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VISION versus VIBES


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VISON versus VIBES

I was fishing the Northern Sandflats yesterday.

The whiting fishing was a bit slow, so I quickly shifted my attention to Flathead.

There was something on my mind. I was curious to know. Which sensory stimulus was most likely to attract a Flathead strike?

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I lean to vision being the most important sense that a Flathead employs in hunting prey. As all my successful Flathead fishing has relied on placing my offering in a highly visible “Strike Zone” above their eyes …  unconventionally under a float.

Yes I have taken the occasional Flathead, on a bloodworm intended for whiting, while trolling and dragging it along the bottom in sand. And I have caught a few Flathead, bouncing blades and vibe lures, across the sand. Again while targeting whiting. But these have always been incidental catches. Nonetheless, Vibes and movement along the bottom has produced the occasional result.

I have tried fishing the bottom for Flathead with a lot of intent and effort. Using blades as well as an array of soft plastics. Working, bouncing and retrieving my offering across the sand in front of Flathead. Success has been minimal when relying on vibrations and bottom movement. Where as capitalising on their sharp vision by keeping my presentation, above their eyes under a float has been enormously successful.

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I was keen to explore this further.

I was starting to assume that bounces, shakes and vibrations, meant little and it was all about vision. Flathead had a dysfunctional lateral line. Very little feel for vibrations, jiggles or bounces.

I asked the S. A. Flathead Guru and “Doctor of Yellow Fin Whiting” Bill Goh from Adeliade Uni. His reply:

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“ the flathead’s lateral line is very pronounced (even hard to get the scales off), and it is orientated closer to the top (dorsal). So when a flathead digs itself in, the lateral line is more exposed.“  https://www.facebook.com/groups/970345633507487/permalink/1095174604357922/

Maybe I had underestimated the effect of vibrations with Flathead. Now there was no option but to have a head to head comparison for the two senses in the one session, using the two different techniques. Floating a soft Plastic below a float (VISION) versus Bouncing, jigging and vibrating a paddle tail plastic along the bottom (VIBES) .

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THE TEST

Berkley Jerkshad 120mm was in the “VISION” corner, Versus Squidgies Bio Tough Paddle Tail 100mm in the “VIBE” corner.

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Overcast skies yesterday, I felt would be putting the “Visual” presentation at a disadvantage. From the Flathead’s view looking up, there would not be as strong and contrasting a silhouette against dark clouds.

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The test did not need to be conducted too long. The slender fish like Jerkshad suspended under a float got all the fish! I am sure the most important sense for a Flathead is Vision. Make your offer most visual and obvious for the best results. I chose to use a float to do this.

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TERRAIN

Is it all about the Habitat and Terrain?

On the Northern Sand Flats of the upper S.A. Gulfs, the terrain plays a most important role. With the bigger tide movements of the upper Gulfs, I find most Flathead in the faster tidal flow areas. Usually in weed filled channels, broken weed beds with sand patches, and along weed lines. Occasionally slightly reefy patches. But always in a high tidal flow area. The Southern Bluespotted Flathead, (Platycephalus Speculator) seems to love sitting in or around some structure, rather than being buried in an open sandy area, which occasionally happens.

I prefer fishing the run off tide. With the draining run off tide, baitfish get concentrated into these areas of structure. The easiest and most trouble free, snag free, way of covering this terrain, with the best visibility … is under a float.

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This terrain and heavy weed growth restricts the Flathead’s vision to a mainly upward line of sight. Making its hunting heavily reliant on its vision, in this habitat. The terrain and heavy weed growth would also somewhat dampen any of the other stimulating senses.

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Yesterday I managed 2 Flathead at 61cm and another 3 in the mid 40s. Along with half a dozen whiting in the low 30s.

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It was a great day. It could have been brilliant if I had not lost a further 2 good fish today. Both bust offs. They get very angry in shallow water! I am still using my ultra light and well worn whiting lure gear and line. Time to step up and gear up seriously to target these guys over Autumn.

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Cheers and Tight lines, Des

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Excellent article!! They are very impressive catches. I'm itching to give it a try in the mangrove snags up here in FNQ.

How do you work the lure under the float? 

"Popping cork" rigs are used with soft plastic (or bait) in the USA over seagrass beds, and a few folk up here have made their own to fish ultra-snaggy territory. One fellow in Cairns makes his with little "propellers" available at tackle stores, and various rattling beads from craft stores. Here are some of his catches. He says sometimes the fish hit the cork first!

 

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Mainly a steady retrieve over structure and Flathead Lies. A little quick variation at times, but I only pause when I see a non comital follower. Then they usually strike.

Yes a few fish attack the float. On a few occasions I have recognised them as Flathead. They tend to be the smaller ones. But mostly down here the Salmon Trout attack the float. 

Give it a crack over structure and snaggy ground.

Would love to hear how you go. Good luck. 

Cheers Des

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11 hours ago, Des said:

Mainly a steady retrieve over structure and Flathead Lies. A little quick variation at times, but I only pause when I see a non comital follower. Then they usually strike.

 

Yeah when I used to spear fish, the pause was definitely a trigger for me to go in for the kill.

When a fish was feeding and puffing mouth fulls of sand through their gills - thats was when they were at their most vulnerable to a sneak attack. The silt and sand would cloud their vision and it showed they were concentrating on other things

 

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  • 4 months later...

Amazing how far these flatties (duskies) will track down a lure. Some good lessons too -- fish sand patches in the seagrass at high tide, drainage channels as the tide drops, and weed/structure patches on the sand at low tide. Swap the school mackerel for salmon trout and one could be in nthn Gulf St Vincent! 

 

 

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