The humble Dusky Flathead, one of Australia's iconic saltwater fish species. Found commonly throughout the east coast of Aus they are a fun species to target with their eagerness to eat anything that fits in their mouth whether that's a lure or bait. This makes Flathead a great fish to target for people of all ages and skill levels. *All gear mentioned and methods will apply to all Flathead Species.

LURES - PLASTICS, HARDBODIES & VIBES/BLADES

Lure fishing for Flathead has become one of the most popular methods, as fishing technology has improved over the years so have the lures which has opened a variety of new ways of catching Flathead. 

Bouncing Soft-Plastics off the bottom allows us to search a variety of depths which make them a versatile and great first choice of from a lure!

Diving Hard Bodies/Jerkbaits are going to be great for areas like the Sand Flats as they only dive to a specific depth. Just slow roll them or give the lure a jerking action mixed in with a slow roll and pauses.

Vibes/Blades produce a vibrating movement when worked making it highly effective and is typically used like a Soft-Plastic, generally bouncing off the bottom with a long lift of the rod letting the vibe flutter back down.

Top water lures have also become popular in recent times, although not the most effective, it certainly is exciting seeing a big Flathead take a surface lure!

SWIMBAITS & GLIDEBAITS

Swimbaiting & Glidebaiting on the Sand Flats for trophy Dino Flathead has become more popularised in recent times with many anglers taking their chances casting lures as big as 300mm in size weighing 250g or heavier! Heard the saying "Big Lure equals Big Fish". There is some truth to this saying as you will usually filter out the smaller sub 50cm fish but it's not always the case though as even smaller Flathead will still have a crack of a lure the same size as them. Just shows how voracious these predatory fish are!

BAITS LIVE & DEAD

Bringing it back to basics! The humble Pilchard on a 2-3 gang of hooks - One of the best dead baits you could use for Flathead but there are plenty of other rigs & baits like Prawns, Beach Worms, White Bait, Mullet, Herring, Squid and even cuts of Raw Chicken just to name a few. Even though Flathead are ambush predators they won't pass the opportunity to feast on well presented dead bait lying on the bottom or retrieved slowly. 

If you can, LIVE BAITING is by far the best method as movement from the live bait will garner the attention of any hungry Flathead present in the area. If you ask any old school angler they'll tell you the best live baits you can get your hands on will be Poddy Mullet, Tailor, Herring and Whiting rigged with a single hook just under the dorsal fin not too deep or it will hit the spine and render your Live Bait into a Dead Bait. Also don't be afraid of leaving the Live Bait out there for over 15 mins as Flathead do move around to better feeding grounds and for tidal movements. 

*There is no one hook for bait fishing that can do it all - adjust your hook size and shape according to the bait you are using.

TROLLING ON A BOAT OR KAYAK

Trolling on the sand flats or bays is a super effective method of covering a wide area of potential Flathead ground! We recommend you start at a slow speed of 1-3 knots (almost idle speed) searching through these grounds with Diving Hardbodies. It is best to check how deep your lures dive to so you have the correct lure for the job but you want the lures to be as close to the bottom as you can. A hot tip is when you are trolling and the depth changes you can let more line out so the lure dives deeper and vice versa!

The beauty of targeting Flathead is that they live all up and down the East Coast of Aus from QLD, NSW and down to Victoria living camouflaged at the bottom of estuarine areas, coastal bays, sand flats and up to the tidal limits. So whether you fish land-based or on a boat, they're accessible to all ages and skill levels. Typically a run out tide is best as a lot of bait species push up onto the flats on a run in search of new feeding grounds and shelter, however when the tide runs out that water channels out into small gutters funnelling bait straight to the Flathead. Remember, No Run = No Fun. Although you can target Flathead all seasons, Spring, Summer and Autumn are the best seasons to fish for Flathead. There are also the smaller Bluespotted Flathead which range from the Mid-North Coast of NSW, WA and South Aus which is most abundant in Victoria and Tasmania.

To have a successful session you need to have a game plan. So the next time you are heading out check what the tides are doing. Is the tide incoming or outgoing? What grounds am I going to go to fish first and how will I approach? Are all my leaders, knots fresh and are my hooks sharp? Is there any bait in the area? These are all good elements to consider for your next trip out to greatly improve your success!