Bate Bay

[Yowie]

Headed out early this morning to Bate Bay, somewhere east of Cronulla.

The flatties were mostly small and scattered about, with a few throwbacks amongst them. Lots of spikies mixed with them. Enough for a few feeds.

Just a basic report today, not much else to say. Sooty shearwaters flying about but did not appear to be feeding. Heard a penguin squawking nearby but could not see it in the choppy water.

[Papa]

Yowie, your reports are always informative and often we learn something from others (like you) sharing. Just like turning a flattie upside down to see if it will kick on to swim away.

I managed a mixed feed including 2 good blue swimmers out of the Hacking weekend before last. I might get out in the bay when it's a bit calm in a week or two.

[Yowie]

2 hours ago, Papa said:

Yowie, your reports are always informative and often we learn something from others (like you) sharing. Just like turning a flattie upside down to see if it will kick on to swim away.

I managed a mixed feed including 2 good blue swimmers out of the Hacking weekend before last. I might get out in the bay when it's a bit calm in a week or two.

Just have to keep an eye on the weather reports for outside fishing.

[blaxland]

Thanks for the report for my edification to catch flatties out side do you use snapper lead / paternoster rig and drift along? Bait or Lure

Thanks

[Yowie]

2 hours ago, blaxland said:

Thanks for the report for my edification to catch flatties out side do you use snapper lead / paternoster rig and drift along? Bait or Lure

Thanks

I use a paternoster rig, 2 hooks around 50 cm apart, a snapper lead about 50cm below the bottom hook. Use bait, though a soft plastic may work - when you hit a patch of flatties, the soft plastic will be chewed up fairly quickly. Tougher baits last longer.

I use 2/0 stainless long shank hooks, though can use around 5/0.

4 ounce snapper leads for drifting, 6 ounce if the wind is up a bit.

I use 20 pound toughened mono on the dropper below a swivel - it is tougher than normal mono so can take a bit of the flatties teeth chewing on it. If you keep a tight line, they will rarely swallow the hook.

Flatties spend their time lying on the bottom, but if there is food about, they will swim quite some distance off the bottom to eat it. Some times the flatties will follow up a hooked fish and grab the other bait, 5 or even 10 metres off the bottom. Many times I have been winding up a small flattie, then there is a big hit as another flattie grabs the other bait.

On 2 occasions I can remember, I have watched a flattie swim up from 30 metres deep, following hooked fish, then dropped a bait in front of it, hook up and into the boat before it realises what has happened.

Edited November 14, 2017 by Yowie

[Krispy !]

good feed of flattys there yowie

[jenno64]

1 hour ago, Yowie said:

I use a paternoster rig, 2 hooks around 50 cm apart, a snapper lead about 50cm below the bottom hook. Use bait, though a soft plastic may work - when you hit a patch of flatties, the soft plastic will be chewed up fairly quickly. Tougher baits last longer.

I use 2/0 stainless long shank hooks, though can use around 5/0.

4 ounce snapper leads for drifting, 6 ounce if the wind is up a bit.

I use 20 pound toughened mono on the dropper below a swivel - it is tougher than normal mono so can take a bit of the flatties teeth chewing on it. If you keep a tight line, they will rarely swallow the hook.

Flatties spend their time lying on the bottom, but if there is food about, they will swim quite some distance off the bottom to eat it. Some times the flatties will follow up a hooked fish and grab the other bait, 5 or even 10 metres off the bottom. Many times I have been winding up a small flattie, then there is a big hit as another flattie grabs the other bait.

On 2 occasions I can remember, I have watched a flattie swim up from 30 metres deep, following hooked fish, then dropped a bait in front of it, hook up and into the boat before it realises what has happened.

Yowie

 

You know your stuff and have the outside flatties sorted! Interesting about how far they come off the bottom to chase baits too! Do you find the outside fish tasted better than the duskies?

[blaxland]

1 hour ago, Yowie said:

I use a paternoster rig, 2 hooks around 50 cm apart, a snapper lead about 50cm below the bottom hook. Use bait, though a soft plastic may work - when you hit a patch of flatties, the soft plastic will be chewed up fairly quickly. Tougher baits last longer.

I use 2/0 stainless long shank hooks, though can use around 5/0.

4 ounce snapper leads for drifting, 6 ounce if the wind is up a bit.

I use 20 pound toughened mono on the dropper below a swivel - it is tougher than normal mono so can take a bit of the flatties teeth chewing on it. If you keep a tight line, they will rarely swallow the hook.

Flatties spend their time lying on the bottom, but if there is food about, they will swim quite some distance off the bottom to eat it. Some times the flatties will follow up a hooked fish and grab the other bait, 5 or even 10 metres off the bottom. Many times I have been winding up a small flattie, then there is a big hit as another flattie grabs the other bait.

On 2 occasions I can remember, I have watched a flattie swim up from 30 metres deep, following hooked fish, then dropped a bait in front of it, hook up and into the boat before it realises what has happened.

Thanks mate Im willing to give it a go perhaps get some mullet from the tacckle store

[Yowie]

11 hours ago, Krispy ! said:

good feed of flattys there yowie

Thanks Krispy.

[Yowie]

10 hours ago, jenno64 said:

Yowie

 

You know your stuff and have the outside flatties sorted! Interesting about how far they come off the bottom to chase baits too! Do you find the outside fish tasted better than the duskies?

I prefer to eat the blue spots and tigers a bit more than the duskies, though nothing wrong with the duskies. The bigger duskies can be a bit tougher, so with them I usually cut off the fillets, then cut slices across the fillets, like a boneless cutlet, about 1.5 cms wide and cook it that way.

Many years ago as I was motoring past the mouth of Burraneer Bay in the Hacking, I saw a fish tearing into a school of whitebait on the surface. Water depth about 20 feet. I stopped near the fish and saw it was a duskie about 60cm long. It was swimming around the school of whitebait, then it would charge into the school and grab a couple of fish, then swim back under the school and herd them to the surface again for another charge into the school. I watched for around 1 minute before I left. The flattie was having a great feed, and I did not want to try and catch it.

A couple of times I have thrown a nipper into clear water a couple of metres deep, and watched a flattie flash out of the sand and grab the sinking nipper, so I imagine flatties, with their eyes looking upwards, would see some food item above them and be willing to race up and grab it.

When a flattie sniffs out a prawn in the sand, quite often the prawn will head to the surface and jump along the surface to escape, with the flattie in hot pursuit underneath.

I've been fishing for nearly 60 years, so have had plenty of time to observe fish and their feeding habits.

[Reel' em in]

Your always very informative Yowie and you must save a lot of money on the grocery bills, seeing the amount Flathead you catch you must be eating them every night of the week lol.

[Yowie]

7 hours ago, Reel' em in said:

Your always very informative Yowie and you must save a lot of money on the grocery bills, seeing the amount Flathead you catch you must be eating them every night of the week lol.

Twice a week. I still like a good steak as well.

Edited November 19, 2017 by Yowie

[Reel' em in]

Nice