Jaybe

Thanks so much for all the info guys (as always)... this is a goldmine & I can't wait to give it a crack!

Hi all, Just had a quick question about chasing flathead on soft plastics (SPs). Have previously done OK using nippers & salted pilli's but wanted to give some SPs a try. Would greatly appreciate any advice from the community on the brand/colour/type of SPs that have worked well for them in the past. I'm planning to use them down at Patonga Creek over the next couple of weeks, some quick specs on the location are as follows: Water clarity's generally pretty good Can be a reasonable current between the tide turns Low chance of bottom snags but can be a bit of weed in the water Thanks & best, Jb

Thanks for the advise everyone! I tried it out over the weekend & caught my first keeper bream - along with the usual flathead (see attached pic). Winning technique: Bream was caught at night on the run in tide I burleyed them up with a mixture of bread & prawn shells I then baited the peeled prawns & sent them down the trail In the end I settled on a simple running rig, with a small sinker sitting directly on top of a long shank hook Thanks & best, Jb

Hi All, Quick question on bream & whiting tactics. I usually target flatties in Patonga Creek & have had some good sessions using nippers & salted pilchard on the run out. In recent times I've pulled in a heap of undersized bream & whiting as by-catch but I've never caught a keeper. I know there are some decent bream & whiting in the area and was hoping to get some advice from the community on how to target them? Cheers, Jb

Thanks mate, I was actually talking about the drop off on the Hawkesbury side... about 25-30m into Brisk Bay. It's a top spot for Flatties when the swell's low but very tricky to fish without a boat if the swell's over ~1-1.5ft. I had looked at the spot you mentioned above & will give it a go for sure - might be room for a flattie or two in the drop off & maybe some bream around the resident's jetties. In terms of the fishing more generally, I have found it very productive at times (with flatties up to 56cm) but it can be tide/weather dependent & that makes it a bit inconsistent. It may just be that I'm fishing the wrong spots though... so thanks again for the tip. Jaybe

G'day Raiders, To start with, I'd like to say a very sincere thank you to the Fishraider community... I'm a long-term reader & the knowledge I've found on this site, on just about every conceivable topic, has helped my game immensely! As the title suggests, I'm after a couple of land-based spots that I can fish at Patonga both on the pm low tide & after dark (i.e. the evening high tide then the run out). I've had consistent success on the a.m high tide fishing at the creek mouth for Flatties & Tailor, for this I've used fresh nippers & salted pilli respectively. The first issue I'm having is finding a good spot to fish at the lunchtime low tide - on occasion I have been able to wade out to the drop off that runs parallel to the mouth of the creek about 25-30m off the beach, however I've found you can only reach it when the swell's really low. If any Raiders have other spots that work when the water's low in the afternoon, I'd love to hear about it (e.g. I've heard good things about Dark Corner but have never tried it out). Secondly, I'm trying to find a good spot to fish after dark (pm high tide & run out)... Again, I've had some patchy success fishing in the creek channel off the back of the camping ground but wondered if there was anywhere else I should be trying (e.g. does the creek mouth work well on the pm high tide, the same way it does in the morning)? Again, my primary targets are Flattie & Tailor, using nippers & salted pilli but more than happy to take breaming spots & am open to different baits etc. Cheers, Jb