Snapper - fishing when current slows

When fishing shallow water - as the tide or current slows, often so do the bites .

This is when you need to cover more area with each bait.Tie the usual snapper strayline trace you prefer.eg, 1m of 40lb line with a main hook and a keeper hook.

Attach the trace to your mainline with a swivel and bait with a whole fish or squid that is too big for a kahawai to swallow.  Drop your bait over the side and let out enough line to just bounce above the bottom. e.g 20ft water allow 18ft of line.loop a very thin rubberband around your mainline and pull it up tight. then tie on a balloon to suit the wind conditions.

A small waterballoon is ideal when windy. Retrieve your bait by hand and throw it away from the boat.The balloon will follow.  The balloon will hold the bait during the drift and a good bite will make the balloon move but it probably won't pop off.

Wind furiously and strike hard to compensate for extra slack line.  Don't worry when the balloon gets back to your rod-tip because the line will slide through the rubber band up to your trace.   As the balloon takes your bait with the current and wind you can slowly let out line to 100m or more so cover any structure in between and a whole squid or jack mackerel will also tempt kingies.

I have caught snapper to over 20lbs using this method especially over very foul ground when you are loosing gear on every cast.  This can be effective when wind is against tide as long as the wind is considerably stronger than the current.   In this scenario add a small sliding ball sinker to your trace so the bait doesn't lift off the bottom.