It has been said that a bad day fishing is better than a good day doing just about anything else; I say it quite often myself, anytime I can steal away for a few hours on the water. I have fished for everything from trout to bass, walleye to the big cats, and it is all great. But ocean fishing was a wakeup call to me; it has so much more excitement packed in it than inland fishing. I don't think it is just because the fish are bigger, though they are. It is also the Ocean - the way it looks, the way it moves under you and slowly obscures the land behind you, and Port Phillip Bay in particular is so gorgeous whenever I go there I want to stay.
Fishing is one of those things that, no matter how hi tech it gets, in the end it is still a person, a line and a fish. When the fish on the other end of the line is a snapper or a gummy the experience goes from simply great to unbelievable, and it is prime snapper time starting at the end of this month and stretching into next spring. The best way to experience this Australian treat is to get a charter boat, and one that knows the fish and the area where he operates is essential. To experience the best charter fishing in melbourne, BagOutFishing Charters launches from Port Phillip Bay in Melbourne, Westernport, Bass Strait and Portland, and they know all these areas extensively, and can guide you to the best spots depending on what is biting.
The boats are all excellent - the Bag Out boat is an 8 meter hardtop with twin 150 Evinrudes and fully loaded with the latest electronics. The fishing gear is well maintained, and all you have to bring along is sunscreen, the right clothing, drinks food and of course a fishing license. The equipment includes Penn, Shimano and Tiagra reels depending on your target fish, and all the bait is supplied as well. When it comes to the boating and fishing aspect of the trip, BagOutFishing has all the bases covered.
The snapper fishing charters now leave from Carrum three times a day, and a standard charter is 5 hours. Up to six people can go on one trip. There is something elemental about the Ocean, and often people who have had no interest in fishing quite suddenly get it; it is a way of tying our past directly to us, and it somehow manages to renew the soul even as the body is exercised. And with snapper and gummies, the body will be exercised. These fish are fighters, and there is little you can do that is more fun, except perhaps shark fishing.
We'll leave that to another day.
Want to stay out more than five hours? That can be arranged, just call the helpful staff at BagOutFishing Charters and they will arrange the perfect fishing voyage for you, tailored to what you want and to what is currently biting. They are experts at the Australian fishing game, and can guide you to action that will leave you wanting to come back for more.
When you go on any fishing trip you have to target the right fish. The last time we went charter fishing in melbourne for example, it was end of winter / spring so the best on offer was snapper fishing.