Feed of Flatties (After remembering to paint the fence)

[Madkanu]

I met up with @DerekD for a short early morning session Saturday on Sydney’s lower north shore. Beautiful morning for it!

I got there before Derek and there was one other fellow bait fishing for kings so after a brief chat I started to work. There was quite a bit of surface action shortly after sunrise so after initially starting with a slice I switched to a slippery dog and had soon hooked onto a bonito which I managed to get back to my feet and played a bit to get a good look at but failed to land as it shook itself free.  Still, this was a small victory as it was my first bonito. 
 

Once the surface action died back down I decided to try a soft plastic and fish some deeper water. Shortly thereafter @DerekD arrived and after observing how I was working the soft plastic he reminded me of our earlier soft plastics session…

Argh!!  I was doing side-side and forgot about paint fence!  I needed more action in how I was working the soft plastic minnow I was using.

We got that corrected and I started working the bottom with a 4” Berkeley power bait minnow and it didn’t take long at all before I had my first flattey on the hook. 

About 40cm.

it didn’t take long at all until number 2 hit:This one also made it across the line at 38cm. I was pretty stoked! I had dinner covered for tonight. 
 

@DerekD then pulled up another which we measured at 50cm. 
 

@DerekD graciously offered his catch to the other fellow who was fishing near us as he still had an empty bucket. He was very grateful and before long Derek had another mentee who was curious to absorb everything he could about what we were doing. 
 

I had only planned to be out for a short morning session before getting back to other commitments at home so after some time trying some different things to go after the bream and flounder we expected to be around (several bites but none landed) I called it and head home to learn how to fillet flathead. (Thanks @zmk1962 for the tips on that!  I managed 370g of filets off the two flatheads.)
 

Dinner was flathead fillets cooked pretty simply but perfectly by Mrs @Madkanu with a bit of butter, lemon, capers and a splash of white wine served on a bed of Israeli cous cous.  

Thanks again @DerekD for the soft plastics tune-up session, retrieval and landing tips and putting me onto my first fish to make it to the dinner table!

[Little_Flatty]

Nothing like a feed if flatties! Well done @Madkanu and @DerekD!

[zmk1962]

Congratulations and well done Rob.   There’s no stopping you now. Special callout to @DerekD for all the mentorship 👍.

cheers Zoran 

[Madkanu]

2 hours ago, Little_Flatty said:

Nothing like a feed if flatties! Well done @Madkanu and @DerekD!

Thanks @Little_Flatty!  Yeah, they’re a great eating fish. Looking forward to many more!

 

2 hours ago, zmk1962 said:

Congratulations and well done Rob.   There’s no stopping you now. Special callout to @DerekD for all the mentorship 👍.

cheers Zoran 

Thanks Zoran and yes. @DerekD is indeed a gentleman and a scholar. 

[Rebel]

Great story.

[Little_Flatty]

On another note I think I kind of understand why @DerekD teaches his mentees the walk-the-dog retrieve on their initial sessions. My first thought was that it was too advanced for beginners. But so much of other lure retrieves depend on the same movements, like plastics and hardbody jerk baits, albeit slower. It’s the wax-on-wax-off of lure fishing🤣

[Isaac Ct]

Well done, nice feed of fish, looks delicious.

Derek doing Derek, just simply amazing.

[jenno64]

Great post, Derek is a legend and you have nailed a feed from hook to plate!

[bessell1955]

Well done.

[DerekD]

Hi @Madkanu

When your wife said "finally" after hearing about your first two flatheads I laughed.

Good news is that the successes should come more frequently from now on as your technique and understanding becomes more refined.

Still plenty more to teach you about local fishing but we are over the hump.

Based on that photo your wife is an impressive cook. Going to have to get her more seafood to experiment with.

Regards,

Derek

[Madkanu]

On 3/12/2023 at 12:00 PM, Little_Flatty said:

On another note I think I kind of understand why @DerekD teaches his mentees the walk-the-dog retrieve on their initial sessions. My first thought was that it was too advanced for beginners. But so much of other lure retrieves depend on the same movements, like plastics and hardbody jerk baits, albeit slower. It’s the wax-on-wax-off of lure fishing🤣

No doubt @Little_Flatty.  A toolkit of techniques to now start thinking about how to apply differently in various situations. 

 

18 hours ago, DerekD said:

Hi @Madkanu

When your wife said "finally" after hearing about your first two flatheads I laughed.

Good news is that the successes should come more frequently from now on as your technique and understanding becomes more refined.

Still plenty more to teach you about local fishing but we are over the hump.

Based on that photo your wife is an impressive cook. Going to have to get her more seafood to experiment with.

Regards,

Derek

Haha.  Yeah, you and me both. She’s seen me catch plenty of fish over the years so certainly had been wondering why this had been taking so long. 🤣

She is a great cook and she’ll definitely be game for experimenting with whatever comes next. 

I have definitely gone from not really knowing where to start and random experimentation to a solid toolkit of techniques for specific targets that I can work on and I am grateful for the years you’ve shaved off that learning curve.  Thanks again. 

[DerekD]

On 3/12/2023 at 12:00 PM, Little_Flatty said:

On another note I think I kind of understand why @DerekD teaches his mentees the walk-the-dog retrieve on their initial sessions. My first thought was that it was too advanced for beginners. But so much of other lure retrieves depend on the same movements, like plastics and hardbody jerk baits, albeit slower. It’s the wax-on-wax-off of lure fishing🤣

Hi @Little_Flatty

Yes you are right that is a huge aspect. For example, if they can learn to do that tight walk the dog retrieve with the 70mm Sugapen then they have the technique for most other light topwater lures including bent minnows, slippery dogs, MMD splash prawns and so on. We also cover a range of nuances, pauses and what is likely to attract a strike but they are all based on the same core movements. Same goes for the core moves when learning to fish soft plastics and these too can be applied to other lures such as squid jigs.

Well spotted.

There are also a few other reasons. It is a clear goal to work to rather than some vague promises about improving. My defining moment is that if they can cast out and walk the dog all the way back to their feet twice in a row they have passed that topwater lesson.

The other thing I'll usually do is demonstrate the technique with their gear. If I can pick up a rod I've not used before and demonstrate a tight walk the dog then they can do it too with time and practice.

D.

Edited March 13, 2023 by DerekD

[Bennyg78]

I am a bit late to the party here @Madkanu well done, great to see your progressing!!!

Looking forward to catching up and maybe Ill get you out on the water on the yaks!

[Madkanu]

On 3/15/2023 at 10:58 AM, Bennyg78 said:

I am a bit late to the party here @Madkanu well done, great to see your progressing!!!

Looking forward to catching up and maybe Ill get you out on the water on the yaks!

Hey @Bennyg78 thanks and yeah, we should do that soon for sure.