are taken in early August  on the reefs between Torquay and Pt Lonsdale.

Following this influx of snapper are predatory species such as thresher and mako shark which take advantage of such a large food source readily available to them .

This is also the case with the Bass Strait seal population, unfortunately for anglers.

It seems seal numbers have grown alarmingly in Bass Strait over the last decade or so and with a decrease in numbers of their main predator the Great White Shark it doesn’t seem that this increase in seal numbers will ease or even out in the near future.

It’s a problem for anglers searching for a feed of snapper as most good congregations of snapper are shadowed by a group of seals and seals being very clever have associated boats as an easy feed finder often taking every fish angled to the surface until the fishermen are force to leave to find other grounds without seals in residence ,which is almost impossible early in the season.

Coinciding with the great snapper migration are of course the species which sustain the snapper, namely southern calamari, pilchard and gar fish. All these species increase in numbers and it’s this increase which see’s many of the snapper fishing addicts bait gathering between snapper sessions.

Calamari can be found offshore but their main concentrations are within our bays and inlets and apart from gathering essential top quality bait squid fishermen are guaranteed a fantastic feed as well.

This winter, a massive amount of brown krill has been evident in Bass Strait and with it, numerous whale sightings have occurred, the krill numbers are probably responsible for large schools of Barracoutas an Australian Salmon to remain right throughout winter giving offshore anglers more diversity in species sought.

Gummy shark and Seven gill shark have also been consistent throughout winter and have responded well to fresh flesh baits fished on appropriate rigs in water depths of 20 to 50 meters .The use of burley is an essential ingredient when fishing for bottom dwelling sharks but also means a by catch of less desirable species such as Port Jackson shark and smooth skinned rays and Banjo shark can keep anglers busy. Not such a bad thing on those cold winter days.

So with the water temperature steadily rising and more offshore fishing effort being applied the cleaning tables at Victorias bass strait boat ramps should abound with scales and tales of fish caught and lost.