A-Z of bait fishing for reds by Glen Booth

It's snapper time on the north and mid north coast of New South Wales, and in this article Glen Booth offers a handy A to Z guide to scoring a feed of these handsome and tasty sportfish.

'A' IS FOR ALVEY

For spinning off a metre of line to a timidly biting fish, to enabling a bait to drift down unimpeded in a strong current, it's hard to beat an Alvey sidecast. And then there's the indescribable joy an angler feels as line starts rapidly flicking off the spool while in sidecast mode, as this means you've ticked all the right boxes in regards to location, sinker weight and bait choice.

A 600 (6") size is perfect for reddie fishing, either an A5 (stainless sideplate) or B (graphite), the latter being a better option if you're hand-holding the outfit. There's no drag to speak of on either reel, just fingers and the skin of the palm, so every big red is a fish well earned. Not only are Alveys more effective than spin and overhead reels, they're simply more fun to use.

Team it up with a 2.4m (8ft) 'wash' rod with a low reel mount and you're good to go.

The only downside is hooking a stray tuna or kingfish; they stop being enjoyable a long time before they're at the boat.

'B' IS FOR BAITRUNNER

The Baitrunner function on a spin reel allows a fish to freely swim off with the bait before the angler engages the drag and sets the hook. This makes Baitrunner-style reels ideal for snapper fishing wherever the species is found. The Baitrunner was actually an Australian development, formulated by Shimano Australia's John Dunphy way back in 1988. From concept to the finished product hitting the shops took an incredibly short four months. Now everyone makes them, but the Shimano Baitrunner in its many forms is still the best.

'C' IS FOR CUTTLEFISH

Dead cuttlefish floating on the surface are a free, hardwearing and effective bait for a number of species. Snapper just love them, but before rushing in and scooping up a cuttlefish, approach carefully and check to make sure there's not a big red lurking directly underneath. Even if no one's at home, those mysterious peg-like bite marks in the cuttlie's body are now explained.

'D' IS FOR DEPTH SOUNDER

Learn to love your sounder. Turn the auto settings off and drive it manually. Play around with the sensitivity (gain) and all of a sudden you'll twig as to what snapper look like on the sounder. This can save many hours of fruitless fishing barren reefs hoping to lure the fish in with berley.

'E' IS FOR EARLY STARTS

If you're hitting inshore shallows, being on site before dawn can have a huge bearing on success. When you're fishing in just a few fathoms, stealth is the key, especially on still mornings. There should be no rattling anchor chain, no splashing anchor, and no dropping big sinkers on the floor of the boat. With not much water depth under the keel and often a thick bed of kelp on the bottom, this is sudden death fishing, so tighten those drag knobs up an extra turn and be ready to go hard.

The snapper usually go off the bite and drift into deeper water as the sun rises, maybe lingering a little longer if it's an overcast day. When spawning is in full swing though, they may throw caution to the wind and bite throughout the day.

If getting up in the chilly darkness is not your cup of tea, these same spots often fire just as well at dusk.

'F' IS FOR FLOATERS

A lightly-weighted or un-weighted pilchard, tuna strip or squid head being fed down a sparse berley trail while at anchor is the name of the game here. It's miles of fun and on the days when the snapper move up off the bottom and into the berley, it's literally a fish a cast.

'G' IS FOR GEL SPUN LINE

Gelspun or braided line in their many forms have made such a difference to all aspects of fishing. Thanks to their fine diameter and zero stretch for better bite detection, they're the ideal main line for floater or bottom bait fishing. The other good aspect of braid is that it lasts seemingly forever.

'H' IS FOR HOOKS

Snapper will swallow any hook that fits in their mouths, but some designs are better than others. Two or three hooks ganged together, or suicide or octopus hooks fished singly or snelled in pairs onto a leader have been a standard since snapper fishing was invented.

For a more flexible presentation, it's hard to beat two hooks linked by a swivel though. A number 10 barrel swivel will slip over the barb of a 3/0 Mustad 542 Viking hook (you may need to pinch the swivel eye slightly closed afterwards though), and then open the eye of the 4/0 with side cutters to take the other end of the swivel.