Flathead?

[Shark Bait]

Hi all.

I've been catching some Hawkesbury flathead lately & I'm wondering how to tell the females from the males when I gut them. I used to let them go at 60cm or longer but a mate of mine who taught me how to fish said 70 cm is still OK.

On saturday we were looking for a feed & I caught 2 66 cm long. When I gutted them one had 2 white glans like testicles near its anus, same as all the smaller ones I've caught. The other had similar glans in the same spot, but they were red and swollen. I've never seen them like this before & I'm wondering if this means this fish was female.

If the right thing to do is to release the larger fish cause they are female, does this mean none of the smaller fish are female? Is it just the larger fish that are breeding females & the smaller fish are not?

In summary, I guess the question is " What size flathead should I release & how can I tell the females from the males?"

Thanks,

Rick.

[Outnumbered]

the white glands are the milt sacks from males, the red are the ripe ovaries of females.

my neighbour (who is greek) tells me that both are great eating if you fry them up, but i cant bring myself to try them

[Shark Bait]

Thanks, I'll give it a go.

I'll let you know how I get on,

Rick.

[FletcherG1991]

the white glands are the milt sacks from males, the red are the ripe ovaries of females.

my neighbour (who is greek) tells me that both are great eating if you fry them up, but i cant bring myself to try them

my dad fries them up if we get one..... i dunno how he eats them but he says there one of the best bits of the flattie

[Mondo Rock]

Where's Flattieman?

He'll know how to tell the difference!!

[Flattieman]

Where's Flattieman?

He'll know how to tell the difference!!

Hey there, Mondo. I've been really busy over the past few days and haven't been on FR I can answer many of Rick's questions. An even better source for an answer is Dr Julian Pepperell's "Fish Tales", which explains, in detail, the topic of flathead sex. I do own a well-thumbed copy, but I can't find it at the moment! Anyway, as to the question of "What size flathead should I release & how can I tell the females from the males?", I'll answer it in two parts:

1. "What size flathead should I release?" - The answer to this question is personal. Each person has their belief, but I'll try to answer it as scientifically as possible... basically, a majority of fish over 60cm are breeding females. Whether you want to release these fish is up to you. I've caught females as small as 40cm and males as large as 70cm, but for more on identification, please see below.

2. "How can I tell the females from the males?" Well... there's no simple answer to this question. Basically, after you've decided to keep a flathead, you can tell whether the fish is male or female by looking at their internal glands, as suggested by Outnumbered. But without cutting the fish open (which isn't suggested if you intend on releasing the fish! ), generally, fish with a visibly swollen stomach are female. It is because of this difficulty in identifying male or female that people make a personal rule about what size their "keepers" will be. So... hmmm.... have I answered anything?

Hopefully Mr. Pepperell will have more definitive answers when I finally find "Fish Tales". I'll definitely jump back on this topic just as soon as I do. In the meantime, it's good to hear that you're catching some good flatties and showing concern about the fish stocks of our estuaries.

Flattieman.

[Shark Bait]

Hey there, Mondo. I've been really busy over the past few days and haven't been on FR I can answer many of Rick's questions. An even better source for an answer is Dr Julian Pepperell's "Fish Tales", which explains, in detail, the topic of flathead sex. I do own a well-thumbed copy, but I can't find it at the moment! Anyway, as to the question of "What size flathead should I release & how can I tell the females from the males?", I'll answer it in two parts:

1. "What size flathead should I release?" - The answer to this question is personal. Each person has their belief, but I'll try to answer it as scientifically as possible... basically, a majority of fish over 60cm are breeding females. Whether you want to release these fish is up to you. I've caught females as small as 40cm and males as large as 70cm, but for more on identification, please see below.

2. "How can I tell the females from the males?" Well... there's no simple answer to this question. Basically, after you've decided to keep a flathead, you can tell whether the fish is male or female by looking at their internal glands, as suggested by Outnumbered. But without cutting the fish open (which isn't suggested if you intend on releasing the fish! ), generally, fish with a visibly swollen stomach are female. It is because of this difficulty in identifying male or female that people make a personal rule about what size their "keepers" will be. So... hmmm.... have I answered anything?

Hopefully Mr. Pepperell will have more definitive answers when I finally find "Fish Tales". I'll definitely jump back on this topic just as soon as I do. In the meantime, it's good to hear that you're catching some good flatties and showing concern about the fish stocks of our estuaries.

Flattieman.

Thanks heaps Flattieman. I'll try 600 & keep an eye on their bellies.

Rick.

[Flattieman]

I'm reviving an old topic now, but I did promise to reply once I found "Fish Tales". Here's a page from the book where Dr Pepperell explains flathead gender:

Hope this helps,

Flattieman.

Edited September 27, 2006 by Flattieman