If there was ever a fish that is perfect for the everyday fisherman it has to be flathead
Somewhat prehistoric in appearance flathead won’t win any beauty pageants but what they miss out in looks they more than make up for in other areas: They are prolific throughout coastal and estuarine waters right around Australia but, best of all, the are easily caught from the shore, headlands, piers, beaches or a boat; making them possibly the most accessible species in the country.
It may surprise many of you to know that there are more than 40 species of flathead, although only a couple are of interest to anglers, namely the dusky, sand and blue spots. The dusky flathead, or ‘duskies’ as they are commonly called, is the biggest member of the flathead family and is believed to grow in excess of 14kg. Having said that, a trophy-sized dusky is just a metre in length and half that weight. All big duskies are female and at a metre in length are more than eight years old and as a result anglers always release the larger ones.
Irrespective of the species, all fl athead share the same characteristic: they are bottom-dwellers that conceal themselves in the sand or among the weed waiting patiently to ambush prey. With the ability to match the colour of their skin to their surroundings, fl athead can blend in to the point where they are almost completely invisible.
When prey, be it baitfish or a prawn, comes within striking distance they explode out of cover with lightning speed and strike. Their method of attack relies heavily on the element of surprise to succeed.
With this in mind flathead are easy to catch, which is why they are so popular with anglers. Bait fishing is the most common method employed and can be utilised in most situations. There is no need for complicated rigs when catching flatties, in fact, just thread a sinker on the line, tie a hook to the end and you are ready for action. Although a simple upgrade to single hook with a short trace joined to a swivel with a running sinker will boost your strike rate considerably. A popular variation of this is to add a three-way swivel onto the main line above the sinker and add a second hook, which doubles your chances, especially when drifting.
When dealing with a big gob it makes sense to employ larger hooks like wide gape or suicide in sizes from 3/0 to 7/0. The hook should match the bait as opposed to the flathead, so a live yakka will suit a 5/0 or larger while a pilchard tail fits perfectly on a 3/0. While on the subject of bait I should add that flathead are opportunistic and everything from fish fillets to prawns, squid and even crabs will all work; live or dead. One of the best all-round baits that are easily obtainable is the West Australian pilchard, which catches flathead anywhere and everywhere.
Dead baits are good but if you want to catch big dusky flathead, particularly in the estuaries, then use live baits. Small poddy mullet are plentiful in estuarine waters right around the country and are like candy for big dusky flathead. Baitsized mullet can be easily caught with small traps or by fishing with a tiny size 16 hook on a hand line. One of the best places to try for bait is around launching ramps or fish cleaning tables where there is a constant supply of berley to attract mullet. The bait can be kept alive for a few hours in a bucket with the aid of a small 12-volt aerator.
The best rig for live baiting is a small ball sinker running down to a barrel swivel and then 40cm of trace joined to a single wide gape or suicide hook. Don’t use two hooks because the added weight of the second hook will impede the bait’s swimming action and cause it to spin unnaturally in the current. Always pin the bait through the nose so that it will swim forward. If you were to hook it through the back or the tail then it would quickly drown in the current.
Bait can be fished stationary, but to achieve the best results slowly drift down the channels or over the gravel patches to produce the best results. Remember, flatties are ambush hunters so you have to go after them – the more ground you cover the more flathead you will encounter.
When drifting, the sinker actually acts as an attractor and bouncing it along stirs up the bottom, helping to get the flathead’s attention. A ball or bean sinker is the best option for drifting because it can’t snag up like a star sinker.
A flathead bite is usually a series of slow taps, nowhere near as distinct as a bream but still relatively easy to detect. If you miss the fish on your first strike then quickly drop the bait back down to the bottom because there is a very good chance the fish will return and give you a second chance.
When using live bait, be sure to give the fish a bit more time to get it down. Flathead will always swallow the bait head first, which is part of the reason why you hook it in the nose. For this reason it is very important to give the fish time to get the bait into position before striking. This is also the reason the bait is hooked in the nose, so that it is the first thing to go down the throat. Any resistance felt at this stage and the fish will quickly spit the bait out so it is important to free spool the fish on the strike. When using dead baits you can strike almost immediately and don’t have to worry about giving the fish time to swallow them.
When fishing offshore chasing sand and tiger flathead much simpler techniques can be employed. There is no need for live baits, instead drifting with dead baits will catch you all the flathead you need. Flathead aren’t fussy and will happily eat just about anything but some of the best baits are striped tuna, pilchards and squid.
A paternoster rig is ideal. It can be a good idea to use a two-hook rig, that way you can fish two alternative baits to offer a bit of variety. Speed is a major factor when drifting for flatties – move too slowly and you won’t cover much ground, go too fast and you will struggle to keep your bait on the bottom. The perfect speed is about one knot.
The best thing about flathead is their sensational table qualities and you simply can’t do better than beer battered flatheads at the end of the day, with a beer of course.
