joking fish Posted December 9, 2012 Posted December 9, 2012 It was a slow day on the Northern Beaches. I headed to Newport by myself to test the waters. I managed a small yakka which I baited live in hope of a big King Fish or Salmon. It got picked to pieces by jackets whilst still alive. Not a plesant way to go. I lost a good plate size Flounder at the foot of the jetty, that would have made an awsome meal. Too bad I guess. Then a large cruiser docked right in front of me to ruin the serenity. These things usually take about half an hour to depart. It was time for a relocation. I drove to Palm Beach Ferry Wharf and managed a nice healthy lizard. It didn't fight too hard but was extremely difficult to net due to the structure of the dock. She would have been pushing 60cm but I couldn't measure her accurately, could have been slightly bigger or smaller. She was released back into the wild to do what she does best. The lizard fell to gang pilchard. I have a picture and I must confess I have been putting up a few post recently containing big Flathead and whilst all the pictures look similar they are all individual fish. Enjoy the picture and long live the lizard!
joseph2593 Posted December 9, 2012 Posted December 9, 2012 I was just about to say before I read your report I swear I have seen this picture before lol. They all do look very similar
joking fish Posted December 9, 2012 Author Posted December 9, 2012 The hooks get stuck in the net and thats why the net appears in the majority of the flathead photos I was just about to say before I read your report I swear I have seen this picture before lol. They all do look very similar
rjc123 Posted December 9, 2012 Posted December 9, 2012 Nice Flattie! Was hard going in pittwater on saturday... Yakkas wouldn't play (only managed 2 in over an hour) but picked up a feed of 40-45cm flatties off west head. The wind was horrendous... Cheers, Tom
joking fish Posted December 9, 2012 Author Posted December 9, 2012 True yesterday was bad, today is even worse. I dread to think of the swell being conjured up at West Head right now... Nice Flattie! Was hard going in pittwater on saturday... Yakkas wouldn't play (only managed 2 in over an hour) but picked up a feed of 40-45cm flatties off west head. The wind was horrendous... Cheers, Tom
flattiefisher27 Posted December 9, 2012 Posted December 9, 2012 Do you usually get decent fish here and if so what are you're techniques eg types of bait, types of soft plasticsc etcI would really like to get a flattie over the 50cm mark and any help would be appreciated Thanks heaps for any help
joking fish Posted December 10, 2012 Author Posted December 10, 2012 I have a mentor and his words of wisdom are "the bigger the bait, the bigger the fish you will catch" a simple philosophy but very true. You can use scabby bits of peeled prawn or small bits of squid and all you will get are pickers and jackets. My success has come from using whole pilchards on gang hooks. Preferably WA Pilchards. 3 gang hooks spaced about 1cm appart. If you can't do this rig simply 3 gang hooks attatched to one another is ok too. I have caught the majority of my flathead with dead baits. However I did get a 52cm model on a 3 inch soft plastic. I find however dead baiting works best for me. If you use whole pilchards you will also get the by catch of Tailor, Salmon, Bream and the odd Jewfish and Trevally. Hope this helps. Good luck mate. Do you usually get decent fish here and if so what are you're techniques eg types of bait, types of soft plasticsc etcI would really like to get a flattie over the 50cm mark and any help would be appreciated Thanks heaps for any help
rjc123 Posted December 10, 2012 Posted December 10, 2012 I have a mentor and his words of wisdom are "the bigger the bait, the bigger the fish you will catch" a simple philosophy but very true. You can use scabby bits of peeled prawn or small bits of squid and all you will get are pickers and jackets. My success has come from using whole pilchards on gang hooks. Preferably WA Pilchards. 3 gang hooks spaced about 1cm appart. If you can't do this rig simply 3 gang hooks attatched to one another is ok too. I have caught the majority of my flathead with dead baits. However I did get a 52cm model on a 3 inch soft plastic. I find however dead baiting works best for me. If you use whole pilchards you will also get the by catch of Tailor, Salmon, Bream and the odd Jewfish and Trevally. Hope this helps. Good luck mate. While that philosophy is true at times, it doesn't always work out that way. I got my PB 97cm flathead on a peeled prawn.... I've also caught the majority of my 40cm+ bream on small baits as well. It really comes down to "match the hatch" and what the target species are feeding on. It seems like the ganged pillies are doing well for you at the moment though!
joking fish Posted December 11, 2012 Author Posted December 11, 2012 Indeed..... While that philosophy is true at times, it doesn't always work out that way. I got my PB 97cm flathead on a peeled prawn.... I've also caught the majority of my 40cm+ bream on small baits as well. It really comes down to "match the hatch" and what the target species are feeding on. It seems like the ganged pillies are doing well for you at the moment though!
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