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First Snapper Mission for Sid
By Luke Smith
It can be super frustrating, even painful, when you are flat out with work and family commitments and cannot get out for a fish. Then, to rub salt into the wounds, you scroll through your socials and see the snapper are on in Port Phillip Bay. Photo after photo of quality fish fills the screen until you finally find an opportunity to get out and scratch the itch.
Does this happen to anyone else?
Luckily, over the New Year’s break, I was stoked to see a near perfect weather forecast for three days of fishing. Plans were made and I did not hesitate in organising to scratch the PPB snapper itch. I organised for my mum to come and join in the fun and took my six-year-old son Sidney on his first snapper trip, and a full day at that.
I picked up my boat from storage and spent the evening before getting it ready. This of course after I cleaned the dust off it! Not ideal when you’re required to clean your boat before a fishing trip.
One thing that I live by with my fishing is the 6 P’s… but to keep it PG we will reduce it to the 5 P’s; Prior Preparation Prevents Poor Performance. The day/night before any trip I always make sure that my rods and reels are setup and fresh leaders are tied if required. I will attach any rigs that are required, along with other prep work to reduce lost time once out on the water.
Fishing time is precious, so I do what I can to maximise it and keep lines in the water, instead of having to setup on the day. If possible, I will also have pretied rigs made up to reduce lost time during hot bites. Quite often, when first thinking about the trip a few days prior, I will make myself a list of things to do beforehand and a list of things to pack in the morning, such as bait.
We woke up at 2:30am, loaded the bait and a sleeping Sidney into the car, made a strong coffee and hit the road at 3am for the two-and-a-half-hour drive. St Leonards was our launching point, on the western side of PPB, and we wasted no time in getting the boat on the water. We then had a 15-minute drive across the bay to reach the first marks that I wanted to sound up.
We had a look at four different dump marks that I had saved, before I found one that was holding fish. The anchor was dropped to the bottom and baits were fanned out in readiness for a hungry snapper. It wasn’t the hot bite that we were hoping for, however we did get one bite that produced Sid’s first pinkie snapper. He was happy but I was in search of something better. We lifted the anchor and went in search for a better bite.
When you approach a GPS mark and there are already multiple boats anchored up on it, this usually means there are some fish about. I took my time and thoroughly sounded the area until I could find some fish on the sounder and was confident of getting a bite. Confidence is the key when making decisions on the water, otherwise you start doubting yourself and second-guessing decisions that you have or are about to make.
I dropped the anchor once again, cast some fresh baits out and then cut up some pilchards to begin a light trail of cubes. The signs were good, we just had to play the waiting game. After about twenty minutes we had our first buckle but unfortunately the hooks didn’t hit their mark. A round of fresh baits, some more pillie cubes and we had our next buckle. This was followed by three more shortly after. Sometimes it may not happen at all. When it does though it certainly is a rush, with multiple rods in the racks with their tips touching the water and drags peeling.
We helped Sid fight his first proper snapper and he had a ball swinging on the end of an Okuma LRF rod, paired with an Okuma Alaris 40 spinning reel. For such a good value combo, it certainly punches above its weight. The fish was netted, and Sid had a cheeky grin that made the 2:30am alarm worthwhile.
Mum and I wound the remining fish in, before we had a chance to dehook some fish and get some happy snaps. It’s important to try and strike whilst the fish are in the mood to eat. So, once the hooks were out, fresh baits were on and cast back out. Fifteen minutes later we had the school pass under the boat again and another three rods buckled over. Another fish for each of us and we were contempt with our efforts. No Port Phillip Bay trip is complete without a quick bag of squid though.
We shot over to Mud Islands and began drifting over some weed beds in 3-5 metres of water. The trusty Fish Inc. Egilicious squid jigs were clipped onto the rods so that we could begin collecting some tasty treats for entrée that night. Five minutes later and Sid had his first squid. Ten minutes after that he sighted his first follow from a squid, dropped the jig back to it and was on. The best part was that he got to watch the whole thing in some crystal-clear water. An hour later and twenty squid in the tank was enough for us, so we made a lunchtime departure for the trip back to Warrnambool.
My tips for taking youngsters fishing:
- Take plenty of food, snacks, and drinks.
- Have some form of entertainment, whether it be music or dare I say it, a phone.
- Keep them catching fish 😉
- Make sure they enjoy the day on the water.
Kids love catching fish of any size and constant action will keep them entertained for longer, meaning you can fish for longer.
Sometimes they may need a distraction, whether it be driving the boat in between spots or playing on your phone for a short period.
The main thing is that if your children enjoy the fishing trip, they are more likely to want to keep going and you hopefully will end up with a fishing buddy for life.
Cheers, Luke
Gearing Up:
Okuma LRF GEN2 Spin Rods - LRF2-S-702H 7' 6-10kg
Okuma Helios SX Spin Rods - HSX-S-702M 7' 3-6kg
Okuma Alaris Spin Reels - ALS-40 / ALS-45
Platypus Platinum Plus Braid - 15lb
Platypus Stealth FC Fluorocarbon Leader - 20lb (Shock Leader)
Platypus Hard Armour Leader - 40lb Tough (Pre-Made Rigs)