Well it got to 1/2 time on the footy and with the eagles already with a game winning lead and with the wind sitting at about 5knts at OR I made the decision to go for a quick snapper bash.   Went outside to hook the boat up and it started to rain pretty hard.   not a good sign ....checked the radar after 20 mins and all looked clear so off I went. Went out to three mile to an area I have fished recently with mixed success (few undersize and just size snapper).   Decided  to go slightly north of my previous spots and follow a channel of sand which drops to about 12m but which has Bombies running along both sides. After working out the drift and failing a few times (the wind swung to the east, a south weat swell and a northerly current) I ended up anchoring in about 8m and then drifting until I was pretty much in the channel before tieing off.   I started to throw a few cushed mulies and pellets into the water and within seconds  the skippy were going bananas. Caught a few on my 6/0 snelled mulie rig .   The swell was pumping which was painful but the absence of any wind made it otherwise ok.   All went pretty quiet until just after sunset when one reel screamed and with all the head shaking I knew it was a big snapper. I probably got a bit excited and tightened the drag too much and about half way into the fight the hooks pulled.   No sooner had I rebaited and got the line back in the other rod took off. Same thing - big run and lots of head shakes.   Having learnt my lesson I was softer on the fish and got to about 3/4 of the way through the fight and the hooks pulled again. I knew I had lost two prize  fish!   Next cast ....on again but the dead weight was a giveaway.   A big ray which I cut off close to the boat. For the next ten minutes I had that sinking feeling that I was going to go home empty handed and then the reel screamed again.   After a decent fight a nice 650mm pinkie came on board.   This fight was nothing compared to the two I lost so I suspect they were biggies.   This one was caught on 7/0 octopus circles which I put on after cutting off the ray.   The hooks that pulled were 6/0 octopus so I will continue to use the circles in future and see if that makes a difference to catch rates. So happy with my snapper but that feeling of what could have been has annoyed me all day. But hey that's fishing. Hope to get out again this week!