WHAT is it about snapper that makes catching the fish a high priority on our angling bucket-list?
Could it be the magnificent fighting qualities of snapper, together with the quality of the fillets in the kitchen?
Maybe the attractiveness of the fish itself, with the reds, crimsons and brilliant opal fleck that shines brightest as the fish leaves the water.
For you, it may be all of the above; or, for others, very different reasons to target snapper.
For me it is the excitement of anchoring, or drifting in and over snapper habitat, and the expectation that very soon I could be hooked up to a thumping great ‘reddie’.
Rock fishing for big snapper also generates the anticipation that the next cast could be the one that produces a whopper.
Interestingly, the first big snapper I saw landed was way back in 1975 fishing with a champion Graham Knott, off King Tommy, in front of the Fingal Outerlight.
It was shortly after sunrise on low tide that Graham’s rod buckled.
A mighty struggle resulted in a 9kg snapper, which was washed onto the rocks.
From that day I have been hooked.
There are many fallacies when it comes to explaining the bump that appears on the heads of some big snapper.
The scientific analysis is that the bump is caused by hyperostosis, which is a natural, non-cancerous overgrowth of bone tissue.
The knob generally occurs on the forehead or the snout. It is found on both male and female fish and is more common on big, mature fish.
The exact trigger is unknown, but it is known that it is not caused by injuries, diseases or the fish bumping their heads while feeding.
I have seen snapper well in excess of 10kg that do not have any bump at all.
By John ‘Stinker’ CLARKE
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