First Parra flatty for spring

[Little_Flatty]

Hi all,

I've been working on my fishing game all winter, but my spin rods have largely stayed at home. Mostly I've been working on my fly cast which I think I have got as good as it will get for now. Time for just fishing, then some more lessons with a professional or practice with a club.

Anyhow, this afternoon I pop out for a quick session in my lunch break. Got out my trusty Crucis 1-3kg and my Exceler 2000, three jigheads and 3 gulp 3inch minnows. I can just hear my fellow fly fishers scoff, but for me I always feel the challenge is there, regardless of the method. Nice high tide and it's warm and sunny for once.

Tie on a jighead and rig a minnow, then realise I only have a 6lb leader. Little did I know what was to come, but I started casting. About second cast in, I get a thunk on the end of the line and I strike. I soon realise I have a very good flathead on...there's just something about the headshakes and the difficulty getting them off the bottom that gives them away. Smaller fish come to the surface earlier in the fightg.

A couple of minutes into the fight I get sight of the fish and it's big. Probably 70-80. I play it very carefully, given my 6lb leader, but in spite of my best efforts, I lose contact with it. You would've thought the flatty sawed through the leader, but as it turned out, it had simply spat the hook. Leader was very frayed, so it had the lure well down.

Re-tie the leader, then promptly get snagged. Retie again. Only one jighead left.

Move around a bit and cast over the flats which I know are productive in summer. No one home. Move to the middle of the bay and cast to deeper water. There, I hit paydirt on a 40-something flathead:

Pretty happy with that. Next one hopefully on fly.

Thanks for reading!

Mike

[Isaac Ct]

Well done Mike, nice to see a flattie. Hopefully more to come soon.

 

[Yowie]

Good work for the start of the season.

Bugger about the bigger one. On one hand, not good that he spat the jig, on the other hand, better to have spat it out rather than saw off the line and have a jig stuck down his throat.

[Little_Flatty]

1 hour ago, Yowie said:

Good work for the start of the season.

Bugger about the bigger one. On one hand, not good that he spat the jig, on the other hand, better to have spat it out rather than saw off the line and have a jig stuck down his throat.

Yep, always better for fish and angler alike that the lure came back.

 

3 hours ago, Isaac Ct said:

Well done Mike, nice to see a flattie. Hopefully more to come soon.

 

Thanks Isaac, it’s been a long time since I saw the flatties in my neck of the woods!

[Green Hornet]

Shame about the bigger fish Mike. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the hook was never in the fish and the flatty just refused to let go until it got nervous. I’ve seen it happen so many times right beside the boat. You’ve got to strike hard, often multiple times when fishing light, on those big ones when throwing plastics.

The fish you got still made the short session worthwhile and now the water is starting to warm, the flatties are coming back to life and the big ones are hungry.

 

 

 

[faker]

I would love to get a a cheap reel and rod infuture to mess with ultralight but sticking with my 6lb for now on 2-4 kg

Edited September 6, 2023 by faker

[Little_Flatty]

41 minutes ago, Green Hornet said:

Shame about the bigger fish Mike. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the hook was never in the fish and the flatty just refused to let go until it got nervous. I’ve seen it happen so many times right beside the boat. You’ve got to strike hard, often multiple times when fishing light, on those big ones when throwing plastics.

The fish you got still made the short session worthwhile and now the water is starting to warm, the flatties are coming back to life and the big ones are hungry.

 

 

 

Thanks Pete. I have lost quite a few fish like that this year. I know people write them off as an easy target, but I've missed my flatties. I just got to get my striking habits back again!

20 minutes ago, faker said:

I would love to get a a cheap reel and rod infuture to mess with ultralight but sticking with my 6lb for now on 2-4 kg

By all means give it a go. Provided you set your drag right and don't mess with it while you have a fish on, you'll find it a lot easier than you might have thought.

[bessell1955]

Well you did end up with a decent fish well done!

[HawkesburyParadise]

Well done. I caught a flatty next to the Meadowbank Wharf last Sat night.

[Larkin]

Top Flatty there Mike! 
Finding your game again. Well done!