GETTING SET FOR SNAPPER
Rounding the breakwater at dawn we were greeted a slight breeze. I opened up the Yamaha and we powered off towards the still sea. This is the best moment of the day. The uncertainty of what lays ahead gets the adrenaline flowing and when it's snapper season in Melbourne, it's a feeling shared by many thousands of Victoria anglers as they go in search of these wonderful fish.
We followed the GPS and within 10 minutes were intently looking at the sounder for the gentle rise in the bottom that signified we were at the hump. The hump is a small hill of about 1.5 metres in an otherwise featureless part of the bay. With the tide running in we positioned ourselves up tide of the hump and let the anchor rope out so we were positioned about 20 metres away. This would allow for our cast baits to finish at the edge of it.
Once anchored I loaded the berley pot with bread, pilchards and tuna oil. It was crunched up and sent to the bottom, before lifting it up a couple of metres. Being a couple of metres above the bottom allows the up and down movement of the boat to disperse the scent and small morsels over a greater area. I then started cubing up some old pilchards and salmon, which had defrosted overnight, and each cube was dispatched every 30 seconds for 15 minutes.
Rods were loaded up
