Where the bloody hell are the fish?!

[bilby]

I've had a pretty quiet summer myself! No summer mulloway run this year in my usual spots, and no pinkies up the river as yet, either. I even branched out and went snapper fishing in a decent south westerly at Beaumauris landbased. I managed to finally hook a very good fish that took 30m of line with my 12ft rod buckled over, but was eventually cut off on reef. Other than that, my trip to Hobart was the last time I caught any decent number of fish this year!

[eddyt]

Actually I was down at Mornington on Friday night. Seems like it's dropped off a bit lately. Not many people, but some good squid around. Shh...

oh...I err... meant to say not a squid in sight. don't waste your time

[gmtl34]

Hey mate. I've gone floundering a couple times but no joy. As for fishing for KGW landbased I would generally gove it a miss. You will catch them but not consistently to any degree like a boat fisho.

Squid - can be caught 24 hours a day. You need good jigs (not expensive but good colours and foils etc) and good fluro leader. Places to start are Mornington / Sorrento bay side or Flinders for less consistent but bigger squid.

Flatties - A decent size jighead that will get you down to the bottom and stay there. A zman paddle tail or grub will get you started. Very hardy and no fuss plastic. Cast out, let sink to the bottom and a slow roll back. Stop every 2-3m to make sure you hit bottom again. You can vary with a smallish double hop or a burn and stop. Flatties are ambush predators who sot and wait for something to go past. You will catch them, just need to know how.

Enjoy mate!

Floundering is all about picking the tides, pick a good beach with a low tide and full moon and you will fill the bag!

Thanks for the tips mate, i've heard PPB is better for flatties than WPB so maybe i should give that side a miss altogether and stick to the port? Also what size soft plastic would you recommend and which size jig head to suit? I've been using a 4inch SP with a 1/12 jib head but not sure if thats right?

What would be another good target fish i could start trying for once i can land a few flatties?

Cheers

[gmtl34]

Actually I was down at Mornington on Friday night. Seems like it's dropped off a bit lately. Not many people, but some good squid around. Shh...

oh...I err... meant to say not a squid in sight. don't waste your time

My last trip there i was elbow to elbow with people haha!

but thanks, i will not waste my time down there at my next available night

[4liters]

I've had a pretty quiet summer too. I feel like a lot of weekends have been blown out so there has been less opportunity to get out, but when I have got out I've never really got the bags of 10+ fish I got last summer. There has been some good sessions to be sure, but they've been few and far between.

[Bar002811]

Mornington pier is good for squid at night. No light needed, just stand close to the start of the pier where the big light is. Actually don't shine your torch into the water as it scares them away. Can never really tell where the squiddies go though because ive had just as much success further down the pier in complete darkness.

For fish landbased lately around st kilda has been going alright on pinkies after a strong westerly. Paternoster rig with pilchards or squid on 1/0-2/0 circle hook working well for me. Best time strangely has been on the start of the rising tide but dawn/dusk are usually productive. Some flatties around too.

Always wanted to give floundering a go too but no idea where to start. Any hints around Mornington to Brighton and what gear you need?

Are the landbased pinkies fired up at the top of the bay at the moment now mate :thumbsup:

[Kadmium]

Hey mate. I've gone floundering a couple times but no joy. As for fishing for KGW landbased I would generally gove it a miss. You will catch them but not consistently to any degree like a boat fisho.

Squid - can be caught 24 hours a day. You need good jigs (not expensive but good colours and foils etc) and good fluro leader. Places to start are Mornington / Sorrento bay side or Flinders for less consistent but bigger squid.

Flatties - A decent size jighead that will get you down to the bottom and stay there. A zman paddle tail or grub will get you started. Very hardy and no fuss plastic. Cast out, let sink to the bottom and a slow roll back. Stop every 2-3m to make sure you hit bottom again. You can vary with a smallish double hop or a burn and stop. Flatties are ambush predators who sot and wait for something to go past. You will catch them, just need to know how.

Enjoy mate!

Floundering is all about picking the tides, pick a good beach with a low tide and full moon and you will fill the bag!

Thanks for the tips mate, i've heard PPB is better for flatties than WPB so maybe i should give that side a miss altogether and stick to the port? Also what size soft plastic would you recommend and which size jig head to suit? I've been using a 4inch SP with a 1/12 jib head but not sure if thats right?

What would be another good target fish i could start trying for once i can land a few flatties?

Cheers

Hey mate. Flattie fishing is not a finese type sport. I would go something like a 3inch Zman MinnowZ in bloodworm, bad shad or calico candy. A heavier jig head like 1/8 or even 1/4 ounce. Zmans are bouyant so you can get away with a bigger jig. You need to make sure you are on bottom. The head will hit bottom but the SP will float tail up looking like a feeding minnow on the bottom. Slow retrieve as that tail works with just the thought of movement. You can put a very small dab of superglue around the jig head to keep it snugged up. Zman are very robust so should stand up to the toadies better. The same applies for the Zman GrubZ in 2.5inch. Colours include bloodworm, motoroil, gudgeon. The GrubZ are fantastic and can later be used on Bream with a 1/16 or lighter jig.

Retrieve - cast out to sandy patches with weed. Flatties love to sit at the edges of drop offs and in weed to bush anything that comes past. A slow roll retrieve will work for you. Take in 2-3 meters then stop till you hit bottom again. Rinse and repeat. You should get flatties in no time.





Squid - try use an Egi rod if possible. It's easy to strike too hard and pull the jig or even rip the candles right off the squid. Use quality jigs (check out Rui jigs)

I use a good length of 15lb Fluro leader tied to a quick swive . Try and mix up colours and most importantly foil colours. Red silver and gold foils are great in different light situations. Cast out and let the jig hit bottom. Give the rod a quick double or trip lift and wind. Then let sink again. Often the squid will hit the jig on the way down and as you go to do your jig you set the hooks. Don't be too violent or you can pull the hooks. Good colours to start out are a red, white, bright green, dark green, muddy brown and a purple.

Most importantly make mental note of what worked at what times.


MinnowZ


http://www.bcf.com.au/Product/ZMan-Minn ... riant=true

[Wolly Bugger]

apparently frankston pier fished very well yesterday for salmon.

[Fish-cador]

apparently frankston pier fished very well yesterday for salmon.

Franganistan will be bloody again.

No fish here!!!

[purple5ive]

Code: Select all

 which size jig head to suit? I've been using a 4inch SP with a 1/12 jib head but not sure if thats right?

What would be another good target fish i could start trying for once i can land a few flatties?

Cheers[/quote]

use a 1/4 size jighead, 1/12 is too light.
also you can try for pinkies after flathead, they arent that hard to catch if you can find them feeding.