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ZMan Snapper

David Granville

Here's one from a while back outlining David Granville's first experiences chasing snapper on ZMan plastics.

For the last few years I have really been getting into catching snapper on soft plastics on the shallow reefs off my home port of Mooloolaba. It's hard to beat the feeling of that braid snapping tight and the sound of a howling reel as a big red tries to bury you in the reef. It's heart in mouth stuff that gets the adrenalin going for even the most seasoned anglers.

Like most soft plastic snapper aficionados I was a big fan of compressed bait style, biodegradable jerk shads. But what I found frustrating was how little pickers would wreck your lure and also waste valuable fishing time. On average I was going through two packets per trip which at $10 per pack meant I was spending more on plastics than on fuel for the boat!

This winter just gone was the first time I tried ZMan on the snapper and to say I am impressed is indeed an understatement. I started the season fishing my usual haunts with ZMan 5" Scented Jerk ShadZ on 1/4oz TT jigheads. I was getting just as many bites as I would normally get on the bio baits and caught some really nice fish, but best of all I wasn't going through any plastics at all.

Most trips I would just hook the jighead onto the rod with ZMan in situ, ready for next time. Even after catching a few fish they are still good to go. From memory at one stage I did three trips and caught six snapper on one ZMan. On another occasion fishing a bit deeper I caught over 20 reef fish on one plastic in one day.

After my success on the 5" Jerk ShadZ, the team at Tackle Tactics?suggested I try the ZMan 8" StreakZ XL. So next trip I took their advice and loaded one with a?Tournament Series XHD jighead in 1oz with an SL12 Gamakatsu hook. I was fishing in about 50m on this occasion and the very first drop the big StreakZ got nailed. I knew it was a nice fish and just took my time as I wasn't in heavy cover. After a great fight a 6kg snapper came over the side. It was one of the biggest snapper I had caught for a long time and I was stoked.

We went marlin fishing for the day and had no luck but stopped on the same mark on the way home. You wouldn't believe it, first drop again with the 8" StreakZ in Electric Chicken colour and another great fish. This time a 7kg snapper which is my PB. What a great fish which after a few happy snaps we let go to fight another day.

So that is my winter 2011 experience with ZMan. Looking at the new range of offshore lures I'm hoping summer will be just as busy...

Cheers,
David Granville

For more of David's adventures make sure you check out the latest edition of FishLife Magazine.