Social Flathead Challenge V (Results & Trip Reports)

[hillbilly]

I have the advantage of being able to fish during the week so I picked a day with little wind and I was lucky enough to catch five flathead all on soft plastics without covering much territory at all. The first was the smallest but at least it wasn't going to be a donut like the last comp.

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I caught a couple more.

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Enjoyed the scenery and wondered what the owners of their waterfront properties did for a living.

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Then caught my two biggest and called it a day.

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Thanks Brad for running this competition.

[OutbackSno]

Thanks to Brad for organising, great idea and I really looked forward to the challenge but unfortunately the weather was lousy on my nominated day.

I couldn't plan for the 1st Saturday because of work but was able to get out any way on a perfect day and got a flattie, bugger wrong day.

On the 21st the weather was crap, windy and showers when I got up but I went out anyway.
Launched about 7am and the sounder showed mass of fish below 2 metres but no touches.
Tried all the usual spots in 25k gusting winds but couldn't get a touch.
Had a bit of weed so I tried for blackfish and got a couple for tea but the anchor wouldn't hold against the wind.
Headed back against the wind trying for a flathead but not a touch.

[funpaddle]

Thanks Brad for reminding me to post some details of the background to my obtaining a DSQ in the final results.

Starting at the beginning, I too like Brad decided that the first available weekend of 14 & 15 July seemed to be too windy to fish if Seabreeze was to be believed. So I planned to head out on the following Wednesday 18th as I felt that a weekday would be more suitable than a weekend.

Early on Saturday 14th, the weather forecast cleared so I headed out to take advantage of some good weather. For some reason I decided to go to my favourite spot where I recently had some good luck with the lizards. I was not thinking about the competition. I didn't take a camera or a net because I was not intending to stay out for long. I hooked up to a good fish not far from the boat ramp while trolling in the same general area that I lost a monster the previous trip. I decided to take it easy this time and see if I could land it. I had to head for shore but it was on the ebb tide so it was only 20 metres. I carefully landed it and it measured 76 cm. Bugger, no camera. She was very strong and made some awesome runs, I was a bit outgunned on 9lb line. I released her safely then circled the area again for a few casts to see how popular she was.

The weather stayed good so I chased some more and eventually got three nice flatties of from memory 45, 52 & 55 cms. All were kept for the table.

Wednesday 18 th arrived, I did all the usual things in preparation for the competition as per Brad's instructions. I realised that my camera was not giving me sharp images but I did not have a spare & thought 'oh well, see what happens'.

I went back to my hot spot during the morning at gentlemen's hours and the tide was different, I trolled and cast along the banks without any strikes. I then travelled around looking for more likely spots that I have not tried before. I thought my mojo had come too early the previous trip but was not too concerned.

After a couple of more hours of trying different things, the tide had turned and I was heading back to the ramp in the middle of the wide channel. I was trolling along some now visible sand banks that looked promising. No luck to start with, the current was a little too strong to stay so I drifted down a little more when I spied some weed beds. I figured I would cast some hard bodies over the top and retrieve them thru the weeds which were in about 3 foot of water. I felt the trebles catch up in some of the thicker weeds then the line went unusually tight. Ahhaa!! Success. The fish created a lot of splash as I slowly retrieved, it was a good fish. I decided to head it toward shore where it went 62cm, took a pic with the brag mat etc.
I headed back to about the same spot, decided to anchor up and try again - same result, good take, strong fish but it self-released after getting it close to the yak. Waited a few minutes then repeated the technique, again a good quick strike, back to shore for another measure and pic etc, it went 62cm this time.

Headed back to the ramp, happy with the result but not looking forward to the pics. Sure enough, they were very blurred, bugger!

Maybe next year. Thanks for the organising, Brad. I am looking forward to finding new locations and experimenting with different techniques.

[sharksaus]

Headed to Greenwell point with Hano and Steve chasing Flatties or whatever I could land.
When we arrived at our lauch spot the weather gods were kind and the water was glassy.

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Peddling out to the main channel I threw plastics and lures about with no luck for about an hour then things got interesting.
The wind blew up from the west and what was a nice morning became a horrible time on the water but with nothing on board as yet decided to stick it out and keep on trying.

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I headed over to a more sheltered spot and with the tide change things didnt get a whole lot better.

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Heading back into the main channel I met back up with Hano who had had some success landing his first for the day.
I changed to the same colour plastic he had been using and after about 20 minutes i managed to land my first Flatty.

