Flathead on soft plastics

JUMPINPIN Bo Sawyer

Flathead would have to be one of the most commonly targeted fish for Aussie anglers. So much so, we’ve adopted countless nicknames for these wonderful fish – crocs, lizards, flatfish, shovels, dogs (get the dogs!) and my personal favourite ‘mud marlin’. It doesn’t matter what you call them they’re available all year round, can be caught on any tide, choices. They can be used in most areas and are easy to learn. • A slow raise is simply lifting your rod tip up and winding in the slack as you lower it back down. • Double hops are two quick lifts of the rod tip and once again lowering the tip back down while winding in the slack line.

Another important step on the retrieval is to pause the lure – allow your plastic to sink back down to the bottom. This is when you will get most of your hits, the hook to penetrate the flathead’s mouth.

It’s really that simple and the results can be incredible. It’s not uncommon to catch 20-30 fish in a single session, although it can take a bit of practice to get up to these numbers.

Now that we’ve explained the basics of flatty flicking, let’s get into some specifics.

LURE SELECTION

You could ask 100 anglers this question and get 100 different answers. Everyone has their favourites

The author out fishing on the Quintrex Hornet Pro. Plenty of casting space definitely has its benefits.

and are great fun to chase on plastics!

I was lucky enough to test out Quintrex’s new 481 Hornet Pro and couldn’t help but head straight to the flats and start flicking for these awesome fish!

GETTING STARTED

First things first, rub some scent on your plastic. This will attract more bites and fish will hold onto the plastic longer, giving you a better strike rate. We’ll go over where to cast later in the article.

After you cast, there are a few ways to retrieve your plastic – you can flick, slow roll, raise or hop the plastic using your rod tip. I find different retrieves will outperform others on any given day. At the start of the session I will switch it up until I notice one that is working better: • When I’m fishing areas with a lot of weed I tend to use aggressive flicks, this can help remove any weed stuck on your plastic/hook (flathead won’t hit a lure with weed on it). • A slow roll (slow wind) can be effective when fishing a sandy or muddy bottom but is a bad choice when weed is present as it’ll collect a lot of it. • Single raises and double hopping are my favourite and a pause of 1-3 seconds works well. When flathead are biting hard I’ll leave less of a pause so I can fish quicker and cover more ground, but if they are a little quiet I’ll slow it down and wait 3 seconds.

Lastly, the strike! There are a few subtle methods you can adopt here. You can they swear by but for anyone who’s getting started don’t stress too much. There are plenty of proven plastics that work really well.

Let’s start with size. I catch 95% of my flathead using 3.5-5” lures. I will generally start off at 4-5” and if I’m getting a lot of short strikes (the fish

A high level drain that’s just about to empty out. Flathead will be waiting in the deeper water to ambush any prey that gets pushed off it.

strike as soon as you feel a hit or allow the flathead a second to get it down its gob. I have a higher hook up rate when giving them that extra second but you need to have scent on your plastic for this to be really effective. Just remember a firm hook set is needed for are hitting the tail of my plastic not up near my hook) drop down a size. If the barometer is low I’ll even drop down to 2.5”, I find that the fishing is much tougher in these conditions and a smaller bait is more likely to get pounced on when there’s added pressure on the flathead’s stomach.

There are also a few styles to consider. Paddletails are my favourite but curly tails, jerk shads and shrimp imitations are great as well (again, every angler is different). I’ll fish the shrimp style when the fish aren’t very active. Then paddle-tails, jerk shads and curly tails when they’re biting hard.

So what colours should we be looking at? As a rule of thumb you want natural looking colours in clear water and bright or dark ones in dirty water (darker plastics will create a silhouette and are more noticeable in murky water). There are days when this gets thrown out the window but most of the time it The author with a decent fish caught in less than a foot of water. It’s amazing how shallow you can find them.

Benno with a nice flathead he caught casting plastics along a sand bank edge.

rings true. Ultimately the best colour is what they are hitting on the day and I’ve seen concrete evidence that a change in colour (when you find the right colour) can instantly improve the amount of hits you get. So if one thing isn’t working try something different. JIG HEADS

Jig heads are just as important as the plastics you choose. If you’re not keeping your offering on the bottom, chances are you won’t catch anything. Use too much weight and you’re left with a presentation that looks clunky and unnatural.

