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Trolling for Flathead


fishinaddiction

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Trolling implies pulling lures for top or mid water fish.

Flathead are ambush predators on the bottom. Just drift over them.

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Edited by NaClH2OK9
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Trolling for Flathead is a very productive way of fishing, a few trips back I decided to try something I have never done before

and that was to adapt my Eucumbene trout method of lead core line and tazzie devils.

Well I picked a likely spot and trolled up and down one of the beached in Botany Bay using 3-4 different patterns of devils,

I found 0.8 miles per hour the best speed for results and got fish from 36 to 65cm 5 all up with 2 of the patterns proving the most popular.

I have had many successful sessions trolling for the Flats and this method proved it's worth.

Frank

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Flicking plastics on the drift is usually more productive however trolling lures over drop offs and channels or even just exploring is a lot more relaxing! But does get boring I reckon

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Trolling for Flathead is a very effective way of targeting them, for many years the prestigious Gold Coast Flathead Classic was won by trolling deep diving minnows.

You need to ensure your lure is contacting the bottom, hence the need for deep diving lures. The best one I have used is the old classic Manns Stretch series (5+ and 10+ are classics), Downunder Boomerangs have also been very successful for me over the years too.

I normally like to troll parallel to a drop-off and it can pay to 'tune' the lure closest to the drop-off to swim into the sand of the drop-off itself. Trolling over sand flats can be very effective too as can trolling past the mouths of creeks and drains where Flatties will setup for ambush.

Haven't done a lot of trolling for Flathead in the Sydney region, preferring to cast but I have had limited success trolling for them in the Lane Cove River up from the Fig Tree Bridge. There are some nice drop-offs and sand edges to run here.

Having said all of that, flicking plastics, vibes and hard body minnows is a much more effective approach.

Cheers

Windy

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What Matt said !!!!

Gold Coast Flathead Classic was won by trolling deep diving minnows BIG TIME.

BORING as bat shit, but it works.

Been there a few times to watch the classic top fishos do it!

JD

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What Matt said !!!!

Gold Coast Flathead Classic was won by trolling deep diving minnows BIG TIME.

BORING as bat shit, but it works.

Been there a few times to watch the classic top fishos do it!

JD

I enjoy trolling

You cover a lot of ground over a short period of time

Never know what your going to hookup

But I can see how it can get boring

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Hey there Matt and JD, at the gcfc do they use electric motors to troll for that stealth approach or just the outboard at very slow idle? I fish the Georges river specifically for big flattys and once the water cools they are hard to find, trolling may be more effective as u do cover a lot more ground however in 2-3 metres I'm not sure if the engine noise is a deterrent? Thoughts

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Heya Ribs, I don't really know what they used to troll with to be honest. I get the feeling it would be on outboards before electric became common place in Aus?

I do know that for the vast majority of trolling I do, whether its Flathead through to Trout is with the electric. Much easier to control speed with and get down to lower speeds for big, deep diving lures.

Windy

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Hey there Matt and JD, at the gcfc do they use electric motors to troll for that stealth approach or just the outboard at very slow idle? I fish the Georges river specifically for big flattys and once the water cools they are hard to find, trolling may be more effective as u do cover a lot more ground however in 2-3 metres I'm not sure if the engine noise is a deterrent? Thoughts

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I've actually caught my biggest flattys trolling with 38mm crankbaits. Mainly in around 1.5m of water with shallow divers but the deeo divers in the same size around the boat moorings and weedbeds/smaller drops have also produced. I'm referring to areas where the water doesn't really get much deeper than 4m. When I go for jewies in the deeper whater I will troll natural coloured minnows in the deepest diving profile I can find and make sure I can feel the bib hitting the bottom once a while. If you use the floating ones you can just drop the rod tip if the lure catches but generally I'm talking about sandy structureless areas.

Have you tried the small soft vibes at the Entrance for flattys before? Very very productive and you will get the odd whiting and good sized bream as by-catch there...this time of year probably some silver trevally and estuary perch too (which must go back from now till August due to closed season).

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