Reefing in the snapper amid tide change bliss

Swinging off the neaps this weekend, the tides look likely to set the bluewater alight with both pelagic and reef fishing mania.

Cody Grosvenor with his first Darwin Harbour saddletail snapper

Swinging off the neaps this weekend, the tides look likely to set the bluewater alight with both pelagic and reef fishing mania.

It’s one of my favourites – water clarity with a bit of run, best of both worlds.

The only uncertainty lies with the winds which have been real hard to pick this week.

One minute it’s bliss, the next it’s swung the arvo northwesterly with vigour.

Nonetheless, you can always find somewhere hidden away to catch a fish, particularly in the harbour arms and including Bynoe.

On the calm days, Dundee Beach has been electric for mackerel, tuna and sailfish action this season.

Local grounds off East and Lee Points proved to be holding those nice Spaniards again and as a result, plenty of fiery images have popped up of quality fish being pushed at the camera.

Sessions around The Bottlewasher have netted up to four or five macks per crew fishing the spring high tide change, with both drifted pilchard and Gulp Nemesis plastics used on the cast working well.

Reef fishing has also been great, the harbour producing some of the best snapper I’ve seen for a long while.

Good catches of golden snapper have come in patches from Lorna and Fenton during night sessions and jewfish to 20kg have shown, both at the mouth of the Adelaide River and around our harbour wrecks.

Anson Bay proved the goods last week with one crew nailing a 112cm barra AND a 20kg-plus jewfish!

With a little more humidity in the air now, it won’t be long until the barra start to get frisky inland.

Shady, 4 Mile, Corroboree and Hardies should be on the cards for that one, and the tackle box should contain weedless plastics, shallow minnows and surface walkers at the very least.