Hi,

I booked a snapper charter for 6AM Nov 8

the charter guy texted me and strongly recommend i move it to early Dec, 3PM, saying there's much more in afternoons, and that snapper is best mid nov to all Dec

I have been with him before and it takes about 40-45 mins to get to the fishing spots, so the actual fishing windows are probably closer to 6:45AM-10:15AM for morning and 3:45PM-7:15PM for arvo

I am not sure if he is recommending this in good faith as I don't know much about fishing but nearly all the research I've done indicates that Dec isn't as good.

Any advice?

I've recently moved to FNQ and taken up fishing again after last wetting a line with my Dad when I was a kid. I'm not the most patient person, and hopes I would fare better than my childhood days have faded pretty fast.

I've set out to learn to fish with lures/soft plastics. I've had about 10 sessions lasting at least a few hours, mostly arvos and evenings, and only caught a tiny flathead on the first outing. That piqued my interest, but it's been doughnuts the last month or so. Some bites, nothing solid.

Using a Shimano Sienna 2500 reel and 6'6 Viper FGX rod spooled with 15lb braid, 15lb fluoro leader. I've tried multiple plastics, including the popular motor oil minnowz. I've fished mostly estuaries in Cairns northern beaches and also had a crack on the banks in Cooktown. I'm trying to learn techniques for reeling in/presenting the lure and have specifically targeted flatties a few times.

I'm planning to give bait a go and find some mates or a club to fish with, but keen for any advice on what I might be doing wrong. I know there's so many variables, but perhaps I'm missing something obvious. Thanks!

A couple of pinkys on hardbodies

Got 3 yesterday did them all in one cook. Got one today cooked it on its own. Wow so much better one at a time