Need help

[Chad]

My first post of what is hopefully many. Looks like a great forum, with some awesome replies.
So I bought my first boat 8 mnths ago.

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Mainly fished around the northern end of the bay, drove down to to Queenscliff and caught a nice gummy in the channels down there. I managed to get a bit of fishing in on PPB before it got too cold. :water: Get used to the boat, find my feet etc....
This season I want to step it up a notch. Getting sick of the missus asking when I'm going to bring home some decent fish. :nicefish!: Only taken the boat out twice in the last couple of weeks, but no luck, hardly any bites
So. I'd like some help from your experienced PPB fishos.
Which areas should I concentrate on this time of year to get some good snapper? Should I spend a heap of time sounding for them? Am I wasting my time just dropping anchor if I haven't sounded any? How often do you guys spend sounding in one area? How many different types of bait do you normally take out with you when chasing snapper?
I normally use paternoster rigs with 4/0, 5/0 circle hooks.
I make my own burly and use a burly bomb.
I've just fitted a Vexillar SP-200 sonar and use it with Navionics app on the iPad.
Any help from you guys would be much appreciated. :cheers:

[bowl]

Hey mate around willy Altona for snapper .try n fish early morning or late arvo.
Also use a running sinker with tiny pea as size sinker...
Pilchards whole or half.
Squid mullet ect
I look for drop off more so then fish on sounder.

For flathead -squid ...drift .

Get reef anchor.

[Chad]

Cheers.
Hopefully get out this weekend and see how I go.
I always thought snapper feed a little off the bottom? With a running sinker rig, wouldn't the bait tend to stay on the bottom?
When I think drop offs I think of near vertical drop offs. I haven found any vertical drop off in the north. Or more so when the depth goes from 6 to 8m over a 50m stretch?

[bowl]

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In nth ppb there is no tide flow,a lot of blokes use no sinker,
.

[Chad]

Thanks bowl.
I'll try the rig setup you suggest on a couple of rods and see how that goes.
I'll have spend a bit of time searching for some good structured areas. I have an idea of the general areas.
Hey do you know what the water temp is up to at the moment?
The other week it was only 16oC

[bowl]

No idea.
Hopefully a member by the name nude up will give ya some of His secret spots...

[skuxliss]

Running sinker works good gives the bait more of a flow dynamic running with the current makes it more attractive. Whole Pilchard double hooks.

[Chad]

Yeah ok, I can understand that.
Thanks for tips.
Do you always use a running sinker rig for reds? Or sometimes have a paternoster rig soaking too?

[bowl]

I use both..
On snapper snatches I will put a chunk of salmon on n straight down over back of the boat .
Salmon are very bloody they act like burly n second great gummy bait.
What type of boat is it.

[Chad]

It's a 4.8m Kingfisher 1600 with a 60hp Mercury.