TOP TACTICS FOR FLATTIES
As seasons change many anglers turn their attention to flathead. Seasonal variations, new lures and techniques and changes in the waterway make each year’s flattie season a fresh challenge.
Flathead seek food in a variety of locations. Some fish following the tide up into the mangroves while others hunt in channels and along weed edges. A few will shadow a bait school and pick off fish or prawns. Although flathead are aggressive predators, they can be selective, sometimes preferring crabs, small eels and mud gudgeons. Additionally, their activities can be affected by a range of factors. Finding concentrations of feeding fish under a variety of conditions, then identifying their lure and retrieve preference is the key to better catches.
While anglers can use previous knowledge, each day presents new conditions and requires some adjustments. In this article we list five “daily” aspects that may influence your preferred fishing area, five feature types to focus on and five techniques proven to unlock a flatty bite in most situations.
A DAILY REVIEW
On each trip it is worth considering the following to help find the best area to focus fishing effort. Review these as the day progresses and change plans if things aren’t working.
WATER QUALITY
In our experience, far more fish are caught in good water and finding it is the top priority. “Good water” is cool and clear with a slight green tinge and good visibility.
Water will degrade for
