Tournament-tempo offshore fishing eats a lot of mid-week energy. After running the Australian International Billfish Tournament chasing black marlin, Sammy Hitzke — one of the most prolific Australian fishing YouTubers in the offshore space — flipped the script entirely the next time the Mighty Mojo left the ramp.
"Last time you would have seen us on this boat, we were chasing black marlin in the Australian International Billfish Tournament. Today we're doing the exact opposite," Hitzke told viewers. "What are we doing, mate? We're targeting snapper. In fact, anything tasty to put a few fillets in the esky side."
Long-time fishing partner Shaun O framed the day in even simpler terms.
"We are filling eskies catching a feed."
The tackle layout on the Mighty Mojo wasn't your standard bottom-bashing kit. Jig rods, float-lining outfits, spin rods and trolling gear all sat ready, with the wind forecast threatening to ramp up by lunchtime — so the trolling gear was rigged in case marlin or wahoo showed up on the way home.
"There's more rods in here than most tackle shops," Hitzke laughed. "But like we always say, better be looking at them than looking for them."
The original game plan was live bait. The bait fish weren't cooperating.
"We didn't have a great deal of success getting livies, guys. Found some bait, but it's not biting, which is probably a good sign because there's some bigger targets sitting there with it."
"Got some leftover marlin baits. The old slimy mackerel."
The first snapper of the session came on a slimy on a float line — a no-weight or near-no-weight presentation drifted down on the tide. It set the tone for the morning.
"Turns out they like a slimy. Just a bit harder to hook."
For any newer angler reading this and wondering whether float-lining is still relevant in an era of slow-pitch jigs, soft-vibes and inchiku rigs, Hitzke's answer in the video was unambiguous.
"Just a good feed of snapper floating some pillies down. It's about as cool as fishing gets in my opinion. Bread and butter."
When the current picked up and float-line presentations stopped reading clean, he switched to a 150 g jig outfit rather than persisting on a method the conditions had already broken — a small detail that separates anglers who fish methodically from anglers who burn an entire morning trying to make the wrong rig work.
With the bite firing through the morning and pearl perch and snapper queueing up over a good piece of structure, the comparison to the marlin trip was unavoidable.
"Tell you what, it makes you think twice about the old marlin fishing when it's going like this. We're chasing eaters, not trophies. Although we will accept a trophy."
The Mighty Mojo session ended with a catch-and-cook on coals — a finishing move that has become a deliberate Hitzke signature on the mid-week feed videos. The wider lesson though is one any angler chasing reef eaters in 2026 should pin to a fridge: when the marlin tackle gets put away and the float line comes out, the hit rate of memorable fish per session jumps measurably.
A 150 g jig and a packet of pilchards — set against the cost of a full marlin spread — is one of the most efficient feed-fishing kits in Australian sport fishing right now.