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I;m new to fishing & after some tips for targeting flathead from a boat around the Gold Coast. what sort & size hooks, what type of rig, whats the best bait, wheres the best places to fish ???????????????
Any advice & tips would be much appreciated.
Been a few big ones gettin caught around the seaway, live small poddy mullet hooked through the lip on a 2/o hook. pretty long and heavy trace. simple sinker ontop of the swivel rig will do.
done south in Jervis Bay we catch them from a boat with a paternoster rig (sinker on the bottom - couple of twisted loops above that with a hook on each loop) bouncing the lead along the bottom as we drift. Use to use 1/4 pound leads but they lift up off the bottom with very little wind and the mutton birds could dive fast enough to grab the bait. now use 1/2 pound leads and put out an Alby McCracken Para-anchor when the wind starts lifting the leads.
Usually we are using squid bits for bait, the bits we don't use for tucker, pillie bits to start with while the squid thaws. flathead meat from one you aren't going to eat is the best bait because it stays on the hook longer.
If they are hungry they don't seem too fussy re what the bait is. Lot of people are using soft plastics now to catch them successfully. I find the squid bits cheaper, cos the plastics get chomped up, and they aren't free like the squid.
you could alwas try soft plastics, ive caught alot of flatties on them, ure local tackle shop will help u pick the right ones 4 that area.
when ure out in the boat drift the edges of the banks with them, lifting slowly then droping, b sure to let the s/p sink to the bottom.
also if u can get near mangroves look 4 little creeks running in and flick ure s/p around the mouth of it, i prefere the going out tide, the flathead are usualy waiting 4 any baitfish at the mouth of the inlet.
if u dont want to try s/p then the old 3 gang with a pilly will work fine and still fish the same areas with them.
look 4 ripples at the surface were currents meet off sand banks ect, they tend to hang around there. and if u do get one keep working that same area, i have found were theres 1 theres more. good luck
Flatties have huge mouths so gangs with pillies work great! I live on the Pumicestone passage and the flatties are everywhere in there i just usually drift with a runing sinker rig with a lil bit of red tubing above a fair sized long shank hook using two live yabbiesa as bait. This way i pick up squire, tarwhine, bream, whiting and flathead. With Soft Plastics their also succsesful but it depends if your patient enough to stick with them, because a lot of people that are new to fishing have a few casts and then put it down because they dont get hits. Anyways hope this helps!
You can catch poddies around sandy banks and weedbeds by berleying them up with bread and fishing a tiny hook and bread bait in the 'frenzy'. Or, you can set a fish trap which retails for around 10dollars and you tackle shop can give you advice on how to use that.
I don't live on the Gold Coast so i don't no if cast nets are illegal or not, but I hear they are very effective.
Matt
chasing flatties on soft plastics is heaps of fun and very rewarding. on the gold coast, a great place to try is the northern weed beds of crab island. concentrate on the deep edges of the weed beds on the run out tide in this area. the local tackle shops will set you up with sp's - single (curly) tails are easiest to use and best to start with
There are a couple of techniques I use when fishing sp's for flatties. Most common one is to cast out and let the lure sink to the bottom, wait a few seconds then give the the rod tip a couple of sharp flicks (to lift the lure off the bottom about 1 metre) then let it drop, wait a few seconds, and repeat all the way to the boat. This is most common in more than a metre of water.
In shallow water, a more sedate method is better - often just a slow rolling technique.
Most important with sp's is to make sure the plastic is on dead straight - to test this, free spool the lure beside the boat and make sure it drops straight down and doesn't spin. The other most important thing is to make sure your lure is on the bottom. In deeper water or more where there is more current you will need to go to a bigger jighead. If you do have a flattie on and you lose it, quickly free spool the lure to the bottom and then give it a few twitches. They often jump straight back on the lure.
If you are still unsure PM me and I might be able to meet you on the water one day and we can have a bit of a fish together - although at the moment I am chasing Jacks so I am keeping odd hours!
Mike
I've had a fair bit of success around Kalinga Banks near at Jumpinpin if you want to go for a bit of a drive in the boat. Baits, plastics and trolling small dark coloured minnows will usually brain them around there. Plenty of dinner size and usually a big momma (to be released of course). Weekends can get a bit packed with families but it is still a great spot.
Saw the berkley video a while back (ideal for those who aren't that good at plastics like me) with the freak in it and saw a technique he used. He wiggled the rod tip while slowly winding the plastic over the bottom (with the odd flick), looks like a really injured baitfish and holds the bottom to be in the face of the flathead. Tried it a few days later and it worked on a few flathead in the lower moreton bay area. Easiest way for a beginer would be to drift with the already mentioned baits because there is less to worry about and they work pretty well.
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