When fishing shallow (0-2m) I like to use 1/4oz jigheads, they are still heavy enough to cast well yet won’t sink too quickly. When working deeper drop offs (2-4m), 3/8oz will help you stay on the bottom much more easily. Lastly, when I’m fishing in deeper water (4-18m) that has more current, I’ll jump up to 1/2oz weights. The important thing to remember is to continually keep your plastic on the bottom while using the lightest weight possible.

Hook size will depend on the size of the plastic you’re using. The most common size used is 3/0, if you’re using a smaller plastic you can drop down to 1/0 or 2/0. Flathead have big mouths so there’s no need to go any smaller than that. In fact when I’m using bigger plastics I’ll opt for a 5/0 so there’s good hook exposure with the larger profile.

FISHING GEAR

When fishing for flathead 8-12lb is going to cover almost every situation you’ll face. I base nearly all of my outfits, braid and leader around these numbers.

For reels I like using 2500 series and you want the smoothest drag your budget can afford. High gear models are also a great option when fishing shallow as big flathead will often hit their prey and swim straight into deeper water (if you’re fishing in a boat, that’s usually straight towards you). If you don’t wind in the slack and strike quickly enough, it can be all over in an instant.

Graphite rods with a medium-heavy action are ideal to ensure good hook penetration when striking. With a rod length of 6’10-7’ being the weapon of choice for most gun anglers.

When fishing in deeper water or areas with a lot of structure you might need to up the ante with 15-20lb

gear. Casting 1/2oz jigs on lighter rods can also damage them over time so check the casting weight rating of your rod and use a slightly heavier setup when needed.

For your mainline use braid, this will help you feel even the subtlest of bites. For the leader you want roughly a rod’s length worth of fluorocarbon at the business end – don’t use any more than this as your leader will fray on the joining knot. YouTube braid to leader if you haven’t had experience using these before, I like FG knots but choose one you feel comfortable with.

TIDE AND PLACES

A couple of hours either A perfect drain. With large sand banks present, this drain will funnel a lot of baitfish on the low tide and flathead along with it.

A perfectly presented plastic. You’ll be able to do this in your sleep after some practice. The more you do it, the better you get. side of the low are great times to chase flathead. As water comes off sand banks, fish have no option but to retreat into deeper water. This creates a great bite period, as all the fish that had previously been spread out over the sand banks are now concentrated along drop offs.

On the last of the outgoing, focus your efforts on shallow drains. It’s not uncommon to see flathead skimming the surface with their fins out of the water smacking baitfish at this time of the tide. The trick here is to keep your plastic just high enough off the bottom to avoid the weed.

The higher tide can be a little more tricky but can still produce hot bites. My favourite areas to target are the edges of mangroves that are holding baitfish and also weed beds that have sandy patches through them. Fishing deep is also a great option on the high, especially around springtime when the bigger females are more active.

In between tides I always like flicking at higher level drains. These are just drains that empty out earlier in the tide and are typically located on islands rather than sand banks. The great thing about these drains is that you can fish them effectively in a short period of time and quickly move onto the next one. Once you’ve found an island holding a high level drain there’s usually plenty more on the same stretch so you can fish several drains in a very short time. BOAT SETUP

If you’re lucky enough to have a boat or looking to buy one then here are few things to consider on the set up/lay out of your biggest fishing asset.

A big casting deck is ideal. The Quintrex Hornet Pro I took out for this article has this in spades. A massive casting deck up the front and a smaller one located on the back of the boat. Having plenty of casting space will definitely make your day more enjoyable.

Some good storage is definitely handy as well. The less clutter you have in the boat, the more room you have to operate. There’s been so many times when I’m trying to land a big flathead against the current, cast ahead and work your lure back towards the boat. This will look far more natural than a lure working against the current.

GET OUT THERE AND

HAVE A CRACK!

There’s no substitution for hands on experience so get

Fishing the deep can pay dividends during the warmer months.

only to have the net caught up on rods, lures and my tackle bag.

Electric motors, such as a Watersnake or Minn Kota, make an enormous difference out on the water as well. You can control your drift much easier and stay in position more effectively when you’ve found the fish. You can also slowly motor out there and start flicking. I guarantee any one who spends a bit of time casting plastics will be hooked and astonished with the results. • If you have any questions or would like to see footage of some flatty action feel free to check out ‘The Bobo Boat’ on Facebook or Instagram and I’ll be more than happy to help.

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