# Trolling Hardbodys For Snapper



## Marty (Mar 18, 2007)

When Mr Red got his big snapper at Depot beach last year on hardbodys , I was begining to ponder the use of hardbodys trolled for Snapper . I forgot about it for a while then Mr Paff goes and gets me all excited again with his hard body capture  
When you think about it , trolling for snapper in some areas makes a lot of sense - you cover so much ground, and have the ability to keep your lure in the strike zone all the time  
So a question what size lures would be suitable and would different colours and maybe a rattle fire them up ?


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## Marty75 (Oct 23, 2007)

I've only caught a small 38cm model trolling a Rapala CD9 minnow lure.

Oh yeah and there was also this monster caught in the Parramatta river 

Marty


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## paffoh (Aug 24, 2006)

Marty,

Lure has been confirmed as a Smilin' Jacks Deep 15, colour BM8 ( Sixth lure down, right hand side ) :

http://www.bassermillyard.com.au/ShowCo ... me=176.JPG

It has a wicked rattle but stock standard thick VMC hooks. I used it as I remembered Red had some luck on a similar lure, it looked like it would dive deep and also had never been swum before. I took similar lures but the golden colour seem to stand out in the clear water of Depot a little more than the standard Pilchard pattern. As mentioned before I believe the rattle, lure action, depth, colour and profile create an enticing prize any big fish cant resist, let alone an XOS Snapper.

I think I bought this from Big W or K Mart and although the snapper took one of its eyes, the lure remains undamaged.

Take this advice with a grain of salt mate, have a slight case of FIGJAM at the mo ( I am obviously an expert now! ).


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## ArWeTherYet (Mar 25, 2007)

I've caught up to 55cm ones on ecogear VX40 blades, up to 58cms on Predatek 40mm min min's up to 67 cm on cn70 Jackalls, 70 cms on Predatek sponbill 85 and a few on Flatratz 2. I prefer to use HB's over SP's for catching Snapper these days.

The trick is to get the lure as deep as possible, if your not getting snagged every so often you aren't going deep enough. Also slow usually works best in fact a long pause (30sec) seems to trigger off the most bites. Very few hits over 3km/hr.

I find the best colours to be bright ones especially bright green and yellow or elton john.


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## paulo (Nov 1, 2007)

Ive been using the smiling jacks minnow in Blue laser all year and everytime I let it out it snags some sort of tuna. It casts realy well and has an unusual wobly action that seems to work at yak speed. They are useless over about 5 knots from memory, which would explain why I towed it behind a stinker for years on and off and never caught a thing. I went out and bought the whole range at $7 each from the supplier. I think they are $9 in kMart. I would recommend them.

I have caught three good snapper so far off an xrap 20 red head. In the 10 to 15m of water Im usually fishing in they travel a perfect depth to entice inquisitive snapper up from below.

To be honest I dont think they are that fussy and will smack just about anything you tow a few metres down that takes their fancy.


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## RedPhoenix (Jun 13, 2006)

Unfortunately, due to the change in ownership of this web site and the lack of response by the owners to my requests to remove my email address from all administrative-level notifications and functionality, I have decided to remove my posts on AKFF. Thank you for the great times, the fantastic learning experiences and the many many fish. If you are desperate for the old content of this particular post, it is available below base64 encoded and bzip2 compressed.

Red.

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## radar (Nov 4, 2007)

Hey guys,i too have been thinking about this,are we talking in the range of 100mm to 150mm lure? something like slow deep diver bombers you would toss for jewfish.


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## RedPhoenix (Jun 13, 2006)

radar said:


> Hey guys,i too have been thinking about this,are we talking in the range of 100mm to 150mm lure? something like slow deep diver bombers you would toss for jewfish.


Sounds about right. About as big as your hand in length, with a big big on the front. Generally long and thinish.

Hang on.. I think I have a pic around here somewhere..









Red.


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## feel the sting (Aug 8, 2006)

Dave Rae, from modern fishing magazine did an article a couple of years ago on hard bodies for snapper. There may be some clues in there re techniques and areas to fish.

the sting


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## diabolical (Mar 30, 2008)

November 2006 issue of Modern Fishing.

Rec.lures: Green and gold Bombers, Storm Deep and Mid Thunders.

.Troll areas no deeper than 15m

.Try a range deep, mid, shallow lures.

.Vary speed with just enough to give the lure action.

.Work structure, reef tops and edges.

.Work bait schools and current lines.


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## blaggon (Jan 14, 2008)

rapala x-rap 20

14cm & has an unassisted trolling depth of 20ft. very well made lure and seems to be one of those lures that just catch a lot of fish..


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## Shorty (May 11, 2008)

Do you fellas remove the middle trebles (and any at the front )? i heard a saying the other day that the last hook catches the fish and the others catch the fisherman , makes sense to me on a small craft like a yak,less hooks flying around.

