LuckyFil Posted August 26 Share Posted August 26 I had recently bought a new topwater lure (Protech Bender) and after watching a YouTube video of a guy using them on flatties I thought I'd give mine a crack. With the current flush of warm weather I figured the shallower sections of Narrabeen Lake might have warmed up from the winter chill to get a flathead looking for a feed. When I started fishing I noticed quite a lot of mullet jumping which I took as good sign as a big flathead could be looking for one of these. The video had given me an idea of how to use the lure which involved long casts followed by a couple of sharp jabs of the rod and a pause , then repeat. It's a much bigger lure than I normally use for flathead being 120mm and fairly heavy so it casts a mile. I watched the lure closely as I practised the retrieve and the action certainly looks like a wounded mullet floating to the surface during each pause. Anyway after slowly walking a likely area of quite shallow water (knee deep) casting as I went the lure was about halfway back to me when the water erupted as a big flattie walloped the lure and took off. In the shallow water it kept thrashing the surface which is best avoided as its when they usually throw the hooks. I kept the rod tip low and slowly walked back to shore which was quite a distance and I was half expecting to lose the fish over this time especially with the regular surface head shakes. The needle sharp hooks on the new lure held and I dragged the fish onto the sand for a couple of pics. My phone saved the pic as HEIC not sure how to change that, hopefully clever admin can help! I now expect to use this lure for the next year and not catch another fish, but I won't forget its first outing. 17 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afa Posted August 27 Share Posted August 27 I cant access the photos right now but how long did it measure? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuckyFil Posted August 27 Author Share Posted August 27 54 minutes ago, afa said: I cant access the photos right now but how long did it measure? About 64cm , the tape was a bit creased 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFishyFisherman Posted August 27 Share Posted August 27 That’s a monster of a flattie. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowie Posted August 27 Share Posted August 27 Looks like a nice flattie in the photo. You will find that flatties of that size will be in shallower water at times. Once walked shallow water looking for flatties, and one about the size of yours was behind me in 15cm of water. It took off as I nearly stepped on it. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuckyFil Posted August 27 Author Share Posted August 27 Now with pics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuckyFil Posted August 27 Author Share Posted August 27 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuckyFil Posted August 27 Author Share Posted August 27 5 hours ago, afa said: I cant access the photos right now but how long did it measure? have added the pics again in jpeg 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little_Flatty Posted August 27 Share Posted August 27 That's a cracker @LuckyFil and what a way to get it! Sounds like you might've worked out your JPEG issue, but drop me a line if you need a hand with your iPhone settings. I fixed your original post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuckyFil Posted August 27 Author Share Posted August 27 33 minutes ago, Little_Flatty said: That's a cracker @LuckyFil and what a way to get it! Sounds like you might've worked out your JPEG issue, but drop me a line if you need a hand with your iPhone settings. I fixed your original post. Thanks yeah google helped me sort it but thanks for fixing the earlier post 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lhan Posted August 27 Share Posted August 27 That's a monster lizard! Good catch! I was actually trying one in my last session aiming for flatty in the shallow but no luck. Your report encourages me to persist. I'll def give it another go. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuckyFil Posted August 27 Author Share Posted August 27 36 minutes ago, lhan said: That's a monster lizard! Good catch! I was actually trying one in my last session aiming for flatty in the shallow but no luck. Your report encourages me to persist. I'll def give it another go. Yeah I definitely got lucky with that one. It’s worth persisting as the take was incredible. Just remember to leave the pause for a few seconds before the next twitch. That’s when I got the take and I gather that is the pattern. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kantong Posted August 27 Share Posted August 27 great sized flattie, well done mate! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Green Hornet Posted August 28 Share Posted August 28 That’s a great fish on a surface lure LuckyFil. Looks like it’s been feeding up well judging by it’s bulging belly. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuckyFil Posted August 28 Author Share Posted August 28 7 hours ago, Green Hornet said: That’s a great fish on a surface lure LuckyFil. Looks like it’s been feeding up well judging by it’s bulging belly. It was a wide heavy fish for it's length which probably accounted for it's strong runs. And yeah there's nothing quite like a surface strike! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bessell1955 Posted August 28 Share Posted August 28 What a great catch, well done! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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