Hard Bodies to target Flathead

[Ribs]

Hi Raiders, first post so please go easy on me....

I have been bait fishing for years, however i am now right into flicking plastics,blades,hard bodies etc into the Georges River seeking flathead landbased, i have a range of good quality lures and plastics and i want to target flatties on Weedy/Sandy 2-5foot bottoms around the Bonnet Bay/Como area. Blades get caught up in the weed, plastics at times seem to not interest a bite so any advice or particular "lures" for me to try this season will be appreciated. Thanks FR for running such an informative and friendly site.Ribs

[onearmedfisho]

Hi Raiders, first post so please go easy on me....

I have been bait fishing for years, however i am now right into flicking plastics,blades,hard bodies etc into the Georges River seeking flathead landbased, i have a range of good quality lures and plastics and i want to target flatties on Weedy/Sandy 2-5foot bottoms around the Bonnet Bay/Como area. Blades get caught up in the weed, plastics at times seem to not interest a bite so any advice or particular "lures" for me to try this season will be appreciated. Thanks FR for running such an informative and friendly site.Ribs

Mate any hard body diving minnows should work if they're in the right place at the right time! Even if they dive rather deep it will be worth a try as the lure hits the bottom and stirs up the sand/mud which then creates interest by nearby fish... Afterall flathead are nearly always on the bottom!

[cjchen]

Halco Scorpion 35mm, the ones that go 1.4m works well.

change to owner trebles

I am trailing 52mm deep diving versions now that go 3m.

they are light so you will need a good flick rod to cast out.

7'2 versions

I troll them of my kayak and do quite well

[Anti-Carp]

Hi Raiders, first post so please go easy on me....

I have been bait fishing for years, however i am now right into flicking plastics,blades,hard bodies etc into the Georges River seeking flathead landbased, i have a range of good quality lures and plastics and i want to target flatties on Weedy/Sandy 2-5foot bottoms around the Bonnet Bay/Como area. Blades get caught up in the weed, plastics at times seem to not interest a bite so any advice or particular "lures" for me to try this season will be appreciated. Thanks FR for running such an informative and friendly site.Ribs

Blades and plastics are the best places to start for flatties. One thing you need to keep in mind is to keep the lure in the strike zone by trying to bounce the lures off the bottom. If you're regularly getting your blades in weed your in the right territory but you might want to consider your lure choice. Ideally plastics and blades that have trailing assist hooks like the ecogear zx are ideal as they are a lot more weedless and snag resistant then other blades that are running trebles.

Location wise when you're fishing from shore look to fish drop offs and weedbed corners as that's where the fish will be likely to hang out.

Hard body wise any lure that hits the bottom or is close to the bottom will do the trick in 2 to 5 feet of water look for lures that look like poddies and shrimp work the best in these kind of depths also in terms of color I find translucent colors work best.

[Ribs]

Appreciate your advice Gents, stirring up the bottom using the Halco Scorpion and Ecogear ZX35 will be my plan of attack. I just bought "weedless" hooks from the tackle shop which the guys says is the best plan of attack rigging up with plastics and winding on some lead to get some weight into the jig....anybody use these?? with my nitro rod i assume this may solve my problem by now being able to cast far enough and retrieve back without a cheech n chong clump of weed coming with it.......will let you know how it goes.....again many thanks guys.

[Jewdreamer]

Appreciate your advice Gents, stirring up the bottom using the Halco Scorpion and Ecogear ZX35 will be my plan of attack. I just bought "weedless" hooks from the tackle shop which the guys says is the best plan of attack rigging up with plastics and winding on some lead to get some weight into the jig....anybody use these?? with my nitro rod i assume this may solve my problem by now being able to cast far enough and retrieve back without a cheech n chong clump of weed coming with it.......will let you know how it goes.....again many thanks guys.

Hi Ribs to the forums.

I don't get much chance to get out there these days but love the georges, home turf.

Lets hook up some time for a sesh, PM me for contact details.

Cheers

Chris

[Hundgie]

Try the Manns stretch +5 in the grey ghost colour.... one of the best all round divers i've ever used.

[The Iceman]

Ive done quite well on flatties in the Wonnie using a hot pink tilson minnow

Same lure also accounted for my PB black bream 42cm also caught in the Wonnie

[gmandile]

Hey Ribs, I use fresh nippers pumped from out the front of my oldies place. Did you get out for any on the weekend?

[Ribs]

Hey Ribs, I use fresh nippers pumped from out the front of my oldies place. Did you get out for any on the weekend?

Hey Bro, no chance getting out in that miserable weather, hope to venture out this weekend for a flick Before you bolt down the coast, you are more than welcome to drop some nippers off at mine ! !

[jenno64]

All of the advice here is good stuff and all I can add is if you are landbased, try using blades or bigger plastics to get some distance then target weedy drop off areas in 0.5-2m. If you can, get out onto the flats at a really low tide and look for flathead lies in the sand/mud. If you see a large croc imprint, come back and flick something around there at the first of the run out. Good luck!