INFORMATION SUPPLIED BY CATCH PRO TEAM MEMBER, TOBIAS HURST

In Northern Tasmania, the water temp is still only clocking around 15 degrees. This has led to a slow past few weeks with the Snapper waiting for the water to warm up those last degrees. It’s not all bad however as water temps are rising – albeit slowly – which is bringing plenty of bait fish out, something that the hungry salmon just can’t resist.

Bass Straight

Tobias Hurst has been seeing some luck in the Bass Straight. Whilst there have been no reports of Snapper rearing their heads in the area yet, there is still a plethora of fish including Wrasse, Gurnard, Gummy Shark and Flat Head. The Squid are in, but have come through to spawn so are off limits for the time being.

Tips and Techniques

Jigging with soft baits has been seeing plenty of success, particularly in areas with some structure on the seabed or a leafy bottom. Tobias suggests anchoring around 50m away from where the fish are congregating, throwing the jigs into the area and then letting them drift down the burly trail, bouncing along the bottom with a slight twitch to make your bait look alive.

The 80gm Kabura and 28gm Squidwing White Warrior are both being particularly effective, especially when paired with a braided to fluro carbon leader. When using the 28gm Squid Wing White Warrior, you only really need to make tiny jigging movements, as the skirts have been designed to look alive just drifting in the current.