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He went 50 cm but iI took a lousy Picture and you could only see 48 cm of him.
The weather went from bad to worse and I couldnt hold bottom even with my coopers anchor so I headed to shallower waters to try and stay in one place.

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Another 2 smaller versions not worth measuring was all I could get and it was time to head back to the launch site.

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Back near the launch site we ran into woodsy in his new PA12
Nice yak mate
We decided to hang around and have a fish with Bill and watched him land some nice fish while I bumbled around in the wind.
He showed me his secret weapon and I have since gone onto the site that takes all my money and ordered a few.
Even the Pelicans had had enough of the wind sheltering on the wharfs nearby.

It wasnt the most pleasant day but still good to get back into the salt and have a fish with a few mates
Thanks Brad for organising the comp as it is the first I have been in
Cheers
AL

[Alveytait]

Firstly Well done Brad for organising this event. Look forward to the next one!!! Congrats to Rocket for taking out the title. A couple of stonka lizards there!!

Well my day had been planned a few days ahead as it was the only one I had off and had to contend with whatever mother nature through up. Lucky enough the sky was blue although the wind was blowing which I had hoped wouldnt be too much of an issue. I had spent the previous day setting up a new camera mount and was keen to test it out.

I hit my spot at about 8am rigged up the yak set up the camera turned it on and..... nothing..... A quick check revealing no battery.... mmm still in charger at home... spewing... never to mind I still have my phone to take pics... Back in the comp!!

Trolling the sebile koolie for only a few minutes and after picking up a fair bit of weed i land a 31cm Flatty. On the scoreboard... With doughnut pressure gone I trolled around my spots for the next couple of hours for nothing so decided to try some new ground. I was cruising towards the marina thinking how good a day it is and failed to notice the yak passing over a nice sandbank and good dropoff. Lukcy the Koolie Minnow was on the ball because my screaming ratchet pulled my mind back into the comp.

A short but firery battle resulted with one 41cm flathead being photographed a thousand times to try and get a decent shot from my phone!

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A full scorecard! Whilst nothing spectacular it was good to be hunting for upgrades. A short time later a mate turned up and after a quick beer and chat he proceeded to flick some soft plastics around and within about half an hour I hear his reel screeming, I look over and his rod is buckled over and after a few minutes he nets a 64cm Flatty!

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He was spewing cause he hadnt entered the comp. I was spewing cause I had fished that area all morning for bugger all. After alot of spewing it was back to the comp and back to hunting upgrades....... after lunch that was.....

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Ok back into it now. Only a few hours of light left and the wind was howling and bloody cold. I trolled and trolled and trolled, I flicked and flicked and flicked for a couple of smaller ones only. My mate was doing no good either and just as I thought about packing it in the wind dropped and the water glassed out! About half an hour of good light left we made a b line back to the spot the mate had luck earlier. We both anchored up and out came the gulp crazy legs.

We were getting hits but no hook ups until my mate got onto one but lost it yakside. Next it was my turn vzzzzz and the battle begun. Somewhere in the fight my sunglasses got lost overboard but I wasnt concerned as all i could picture was upgrade!! And upgrade it was. A 51cm was netted put in a choker hold for another 1000 odd photos with the phone.

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The light faded fast as I made my way back to the ramp. Happy with my effort and had another great day out on the water!! Happy Days

Andy

[rocketV]

