BATTLE TACTICS

I made a long cast up onto a shallow flat. The tide had filled the edges of the sand flat, and in the narrow window of water I knew there was a good chance that a few big flathead would be hunting whiting in the shallows. It was an experimental trip, where we were trying to perfect a few new tactics in preparation for an upcoming tournament. The lure was a Mega Bass eel, a strange looking articulated lure that had so far proven to be a completely fish free purchase. We’d already caught a couple of monster flathead, and it was time to put this expensive piece of Japanese plastic to its final test, but my confidence in this lure was very low.

I retrieved the lure in a series of slow deliberate sweeps. To my amazement, I saw a big brown shape come in from the side and crash the lure in a turbulent smashing surface strike typical of a big flathead on the flats. The rod loaded up and the fish took off with a series of head shaking runs. At this point I had to make a few critical decisions. The line was 4 pound braid, the leader was 16 pound fluorocarbon and