Supplied by Catch Pro Team Member, Ben Pinniger

Spring is finally upon us, and that buzz isn’t bees, it’s 50-thousand excited fisherman coming out of hibernation.

Spring means snapper season in Melbourne and with our first few days over 20-Celcius, the snapper are heating up too.

They will filter into Port Phillip Bay and Western Port over the coming weeks in increasing numbers before spawning in late November.

There have been a few notable captures towards the tops of both bays already. By mid-October, the season will be in full swing with 1000s of anglers, land-based and kayak anglers chasing the “Big Red”.

I went looking Sunday afternoon for a few hours and despite not seeing any snapper was very pleased with a few gummy-shark as by-catch.

The top technique was the Catch Stingaz jigheads, baited with cut bait. In the muddy water of Western Port, it’s the smell rather than the visual for the fish until it cleans up a bit.

In truth, this technique couldn’t be simpler. Tie it on, cast it out, let the current do the work.

Keep an eye on the Barometer while planning upcoming trips. 1015 to 1025-bar tends to be the best bite range. If its lower than this the snapper bite tends to shut down and it can be a wasted trip.

The team looks forward to seeing lots of pics of some great captures in the following weeks.