Us blokes in W.A will need to look into HB's for Snapper a bit more closer, looks like a good way of catching them 8)


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## lampukameister (Mar 7, 2008)

manns stretch 10 work ok.


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## hairymick (Oct 18, 2005)

Red,

Try an SX60 in green and gold colour. Work the ledges with a depth between 5 & 6 metres.

Your SX will be in the strike zone all the time and the snapper go nuts over em.

Rapala Fat Raps are nearly as good. 8)


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## Schultzy (May 8, 2008)

On the Sunshine Coast we are getting the bulk of our trolled snapper on either Spoonbills or Vipers. Trolling water from 4 to 20m we don't change lures, using the same ones regardless of the depth. Natural type colours have been working far better than fluoros. Barra blue has been the killer colour in the Spoonbills while Tarpon, Copperhead, Tango Violet, McSea and others in the Vipers have been nailing plenty of snapper up to 85cm.

As previously mentioned, slow is best. We clocked up 8km at 4.5 to 6.5 kilometres per hour without a strike. Slowed down to take some photos and hooked up. Trolling no faster than 3kph on the GPS has been producing.

Am planning to run some UD80 Boomerangs in 20m of water next time out just to see what happens.


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## madkeensam (Jul 27, 2008)

As AWTY said, bright colours and

getting them down deep are the way to go

for some nice snapper.


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## Shorty (May 11, 2008)

Well i spent a bit of time in BCF this arvo, very hard to find anything that runs deep until i found a Halco Laser pro 190xdd which runs at 7 metres plus,,the recomended trolling speed is 7 - 10 knots, whether it will stay in the strike zone at 3 kmh will remain to be seen i guess,,,,,,,,

I never saw any of the lures mentioned on here. 8)


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## Dogday (Apr 28, 2009)

Been reading with interest lately a few reports of guys on Pt Philip Bay having some success whilst trolling HB's for snapper and found this quite informative thread so thought I might rehash. I am fairly keen to have a crack,however I do have a couple of questions.I intend to troll around in depths of say 7 to 10 mtrs and wondered how much line should I have out, do I need to add weight at all ? Also I will buy a couple of lures for this purpose and with P.P.Bay in mind which colors,size or brand lure should I look at.Thanks in advance


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## RangiRocks (Mar 19, 2009)

Scotty from Hobie in mornington catches a lot this way.I saw his rig last week. He ties a small ball sinker about 1 metre from the lure on the leader to help it get down a little and then uses std bibbed divin lures, fishing in 8-12 metres I think.


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## DantheFishoMan (Apr 16, 2009)

Check out the latest copy of Yak Fisher. Scott Lovig has written a great article on this exact topic. Its titled "Snapper on Hardbodies".

http://www.afn.com.au/cms/details.asp?NewsID=114

Dan


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## Dogday (Apr 28, 2009)

DantheFishoMan said:


> Check out the latest copy of Yak Fisher. Scott Lovig has written a great article on this exact topic. Its titled "Snapper on Hardbodies".
> 
> http://www.afn.com.au/cms/details.asp?NewsID=114
> 
> Dan


Thanks Dan I have now subscribed. The handicapper isn't as grateful,says this kayak fishing is becoming an obsession. Like I didn't know that.


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## mattyp (Mar 7, 2008)

DantheFishoMan said:


> Check out the latest copy of Yak Fisher. Scott Lovig has written a great article on this exact topic. Its titled "Snapper on Hardbodies".
> 
> http://www.afn.com.au/cms/details.asp?NewsID=114
> 
> Dan


Great pictures in that article too! ;-) :lol:


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## Shorty (May 11, 2008)

Well this is an old thread revived,,these days the lures of choice in the West are the Halco Crazy deeps and Predetek Vipers for snapper,,gave the Rapalas a go ( ones mentioned in Scotts artilce) and they get the thumbs down for snapper,as far as we can work out they are designed for higher speed trolling than kayaks,,the rapalas are beautily crafted and well made but i reckon the Aussie lures out fish them 10 to 1 on Snapper. 8)


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## ArWeTherYet (Mar 25, 2007)

Shorty said:


> ,,gave the Rapalas a go ( ones mentioned in Scotts artilce) and they get the thumbs down for snapper,as far as we can work out they are designed for higher speed trolling than kayaks,,the rapalas are beautily crafted and well made but i reckon the Aussie lures out fish them 10 to 1 on Snapper. 8)


X2 on the Rapalas. Never seem to do real well with them and I'm always losing them to the rock monster. At 25-$30 a throw there are much better options. Mind you I have never caught any on the Vipers or Halcos. My favorites are the Predatek Spoon Bill (for summer, very slow troll.......murky water) and the Bomber Long A 10'-12' ( better in winter and can be trolled a little faster....clearer water).......but other lures will work. You need to find the right lure for the location.

As far as fishing goes I would rather catch snapper on SP's. There a lot more challenging, on SP's and it gives the fish a better chance of getting away. With a treble in there mouth they dont have much of a chance and dont fight as hard.


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