Page 98 - Bush 'n Beach Fishing magazine
P. 98

KAYAKING
& canoeing
FLlatties on the flats via kayaks
IKE many, I hadn’t seen bos consisting of 7’, 2-4kg rods and much of my folks due to 20-30 size reels, loaded with 8-10lb the restrictions that were in braid and 10lb fluorocarbon leader.
Tackle Tactics
by JUSTIN WILLMER
place, so as these were eased it was Our go-to presentation is a Z-Man
great to get the parents back out and onto the water in search of flathead. Flathead are a favourite target for many, including my parents. Flatties love eating lures, are great fun on light
Ron with a pan size flathead caught hop- ping plastics across the flats.
gear and are excellent table fish. Being in their mid-70s and fishing from kayaks, flathead are also a great option because we can stick to the rivers and estuaries, launch reasonably close to where we want to fish and target shallow flats away
2.5” Slim SwimZ rigged on a 1/4oz, 1/0 TT Lures HeadlockZ Finesse jig head. This will see you hooked up to flathead along with by-catch such as bream, tailor, snapper and trevally.
          
from most of the boat traffic.
When fishing the high-tide flats, the areas we are focusing on include sandy flats, weed edges and drop-
If the bite is quiet, adding a squirt of scent to the lure can attract fish and fire them up. We generally fish with two main retrieves: a slow roll (slow wind) or a hopping retrieve (hop, hop, pause).
offs in 0.5-2m of water.
We generally drift the area with
By mixing up the retrieve speed, aggressiveness of the hops and du- ration of the pauses, you can begin to crack a pattern and work out what the fish want at the time.
the last hour or two of the run-in and first hour of the run-out tide, casting ahead of the drift while also fanning casts out each side of the kayak to effectively cover the area.
Mixing up your retrieve can also attract other species, meaning sud- denly a slow flathead bite may end up being a hot bream session or crazy trevally bite.
Pay special attention to any rock, rubble, drains, solid weed edges, timber and other structure you en- counter while you drift.
When handling flathead, remem- ber they have a spike on top of their head and one on each side of their head, so handle with care.
We often carry a small anchor with us when drifting and this allows us to hold position and focus on struc- ture and areas that prove productive.
A landing net is ideal for bringing them aboard and it’s important to keep their head underwater when bringing them to the kayak other- wise they will thrash from side to side, often leading to worn-through leaders or thrown lures.
Gear wise, we run light spin com-
Once in the kayak, a set of lip grips makes handling, measuring, * continued P99
Ron into another flatty and the author the net bot capturing the action.
A few in the little icebox ready for some feeds of fresh fish.
Page 98 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, June 2020
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