THE FLATHEAD FORMULA
You can learn a lot by chatting to competitors at the Gold Coast Flathead Classic. Many are having a ball, but it doesn’t take long to find teams who, despite their best efforts, haven’t caught a fish. Parents may give vague answers, but kids will tell you the truth. The problem is mostly about finding fish but there are quite a few other issues that have contributed to their “donut”.
The results show that the big scores go to a select few. And they do it most years. There are “specialists” who do really well on certain tides and using specific techniques but the generalists who are skilled at a range of techniques and methods fill most of the Top 20 teams every year, regardless of weather, tides and other factors. The “home ground” advantage is also a factor but visiting teams do well if they know their stuff.
In flathead fishing there are some basic things that make a big difference to your catch. Although they a common species that are plentiful in season, flatties are not always “easy”, so it pays to get those things right. In this article we discuss the right formula to catch some flatties.
GO TO THE BOTTOM!
Flatties live on the bottom. They are well camouflaged ambush predators capable of great speed over short distances. Their eyes look up to detect a prawn, fish or crab and their cavernous mouth can engulf a wide