First of all, a BIG thanks to Leper (Brad) for his work in organising and running this event. I have fished most of the Social comps he has championed and find them a great excuse to get out on the water and target a species. The long window of opportunity and flexibility to nominate a date at short notice is great and I look forward to taking part in the next one.
Fishing opportunities have been very limited for me of late as my wife and I recently welcomed our 2nd daughter to the family. A two year old and a newborn make for a dusty kayak!
I made plans to meet a mate of mine at the Bald Hills ramp to fish the Pine River (Brisbane). He got there one hour before me and had two flatties on the board before I arrived. Unfortunately for him he had a sore back and left not long after I arrived.
Traditionally I plan my sessions around dawn and dusk as they are natural bite periods. If I can get either a High or Low tide to coincide with one of these events then all the better.
My day started slow but finished with a flurry.
I chose however to fish the tides in this instance, and get on the water just before high and fish the outgoing tide.
My plan was to find a drop off and sit in deeper water hopping my lures down imitating the bait being flushed off the flats and out of the mangroves.
It took me quite a while of trolling and casting to find a spot that ticked all the boxes.
Tucked in behind a small island with a deep water channel next to some protected shallows I found an area that looked promising, and it certainly delivered.
What followed was almost 2 hours of hit-per-cast fishing that resulted in 15 flatties bought to the net and another 3 or 4 lost beside the yak to spat hooks.
Sitting in the calm water eddy provided by the island I cast into the shallows and worked my Zman 3” MinnowZ on a ¼ TT Jighead with either single, double or triple hops. In most instances the flatties attacked on the drop after the first working of the lure and came up solid on the next. Some missed the lure and came back for another go, but most action took place not far from the shallows close to the bank.
My first cast produced a fish of 45cm and was followed by a 55cm next cast. A jubilant fist pump and I was into upgrade territory and a happy man.
Gotta love it when a plan comes together!
From there the session just got better.
The fish were all coming from an area the size of half a tennis court and every time I lobbed my lure into the zone I was getting either hits or hook ups.
The size of the fish varied from 40cm up to 69cm and the two biggest (68 and 69) both put up great fights and had my adrenalin pumping all the way to the net.
I chose to beach the yak for photographing both the big girls as the prospect of two feet of angry lizard in my lap was one I did not fancy.
As both fish came from the same area I was considering the possibility that I had caught the same fish twice, but there was definitely a small size difference and the 2nd fish showed no sign of being hooked before (the first one was lip hooked and left a small hole when I removed the hook).
The best fight of the day was courtesy of a 55cm model that was hooked just under it pectoral fin. I called it for a larger fish and perhaps even a jewie as it fought far differently to all the others and was very energetic.
In the end I broke my PB twice that day (previously 63cm) and it was hands down the best session I have had on the flatties. All fish were in great condition and were released to fight another day.
All fish were caught on the same lure and jig head. These Zman platics are very tough and despite being thoroughly mauled by 20 odd flatties it is still in top shape and ready to catch more fish. To start the session I used a smear of S Factor, but after a while I realised the fish were not fussy I did not reapply and they kept hitting.
I was fishing a 2-4 kg Strudwick Softbodz 7ft rod, 4lb braid on a 2500 Stradic FJ with 8lb fluorocarbon leader. The leader got scuffed on many occasions and I was continually trimming it and had to re-tie it a number of times but it never broke while fighting a fish.
When measuring a "small one" : 60cm at the end of the session my fish ruler with UFN went overboard and I took that as a hint that it was time to go.
The fish were still biting when I left but my girls were at home waiting for me and I had a great afternoon, what more can you ask for?

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[Gigantor]

Thought I'd have a couple of opportunities to get out and chase a few lizards locally - but sadly one got canned by the wild winds and the other by an impromptu family gathering. So wasn’t to be. Next year it is now. Congrats to all for the great fish caught and released. Good to see such a healthy population is out there in many locations.

Cheers,

Pete

[ifish1208]

Hi Guys

Big congrates to RocketV for getting some nice flattys.
I decided to make the Monthly Sydney kayak meet as my day to fish. We went to Harksbury river a place I have never fished before.
When I got there I met up with a few other members and was told the meet was canceled. We went out anyway. I used a Pontoon 21 Crackjack Deep in tiger colour and just trolled in areas that looked fishy as I got half way up the river I was on for my first fish a nice 49cm Flatty. I met with Mac and a few others. it turned out to be a nice day on the water. I caught another 4 fish and then my last big one of 56cm.

Thanks to Leper for organizing another comp and cant wait for more.

[markschofield]

Well done all.

I was happy as Larry to submit scoring fish.

Looking forward to next year!!

[Yak away]

Congrats to Rocket on the win,a big thanks to Leaper for a great comp. Mother nature wasn't playing nice at all with 25 - 35 knots and rain by the bucket load!! Scored a big donut for the comp day and was pretty pi**** off so the next day tried a little creek very sheathed and managered a 60cm,45cm,40,39,38. Can't wait for the next comp as this was my first.
Cheers Pete.

[matman]

Firstly, congrats to RocketV on his victory - well done.

To everyone else that had a go, good on you for getting out there - fish or fishless

To Brad, again two thumbs up for your great work mate!

As for me, well I haven't been paying enough attention on the site and missed the boat on the application close off

If we are lucky to have another one later this year (say around November sometime Brad ), I will look to reclaim the title

Well done everyone.