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Trolling lures for flathead!


Scratchie

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G’day raiders, 

I wouldn’t mind a bit of advice from you good people on trolling lures for flathead. 

I have no problem catching them on sps or bait but I was wondering how many of you use this method? 

What type of lures and sizes do you use? 

What depths do you target? 

My curiosity comes as I was out the other day and managed two on sps but I noticed a guy trolling for them. We both worked the same area and he managed 4. It’s definitely a consideration of mine as you can cover more ground running 2 or 3 lures. 

All advice is appreciated! 

Cheers scratchie!!! 

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Used to use Manns stretch 5s and 10s not sure if you can still get them The way to do it to troll the deeper lure close to the boat but still sporadically hitting the bottom and the shallower lure 3m behind it There's heaps of lures in those depth ranges Use them to troll drop-offs on an out going tide On high tides troll the flats but drop the lure depths to maybe 6ft and 2ft

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2 hours ago, Aardvarking said:

I've had luck trolling a Halco RMG scorpion 52 in shallow water for flathead (0.5-2m). I recommend the deep diver one (2.5m diver), as it makes the lure bounce along the bottom, which they love. On the site it says to troll them at 0.5-4 knots: http://www.halcotackle.com/products/scorpion-52/

Thanks mate! The 5inch seems to be the go!

2 hours ago, The Iceman said:

Used to use Manns stretch 5s and 10s not sure if you can still get them The way to do it to troll the deeper lure close to the boat but still sporadically hitting the bottom and the shallower lure 3m behind it There's heaps of lures in those depth ranges Use them to troll drop-offs on an out going tide On high tides troll the flats but drop the lure depths to maybe 6ft and 2ft

After researching with local tackle store your spot on and that is what they recommended! You must be old school iceman! 

He looked furiously for the Mann’s lure but couldn’t find them! 

Thanks for the info, I’ll track them down! 

Cheers scratchie!!! 

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I have some Halco Scorpion and Manns Stretch 10's but to be honest my best lure to troll for Flathead is a Jackall Chubby Deep. They really seem to like them. Have had plenty of good fish take a trolled Ecogear SX-40 and SX-48. Just use a decent leader because those lures can sometimes get inhaled due to the small size but they definitely catch some BIG fish on the troll.

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22 minutes ago, TheFoosh said:

I have some Halco Scorpion and Manns Stretch 10's but to be honest my best lure to troll for Flathead is a Jackall Chubby Deep. They really seem to like them. Have had plenty of good fish take a trolled Ecogear SX-40 and SX-48. Just use a decent leader because those lures can sometimes get inhaled due to the small size but they definitely catch some BIG fish on the troll.

Thanks mate! I have a few of them as I use them for bass and sometimes for flatty from the yak! 

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i have trolled a blade a couple of times, getting a reasonable amount flatties, biggest 52cm, but now i mostly cast sps around. the balde i was using was a 1/4oz tt switch blade

Edited by Regan
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17 minutes ago, Regan said:

i have trolled a blade a couple of times, getting a reasonable amount flatties, biggest 52cm, but now i mostly cast sps around. the balde i was using was a 1/4oz tt switch blade

harder to troll from boat but

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31 minutes ago, Regan said:

i have trolled a blade a couple of times, getting a reasonable amount flatties, biggest 52cm, but now i mostly cast sps around. the balde i was using was a 1/4oz tt switch blade

Thanks regan! Not a fan of blades.  I guess each to their own! 

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3 hours ago, Scratchie said:

 

After researching with local tackle store your spot on and that is what they recommended! You must be old school iceman! 

He looked furiously for the Mann’s lure but couldn’t find them! 

Thanks for the info, I’ll track them down! 

Cheers scratchie!!! 

Did they also tell you the hot pink ones lol

Shallow water flats I used smaller lures best combo was a pink tilson minnow with a brown firetiger attack behind it also got quite a few bream trolling that combo

Old school is when I was throwing abu killers(still have one) around in the late seventies as a teenager

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7 hours ago, Regan said:

i have trolled a blade a couple of times, getting a reasonable amount flatties, biggest 52cm, but now i mostly cast sps around. the balde i was using was a 1/4oz tt switch blade

+1 on the blades they’re very effective 

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5 hours ago, The Iceman said:

My biggest flattie at 95cm came on an ecogear vx40 blade while blading for bream around bait schools in 30ft of water

 

15 minutes ago, flatheadluke said:

+1 on the blades they’re very effective 

Must be me then! I’ve tried several times for no result! Switched to sps and bang! Might have to give them another go then! Thanks! 

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Just to throw a curve ball in there to get you thinking a bit, I have had great success using the humble old Tassie Devil in the larger size, colour to match the hatch as there is so many different colours in the range. Give them a try and I don't think you will be disapointed, and you haven't lost a fortune if you happen to get snagged up.

PM me if you want to know how I rig them up.

Frank

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hey Jeff,

RMG Scorpions in purple or Black with the read head, look for the ones with P50 Bibs, they dont seem to snag up much. Or El Cheapo Berkley Flicker shads in black/gold, mullet. Troll them along drop off's and if you hook one, troll in a figure 8 around that area you will prob pick up more - i do this from the kayak all the time.

I find they work best when they are actually digging up the sand, this seems to really peak their interest. With regard to speed, whatever is going to get the lure digging is all you need IMO.

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Hey Scratchie, I do a fair bit of flattie trolling- its a nice lazy and productive way to fish,my home ground for doing it is Berowra Creek . I normally look for water 4-6 ft deep and my go to lures are PINK Micro Mullets, next best option is Berkeley Flicker shads which are very cheap and the Zerek Tango shads seem to work well. I dont like short fat lures anywhere as much as those listed. the Micro mullets are very weed proof too, give them a hard flick if weeded and they come free. I get best results holding the rod in my hand and giving the tip a few flicks as I trundle along. I have a mate who does well in deeper water but its a bit more complicated and when i go flattie fishing its for relaxation and a feed 

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I will throw another vote in the Manns Stretch 5+ and 10+ if you can find them.  I have a few left and they are pure gold.

Some more HB's I have been using specifically for Flathead and have success are:

 

Zerek Tango Shad 69mm (the 50mm is good too).

Daiwa Tournament Spike 52sp

Lively Lures Micro Mullet

 

Cheers

Windy

 

 

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^^ i think it got mentioned above, the last tip i have is dont waste your chubbies on them (im talking about lures here). Those lures are too short, and you run the risk of gut booking or them rubbing you off.

Longer minnows like 70mm or longer are much easier to de-hook

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16 hours ago, The Iceman said:

Did they also tell you the hot pink ones lol

Shallow water flats I used smaller lures best combo was a pink tilson minnow with a brown firetiger attack behind it also got quite a few bream trolling that combo

Old school is when I was throwing abu killers(still have one) around in the late seventies as a teenager

I was trying to think of the name last night...mans for me as well...pink plastics did the damage on flatties today...

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