MYALL Coast anglers have been wrangling giant snapper in local waters this summer.

The most recent was a 4.91kg snapper snagged by Vaughan Dorahy, caught during the Tea Gardens Country Club Fishing Club’s weekend fishing competition, from Friday 14 March to Sunday 16 March.

For reference, some varieties of snapper can be as small as 600 grams, while the rare monsters have weighed in at several kilograms.

“This is a good-sized snapper, they can be from 300mm long to bigger, and this is one of the biggest in a while,” said the club’s Heather Vaughan.

The Tea Gardens Country Club Fishing Club hosts monthly outings, during which participating anglers attempt to plumb and reap the bounty of any surrounding waters.

“During these outings, anglers can go to all fishing spots around the area, there are no boundaries – up the river, down the estuary, in the bay, out at sea,” Heather explained.

“As you can see, they can be monstrous in size and beautiful eating… which is a huge bonus.”

The supreme snapper beat out the catches of 22 other Fishing Club anglers participating in March, with 14 fishermen and women weighing in at the Country Club at 3pm on Sunday.

Chris Ross, another avid angler with the Fishing Club, caught a snapper weighing in at 5.26kgs at the 10-12 December outing, proving that the big ones are out there, and not quite getting away, either.

By Thomas O’KEEFE