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What lure trolling for snapper ?

bennyh

By bennyh
in Saltwater

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Terry H Newbie

Terry H

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Realistically mate this question is open ended.

There is no single possible answer.

Where are you fishing?

We have found Predatek Vipers to be fairly efficient at picking up trolled snapper. But again, this is for where we fish.

I certainly wouldnt' say fish on the bottom as this wont always get you fish(no offence BTP). It all depends on the location, time and day. At one of the places I go kayak fishing, we're in 20 metres of water and will throw out 6" plastics on 1/8 to 1/4 oz. These plastics go no where near the bottom; nor are they intended to go anywhere near the bottom, rather mid water column at about 6-8metres is the target.

Why have I said all this you may ask?

Because each location is different.

Your best bet is to look at and read your sounder. That really is the key. You need to look at your water, your structure and see where the fish are and what they're doing.

Then, based on this you need to match your presentation with what they're doing. Its no good dropping a bottom bashing jig in 20 metres of water if they snapper are up feeding in the 6 metre range. Just remember, fish are more likely to rise to hit a lure than go down to hit it. Afterall, a lot of fish have eyes towards the top of their head, or sit lower down in the water column so that they can remain a bit more hidden from their prey, then rise up to hit them.

As for the specific trolling for snapper question. I wouldn't specifically troll for snapper. I troll on the way to my snapper fishing locations, and troll lures that quite often pick up a snapper; but I don't specifically troll for snapper.

Soft plastics and jigs are your best bets as you can drop these on the snappers heads and you'll pick up a lot more a lot quickly.

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justham Newbie

justham

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I have also got a few on the gold bomber.

A sounder is your best friend, You just have to match the lure with the depth. You don't want to be hitting the bottom and getting snaged but you also don't want to be too high either.

Never hurts to troll 2 lures at the same time at different depth, covers more water and finds out what they are hitting.

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dhess Newbie

dhess

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Contrary to popular belief snapper are usually well and truly up off the bottom when in feeding mode.

The other misconception is that patternosters are good rig as the sinkers used are called snapper leads. I can guarantee that if you fish offshore next to someone who is floatlining you will get outfished every time. Most snapper of any size will hit a bait on the drop.

On the point of trolling I have never trolled one up but have heard of them occasionally taking X-raps trolled over shallower reefs. To ctach them on trolled lures with any ind of regularity you would probably need to identify the fish on the sounder and what depth they are at and use a down rigger to keep your lure in the zone.

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tomca Newbie

tomca

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the only conditions I can reliably troll for Snapper are in under 8m of water and slim profile lures like sx40's. Deeper I would float a pillie with a small sinker or look for them on the sounder and drop some soft plastics down on them. Been a bit hit and miss with the blades, but probably just a confidence thing.

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toxic avenger Newbie

toxic avenger

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I only troll for snapper in my kayak as we generally travel at an optimum trolling speed and they are very quiet on the shallow reef areas that we fish at Redcliffe. I can't see that trolling for them in a powerboat would be as effective as the yaks have been becasue of the obvious difference in noise output over these shallow areas. I only ever troll on my way to and from specific marks that I like to fish, it is not my preferred method of targetting these fish, simply just another option whilst slowly travelling from spot to spot, if I was in a power boat I would simply put the throttle down and get to my next mark rather than fuss around trolling lures.

When I am trolling though I try and get my lures running to approximately 3/4 of the water depth I am fishing. For example we will use Redcliffe with a water depth around 6m, this matches up well with a lure that travels around the 4-4.5m range such as the 85mm predatek spoonbill which dives to 4.5m. This allows me to troll the lure within the bottom half of the water column but also stay relatively snag free. I also run a shallower lure at the same time and often my go to lure is an SX40. Both lures have caught fish in the same area and I have even had a double hookup once, so if the fish are there you're in with a shot. I do keep a close eye on my sounder also looking for bait schools or isolated fish arches and try and adjust the lure I'm trolling if I notice any sort of pattern emerging with the depth the fish are holding. We also stop and start a bit when trolling and this can trigger a strike at times with fish hitting the lure very shortly after you start paddling again.

kev

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toxic avenger Newbie

toxic avenger

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dhess wrote:

Contrary to popular belief snapper are usually well and truly up off the bottom when in feeding mode.

The other misconception is that patternosters are good rig as the sinkers used are called snapper leads. I can guarantee that if you fish offshore next to someone who is floatlining you will get outfished every time. Most snapper of any size will hit a bait on the drop.

Agree with this comment also. Snapper feed well off the bottom during the day but at night on the deeper reefs a bottom bashing patternoster is the go.

Kev

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Mr FeLiX Newbie

Mr FeLiX

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toxic avenger wrote:

dhess wrote:
Contrary to popular belief snapper are usually well and truly up off the bottom when in feeding mode.

The other misconception is that patternosters are good rig as the sinkers used are called snapper leads. I can guarantee that if you fish offshore next to someone who is floatlining you will get outfished every time. Most snapper of any size will hit a bait on the drop.

Agree with this comment also. Snapper feed well off the bottom during the day but at night on the deeper reefs a bottom bashing patternoster is the go.

Kev

Defianatley agree here. Most snapper I have taken came on floated baits for Tailor and Salmon. Only ever took one off the bottom

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Mr FeLiX Newbie

Mr FeLiX

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Sorry mate,

I posted just before and didn't answer the question at all.

I've seen a few snapper come on rapala magnums... I think they're called...in pillie colours or yakka lookalike colours.

Personally, i think gulp plastics or octa jigs would be the best bet to start off. More reliable way to fish and half the time you can leave these lines in the water in a rod holder and forget about them, only to have em go off a minute later

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Terry H Newbie

Terry H

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toxic avenger wrote:

dhess wrote:
Contrary to popular belief snapper are usually well and truly up off the bottom when in feeding mode.

The other misconception is that patternosters are good rig as the sinkers used are called snapper leads. I can guarantee that if you fish offshore next to someone who is floatlining you will get outfished every time. Most snapper of any size will hit a bait on the drop.

Agree with this comment also. Snapper feed well off the bottom during the day but at night on the deeper reefs a bottom bashing patternoster is the go.

Kev

My experiences are during day - bottom

early morning and late evenings they come up in the water column.

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