Drifting for dusky flathead in shallow water

Found all along the east coast, they are known to frequent estuaries and are vastly sought after in coastal towns.

From my experience with duskies, after plenty of observation when targeting them, I have witnessed the larger fish moving into the shallow water to bury themselves in the sand.

Why do they do this? My theory is they like to sit in reasonably calm water and camouflage themselves in order to prance onto prey as it swims past. Given that they are lazy and bury themselves, you generally have to take the bait to them and virtually drop it on their head for them to have a crack at what you’re presenting.

Therefore, drifting is a great option. I find drifting in a boat very effective as you can cover a variety of country and present your lure in a similar way to how their normal prey would appear.

You can tow lures behind your boat or cast and retrieve, covering more ground than you would from land-based fishing.

When casting plastics, if you have covered considerable ground already and haven’t had a touch, change the colour.

I always tend to start with my favourite colour combination of green and pinks and if I’m not having a win, I will change to white and so on.

When fishing the shallows, I use a size 1/8 weighted jighead with a 3/0 hook.

I have the best success with a mid-pace retrieval and by flicking my rod tip every few winds. Make sure you wind up your slack quickly, as flathead are known to hit the plastic when diving back down.

I throw my plastics around with a light rod accompanied by a 2500-size reel.

I have often seen people cast out way beyond the shallow water. When it comes to flathead, you don’t need to cast as far as you can.

Instead, try retrieving soft plastics in the shallows. I have personally picked up some large fish in a depth of only 50cm or less.

The other places I have had success is fishing nearby drains and deeper drop-offs near sand bars.

Flathead are ambush predators, so will often wait in these areas for prey to be swept across by the current.

In my opinion, small live fish is their favourite banquet so if fishing with bait, try throwing out a live herring rigged on a 2/0 hook. I find circle hooks work best as they are a good chance of hooking themselves.

The idea is to fool the flathead into thinking that your bait is normal prey in the area. Generally, anything that is presented in an attractive manner by continually moving will fool the fish into having a go at it as if they don’t grab it, the opportunity to feed will be lost.

Flathead are known to perform a series of headshakes in an attempt to dislodge the hook. Be careful when landing as they can easily throw the hooks.

Use a landing net with fish-friendly netting and look after the fish that you will be returning to the water. If you land a prize fish, minimise the time it is out of the water.

Between taking photos, continue to put the fish back into the water by gently lowering the net, to get the water through its gills.

Flathead have a set of spikes located at the back of their head, so use caution when handling the fish.

Always respect your local state and bag limits and release what you can to help sustain this fishery of ours for generations to come.

Note that some states and territories have a slot limit for flathead to protect breeding fish, meaning if you do catch that metre-long lizard, a photo is the only thing you’ll be taking home.