Page 14 - BNB Fishing mag | May 2020

A young Cade Luckus was fishing with his dad Kord and trolled up this 90cm-plus beast in 1.3m of water. Now that’s the one we are all after.
Kord was one of the key designers of the Tango Shad and with results like this in the 2019 Flathead Classic, it’s no wonder it is his favourite flathead trolling lure.
When they don’t fit in the measure trough properly, you know they are a good fish.This flathead smashed the BL Tango Shad and measured over 80cm.
Advanced monster flathead trolling techniques
* from P12
sition in the water to take advantage of
boys are a well-oiled machine when it comes to trolling.
The rod has a bit of grunt down low, which helps with landing fish, but the main reason this rod is used is it is soft and doesn’t pull or straighten the fine hooks used on the lures.
what the sounder is telling him.
Kord will lift the rod tip, drop it, quickly
They each know where their lure is sitting behind the boat and when to adjust how the lure is running to get the maximum out of each troll run.
Their backups include the newly released Blade N Tails RLFBT17, also a 6’10” mod- el and the RLFBT04, a 7’ 4-8lb rod.
wind in a couple of metres and let the lure back a few metres, all to make sure the lure is exactly where it needs to be in relation to the bottom and the structure being fished.
Gear
Scotty has the task of being the scorer, photographer and fish processor.
It’s not as simple as grabbing any old rod, reel and lure and throwing it out the back to catch a flathead.
On the troll, flathead are often hooked through the skin rather than their lips.
When he is not doing any of these jobs, Scott uses the front sounder to manage his lure’s position. The vital information he gets on depth allows him to adjust his lure where necessary.
Like their driving of the lures, the team is very particular about the gear used to ensure everything works to its best.
The small hooks catch on the skin and a soft rod allows the lunges and runs of the fish to be absorbed without tearing the hooks out.
Keep in mind, this is Team Wilson so all Wilson gear is used. Across all three, their number-one trolling rod is the Aussie-built Blade N Tails Ultralight Elite.
This is a very important point.
When he is processing the fish, his rod sits in the holder and flat trolls, letting the lure do the work.
It’s not like fishing a jig head where you need to punch the hook through the roof of the mouth with a stronger-tipped rod.
This setup is not for everyone, but the
This rod is 6’10” long with a softish ac- tion perfect for trolling lures.
Here you need to keep the fine hooks in the skin and the Ultralight Elite is made for this purpose.
The reel used is either an 800 or 2000 ATC Valiant Carbon Fibre reel loaded with 8lb braid.
It’s not always colour BL that works, but there does seem to be something about a splash of UV in the most successful flathead trolling lures.
Page 14 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2020
It is excellent at shedding weed when the
To the braid, a leader of 8-12lb is attached, with Wilson Fluorocarbon the choice.
Robbie explained the difference in leader, saying he has a couple of rods rigged be- cause it’s harder for him to alter the lure’s running depth than the other guys.
If he needs a little extra depth, he’ll grab the 8lb leader setup.
If he needs less depth, he’ll use a 10lb or 12lb leader setup.
It is these subtle differences that separate those who really understand their gear from other trollers.
As for lures, the number-one choice is the Zerek Tango Shad 50.
This lure, given all the manipulation the crew uses to achieve certain outcomes, can be fished from 1.2m right down to almost 2m.
* continued P15 www.bnb shing.com.au