The reefs from Birubi north to Seal Rocks have produced big snapper since the early 1900s when coastal traders would drift off Broughton Island with the crew dropping a line over the side.
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The anchor was quickly dropped when the snapper bite was fiercest.
Smart, old commercial fishermen like George Todd took a mental picture of these “hot spots” and returned when the trader moved on.
Excellent reefs including Mungo and the Inner and Outer Gibber were discovered by this method.
It was not uncommon for George to pull up to eight snapper at a time.
“Depended on how many hooks you set down the line” George recalled.
These days the process of finding snapper reefs is much simpler with the use of depth sounders and GPS marks.
Salt Ash champion Nathan Bright chased snapper off Seal Rocks and returned with a 9 kilogram thumper.
I spent the last couple of weeks sailing a support vessel for a group of kayakers in the Dampier Archipelago off the WA coastline.
Some of this area is barely touched, and the fishing was ridiculous.
Catching enough fish to feed the eight paddlers was a simple exercise.
