Little_Flatty

I just paid good money the other night for a big slab of mulloway for two at a fancy restaurant. No regrets - it was divine - but would be nice to catch one for the table instead of buying it! Need to start fishing with bait again! Nice couple of fish for the family. Well done.

Quite a few nice poke bowls in that fish Niall, well done.

Yep I listened to that with much interest. That’s a whole new dimension to rigging plastics! I want to try it but am a bit distracted by other methods at the moment.

A good starting point is a 3inch Berkley Power Minnow or its Gulp equivalent, rigged on a size 1 Gamakatsu EWG hook. Size of sinker to suit depth/current, but light as you can get away with. When you head back stateside for a visit, I think you need to get out to a tackle shop there and chat to a few fishos/go fishing. I think you'll come back with plenty to share!

Good to see you have something to keep you busy Neil. It's one thing struggling with technology, it's another thing working in the technology sector and encountering stuff that's badly designed or doesn't work. That makes my blood boil! It's not just an age thing...you should see one of my former bosses (now 70) come up against an app that doesn't work. He doesn't struggle with technology. 'Happy Gilmore' is probably a decent approximation!🤣

Sorry to hear you're sick Neil. Look after yourself. Those parking apps don't work for me either. I had one at my uni a few years ago, paid my fees and still had a ticket on my car. I challenged it and they had the nerve to get all testy at me not knowing that I was at carpark 1358ABC or something like that. Not a fan.

@DerekD using the Carolina rig? You mean he's not fishing topwater? C'mon Derek, explain yourself 🤣 As for your Texas rig question, don't overthink it. It's fine. I've used it a lot over the recent years and it's saved me a pile of gear. The sinker is most likely to hit the bottom first on the drop, leaving the lure floating above the bottom, then it will follow it to the bottom then the whole lot will leave the bottom on the next hop. Then this will repeat again and again until the lure is at your rod tip. For the Carolina rig, you could potentially rig a stopper on the leader to stop the sinker, but again, don't overthink it. You can't use such a heavy sinker anyway on 6lb gear that it could cause much trouble. But if you wanted to, one of those rubber float stoppers could do the trick, along with a bead on top of the sinker if you wanted to make doubly sure. For your 2.5 inch plastics, you might need to go a size 4 EWG. Not all plastics lend themselves to EWG rigging (the smaller squidgy prawns and some 2 inch grubs for instance). They can just squirm around too much on the EWG to keep their shape. Others are too 'fat' and may require you to cut a belly slit in them for hook clearance. You might notice certain soft plastics (particularly the bigger ones) have a cutaway in the belly - that's what they're for. I can't really help you with the dropshot. I've caught one fish on it, but haven't used it extensively enough to comment.

The surgeon’s knot has been a revelation for me. I only came across it when I started out fly fishing, to put together my tapered leaders. It’s astonishing how strong it is and how easy it is to tie. It would be great for attaching a 150mm bite leader to the end of your light fluorocarbon. Worth taking ten seconds to learn it.

Great to meet you too @linewetter. Glad you found a new rod and christened it.

Good result Bob. Your definition of 'light' for kings might be why I've never landed one on my own. Granted, I'm rarely targeting them, they're more of an accidental catch. Where are the bananas?

Pretty nice additions to dinner there Isaac and a nice beyond slot flatty to boot. Well done!

Sorry to hear about your health woes Frank. Hopefully with all the support you have, you can adjust to this next phase of life. Please don’t feel stupid about riding the mobility scooter. You’re at a life stage where it could be useful in keeping you connected with your community, just as your computer keeps you connected to us (thank goodness you got it sorted!). We don’t feel stupid about needing reading glasses (I’m fast approaching that age!), and this should be no different.

They look like good fillets there Jenno. Nice work!

Bummer mate, really nice fish but tsk tsk...so many mistakes, tightening the drag mid fight, high sticking the rod, not bringing a net. As a tip, keep all the guides off the rod (you can carefully cut them off with a stanley knife) and for the tip, melt it off with a cigarette lighter and pull it off with pliers (as it will be hot). Particularly with ultralight rods, the tiny guides and tips can be very hard to get.

Great catch as usual Dave, shame about the whaler not being a gummy.

Flounder are one of the safest fish to handle. Apart from not having many spiky bits (just stay away from their teeth), they are also have quite rough skin so they are easy to grip. Great eating when you get a legal one.

@BaitDropper try settings > Camera > Formats and then select ‘most compatible’. That should change it to jpeg again.

What happens when you try to upload it @BaitDropper? Does it attach as a .HEIC file?

Another great report @linewetter. Fantastic to have an impromptu social. You’re getting very consistent now. I think you have got the hang of Sydney fishing😎

🤣 I was actually thinking maybe your kids were on a pupil free day (mine were). I get back a lot of extra time in the morning when I don’t need to make/pack lunches and fight them to get dressed for school! Don’t worry, I’m just jealous 🤣 Been a hectic week for me at work.

Great report Mike, two sessions on a work day eh? At 50+ tailor are great fighters on light gear. Don’t mind them when they’re that size. Just getting my workmanship and design right, but I’ll give you a few dowel stick baits when I have made them. You won’t need to cry if they wreck them or steal them😎

No more bad days at work either!

Plenty of Fishraider friends in Sydney Baz, so keep some outfits to go out with!

What an epic report @linewetter and a fantastic session to balance a bad day at work. I’ve been having a few of those lately too Yeah I have had a couple of sessions fly casting in the dark where people have wandered right into my back cast. I now look 360 degrees around me for a few 100m radius before commencing a fly cast. Part of me wonders if there might be value to creating a wearable sensor/alarm as an extra safety precaution…I’m only half joking! Also don’t feel bad about using bread. I do it a lot too. There’s something fun and challenging about it that I really enjoy.

Nice report @linewetter. Never forego a session because you only have a short length of time! I really like my squidgy prawns, it's one of my go-to plastics and caught me my PB flathead. As far as holding flathead are concerned, for the small ones I use the 'thumb on bum' technique as shown in this video: