Page 18 - Bush 'n Beach Fishing Magazine

STips on releasing snapper safely
NAPPER are well species well suited to This significantly re- Release weights are Steps:
known for being catch and release fish- duces the risk of inter- the preferred option 1.Remove the barb one of our most ing. nal injury from deep when releasing snapper, from the stainless steel
popular sport and table DPI research indicates hooking, meaning the to avoid barotrauma. hook using a metal file.
fish.
As all keen ‘red-
high survival rates for released snapper, even those caught out of deep water.
fish you release have in- creased survival rates.
Department of Pri- mary Industries advises against venting or ‘nee- dling’ snapper for re- lease due to the risk of the fish suffering either serious internal injury or infection.
2.Lay the hook on the sinker, with the hook shank finishing at the top of the sinker.
die’ fishos know, these prized inshore sportfish fight hard, look amazing and taste great!
Key to snapper surviv- al are minimising hook damage and getting the fish back to depth as quickly as possible.
It’s much the same with circle hooks when bait fishing, either drift- ing ‘floater’ baits back in a berley stream or fishing the bottom with a paternoster rig.
3.Use a small screw and secure the hook to the sinker (you may have to drill a small pilot hole).
These days more and more anglers are choos- ing to release a few or all of their snapper – es- pecially the bigger fish.
The good news is that recreational fishers can do both of these things simply and easily.
Circle hooks are be- coming increasingly popular among die-hard snapper specialists, not only because they re- duce hook injury but be- cause they provide such a solid hook-up.
Commercially made release weights are available to purchase, but they are easy and cheap to make yourself.
4.Use two cable ties to secure and strengthen the hook position to the top of the sinker.
If you choose to re- lease snapper after you’ve caught enough for a feed, or because you’re into catch and re- lease sportfishing, here are a few tips to max- imise the survival of the fish you release.
Number one is to tar- get snapper either with lures or use circle hooks if you’re fishing with bait.
Circles are designed to hook fish securely in the corner of the mouth, which is a far more se- cure hook-set than that offered by a traditional ‘J’ style hook, often lodging in the soft tissue inside the fish’s mouth or throat and can easily pull out.
Follow these simple step-by-step instruc- tions and set yourself up with a do-it-yourself release weight to max- imise survival of your released snapper!
5.Attach heavy mono filament of 80-100lb, Venetian blind cord or similar to the bend of the hook, about 25-30m of line should suffice – hand spool will help keep line tidy and tangle free.
The first think to un- derstand is that snap- per are a highly resilient
Lures – be they soft plastics, jigs or hard- bodied divers – tend to hook fish in and around the mouth area.
DIY release weight
When you’re releasing a snapper with a release weight, place the barb- less hook in its jaw, get it in the water and let the weight of the sinker take the fish back to depth.
You will need:
• 1 large snapper sinker – minimum of 16oz (450g) up to 40oz + (1130g) for larger fish
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Circles are definitely the go-to when targeting snapper on bait.
• 1 long shank 7/0 stainless steel hook
You’ll often find the fish releases itself once it gets down, but a quick upwards jerk of the line is sometimes required.
Your local tackle shop will have a good range of quality circles on dis- play.
• 1 small stainless steel screw (must fit through the eye of the hook)
Go for quality non-off- set models in sizes 6/0- 8/0 when using larger baits like whole pillies or big fish strips, and sizes 3/0-5/0 when us- ing smaller baits such as squid strips.
• 2 cable ties.
Remember to let the fish hook itself – you don’t need to strike when using circles.
The second key to ef- fectively releasing snap- per is to carry and use a release weight, especial- ly when targeting snap- per in depths of more than 10m.
Page 18 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020
This simple yet highly effective tool allows you to easily get your re- leased snapper back to depth, negating or mini- mising any problems associated with baro- trauma.
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