flatthead on sp's

[younstar]

can i have some advice on flatthead on sp's i just recently had a mate catch a flatthead on hardbodied lure and would like to top his flathead with a sp

[JT]

G'day Younstar,

Flathead would have to be the best fish to start fishing for on SP's, they are greedy and not usually that fussy on which lure they will take. If you put a well presented plastic in front of a flatty they'll eat it.

Any SP will catch flatties, to start with I recommend you use 3 or 4 inch plastics, either shads, curl tails or fish profiles as these will have their own action as you retrieve them, stick baits need you to impart action on them. Best colours would have to be pink or green, with balcks and browns a close second.

With jig heads, the Squidgy ones are OK, just use the heavy gauge ones, as far as weights go you'll need to fish to the conditions like water depth and current strength, the more of both the heavier you'll need to go.

The retrieve that works best for me is the three lift method - cast out and let your SP sink to the bottom, once its there, do three sharp lifts of the rod tip, let the lure sink again and wind in the slack line. Keep repeating this back to you. Most of the time the flatty will hit the lure on the drop and when you go to lift again you'll feel weight.

As far as spots go, try the edges of weed beds, drops offs, canal mouths, river mouths. Run out tide is usually best but we have caught them at all times.

This is only a really brief description, grab the Squidgy videos as there's some good stuff on there, or better still hook up with someone who knows their stuff, nothing beats watching someone else in action.

Anyway, hope this helps.

Cheers

John

[jim_bream]

Gidday youngie,
I moved over here 4 years ago and the first fish I caught was a flattie- On a Tsunami 4" SP!!
JT has quite succinctly summed up all there is about fishing for flatties. They are a predatory ambushing fish that what for something unaware to come swimming by and then BANG!! Plus they'll scavenge anything that was once alive.. A mate of mine said that sometimes a flattie take is like getting snagged, but as soon as the ol' lizard feels you on the other end of the line - then the fun begins. The great thing about flatties is that a) they are found practically all around the coast. b) you don't need a boat and fancy kit to chase flatties. c) a free feed if you make the legal size [bearing in mind spawning season and sex of the fish- you DON"T keep a fat female in spawning season]
Look for areas that will provide ANY sort of cover, (weedbeds, snags, downed tree, steep sides of channels or even a shallow sandbank. In winter i find the shallow water warms up quicker, making Mr. Flattie a tad more active and as a result will eat more. I like fishing the bottom of a low tide, just as it starts to come in. The flattie will be drawn in by smaller fish searching for fresh food on the newly submerged sand, as worms and molluscs come out for a feed of their own.
The Berkley DVD with Adam 'Mad Dog' Royter called 'Berkley Soft Plastics' is worth getting a copy of. Most tackle shops have a deal where you get a tackle box with SP's and the DVD for about 35 bucks. Well worth the wonga ($$$) and it'll train you to think differently when fishing SP's as it is a completly new technique to most other forms of fishing- and technique only pays off when you practise, try alternatives and experiment- hopefuly catching as you go.
Now is the best time to get into soft plastics- the bream and flattie are firing- finding them is the other trick! Also, some of the sports stores around town are unloading CHEAP Sp's after stocktake for the end of Fin. Year. (I am ONLY ever buying fishing gear at the end of Fin. Year Sales)
Oh, don't forget ebay, heaps of Sp's - just put Berkley in the search field.
Happy fishing and tight line/ braid.
BY THE WAY- NEVER HOLD A FLATTIE BY THE GILLS- they have a very sharp little spike on the gill plate that'll leave you in real pain if it gets you.... I speak from experience! (Met a nice nurse tho!)