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great write-up. Those big ones are true "crocs". Speaking of.....how log is the biggest bluespot you have seen reliably measured?

Mark, It is always the Food stupid! ... the saying borrowed from political campaigns ! I am sure you will get my drift So it is all about the best conditions for the baitfish. Always follow the baitfish. The falling Tide is best. The baitfish retreat and congregate in weedy areas. Flathead follow and also congregate. I don't get as many on the incoming tide. Too Windy. Little baitfish need protection and head out deeper or into sheltered deeper channels. Too Cold. Deeper water is warmer than the chilly shallows for the sensitive baitfish. And this also applies with

Always so picturesque in your part of the world. Catching fish is a bonus

This was my only trip to the Leven River so far this season, it hasn't fished all that well over the past couple of seasons but i thought it was time to give it a go before the season closes. cheers Adrian..

Brilliant report/article & photos Des, plenty of great info as well.. Those flatties were a good size, mouth watering actually.. Thanks for another ripper trip Des,, cheers Adrian

Great post. After reading this I need to get myself sorted for some flathead fishing on the flats. What conditions are you looking for? Is it like YFW with the tides, aiming for when they are concentrated at the bottom of the tide? What surface conditions are you looking for? I'm off to Tackle World on Thursday night to fit out my lures with new assist hooks and then hit the flats. Cheers Mark

Fantastic post mate! This will be great reference and repeat reference for years to come.

A great write up again...You certainly do your homework...and the results show that...Very nice indeed.

For the Yellow Fin Whiting Lure fanatics it is time for the withdrawal symptoms to start setting in, as the water temperatures start dropping. Fortunately there is some pain relief, in chasing a few Flathead on lures. Autumn brings a transition for the sandflats lure fisherman. YFW surface lure fishing drops off. Flathead lure fishing picks up. The “Southern Blue Spotted Flathead” becomes more prolific on the sandflats of the Northern SA Gulfs. . And it is the large accumulation of SEAGRASS WRACKS at this time of the year, along with the change in temperature, that starts i

p.s. extremely unsafe testing methods were used

Snapped my testing rig and punched myself in the face - but it got to about 18kg before the wire testing rig snapped - The fishing hook glued into the jighead did not budge

If you want to add a tow point to a jighead. Just cut a hook - drill a hole and super glue it in gives a surprisingly strong hold. I couldn’t pull it out with 2 sets of pliers

I've started chucking 1/28th's in 9m of water, when conditions allow me to get them down to where the sounder says the fish are. The same plastic will remain untouched (Almost) on 1/4er's or 1/8th's - but a plastic that doesnt plummet, will get smashed on the drop by the unstoppables that make this technique a bit ridiculous on my current tiny jigheads. Sure you can grub heavy heads along the bottom and get hits and land the smaller dumber fish. But on the 1/28th's you barely need any skill at all. Just spot the fish on the sounder and count to 40 as the 1/28th sinks - then hang on

This trip was early on in the season, a spin session when the trout went from one lure to another. It turned out to be quite a good spin session as well with some beautifully coloured wild brown trout being caught & released. cheers Adrian (meppstas)

The ones you catch here are black bream.

Size limits same if caught in SA, but for selling there isn't a size limit as such, it just matters they were legally caught or also if they're from aquaculture, you can get tiny Barra and Murray cod quite easily for example due to them coming from aquaculture and small snapper from interstate.

I googled Black Bream they look a bit dirty in colour. The ones i saw were like i catch and release in West Lakes , Pat and Onk. Silvery and clean looking.

no, same size limits Have you got a picture? Were these Black Bream Acanthopagrus butcheri ?

I was grocery shopping with the wife last week and noticed Bream for sale sitting in ice. They were very small 150mm-200mm ,these are my target species so am familiar with the legal size in Sth Aust 30cm. Are shops exempt from size restrictions ?

Hi Mark OSP Bent Minnows 76mm or similar: Assist Hooks Size 4: https://www.anglerswarehouse.com.au/atomic-trick-bitz-assist-hooks-no-skirt Single Hooks Size 4: https://www.anglerswarehouse.com.au/bkk-imp-inline-single-hooks OSP Bent Minnows 106mm or similar: Size 1: https://www.anglerswarehouse.com.au/atomic-trick-bitz-assist-hooks-no-skirt Single Hooks Size 2: https://www.anglerswarehouse.com.au/bkk-imp-inline-single-hooks Rapala Shadow XRap SXR12 120mm or Atomic HARDZ SLIM TWITCHER 110mm Size 1: https://www.anglerswarehouse.com.au/atomic-trick-bit

What size assist hooks and singles are you using? Cheers Mark

The sandflats north of Adelaide, at the top of both the SA gulfs, hold some unique terrain and ecosystems. At low tide, these sandflats can drain out for over 2 kilometres. The tidal movements are, over 3 meters in St Vincents Gulf and upto 4 metres in the upper Spencers Gulf. The water temperature ranges from 11C to 25C. Typical of shallow, protected water bodies, it is a highly productive ecosystem holding a lot of fish and marine life. It is home, for two of my favourite fishing targets, the “Southern Blue Spotted Flathead” -Platycephalus speculator and the “Yellow Fin Whiting” -Sil

Good to know there are a few about the metro beaches. Try keeping your bait moving. YFW love a moving bait. So cast and slow retrieve. Or alternatively walk out to the sand bank in upto waist deep water. Then slowly walk along the sandbank trolling your bait some distance behind you. You will have them, chasing, tapping and soon striking your bait. Good Luck

This summer I have regularly been fishing a common metro spot for yellowfin with my best session being 6 fish 26-30cm over about 8 hours fishing. After seeing recent discussions regarding a reduction in catch numbers I agreed that maybe there are fewer numbers. My last 2 trips I have seen plentiful numbers of good size fish swimming through the shallows. I have pumped the nippers, fished the incoming tide, cast near the school for them to rush over have a look and leave the bait sitting there. And have observed the fisherman near me experiencing the same. I don’t know what I seem to be d