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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.
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And it is the large accumulation of SEAGRASS WRACKS at this time of the year, along with the change in temperature, that starts it all off. Unlike the claims of some armchair academic experts, the sandflats areas where large Seagrass Wracks accumulate, is where you will find the greatest concentration of Flathead at this time of the year.
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SEASONAL CHANGES IN THE ECOSYSTEM
It is a season of change. And multiple factors come into play.
The most fundamental change is in water temperature. Daily air temperatures have a tighter range, fortunately without those cold mornings of winter. Water temperature, currently around 18c provides the ambient conditions for baitfish. The sandflat shallows hold a lot more baitfish in these temperatures. And they linger all day in the shallows. And where baitfish linger so to do Flathead.
Also and most importantly, large Seagrass Wracks form at this time of the year.
The annual shedding of seagrass leaves through Autumn and Winter along with the higher tides and prevailing breezes, causes the accumulation of seaweed wracks in the northern SA gulfs, over these cooler months.
In the ambient autumn temperature conditions the Wracks host an explosion of life in this ecosystem.
When the organic material decomposes and breaks down it contributes to the food web systems by supplying essential nutrients. The composting seagrass accumulations are the source of detritus and of particulate and dissolved nutrients which contribute to beach and inshore marine foodwebs. Starting from (micro) zooplanktons, amphipods, bivalves, worms, crabs, juvenile prawns, clickers and  … lots and lots of small baitfish. Seaweed Wracks are at the start of the food chain that delivers us the fish we catch.

   ~ Weed Wracks, the start of the food chain, so thick that getting onto the sandflats can be difficult
There are many other signs that the bait fish are around in greater numbers.
Their predators gather, both from above the water and under the water.
When the Bird watching groups start reporting some big numbers of bait fish eating bird varieties, you know the water borne bait fish feeders (Flathead) will also be about.

   ~  An abundance of Baitfish feeding Birds. A sure sign of Flathead around.
With all the indicators pointing to an abundance of Flathead, I decided to spend a couple days immersed in the northern St Vincent Gulf sandflats environment.

   ~  Catching fish is a bonus in this delightful environment
The best terrain is the weedy areas. The baitfish hold and shelter there and so do the Flathead chasing them.
Weed barren sand patches hold very few Flathead. However a few whiting are likely while traversing a Flathead barren sand patch.
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LURE SELECTION & TECHNIQUES
I Don’t subscribe to a long held approach for lure fishing Flathead.
I don’t fish the bottom. I don’t bounce a lure across the bottom of the sand, puffing the sand.
Flathead have eyes on the top of their heads. Above their head is their main field of vision. The area that they will be concentrating on. Not so much the peripheral vision areas out  in front of them on the sand.
So position your lure on top of their heads … Simple!
For this my methods include fishing Soft Plastics under a float. These days, I am mainly using floating or suspending hardbody lures. All with retro fitted assists and single hooks to avoid fouling on and cleanly pulling through the weed adjacent to the Weed Wrack areas.
 

   ~  The successful lures on this outing. OSP Bent Minnows and Rapala Shadow Raps   ~  
 

   ~  Another victim of the OSP Bent Minnow 106mm - Colour: H09. Crystal Blue Shiner
 

 
   ~  One on the Rapala Shadow Rap 07 - 70mm Colour: Moss Back Shiner. It pays to cast over the same area with 2 size lure offerings. Sometimes they are not in the mood for a big feed.

 
   ~  Assist hooks at work. Flathead can be clumsy strikers of a lure due to a blind spot created from the setting of their eyes. Apart from pulling through weed easily, assist hooks also increase your hook up rate.
 
This concept of fishing lures above the flathead’s eyes rather than in front of it, has in recent times gained a lot of acceptance with the enormous popularity and success of the floating glide baits now available. They hold and dance above the Flathead’s eyes.
Also bear in mind you are wading and fishing shallow water. Between knee to waist deep. So there is no need for any deep diving lures.
Currently my favourite lures are the OSP Bent Minnow and the Rapala Shadow Rap which were both successfully used on this outing
Your lure retrieval style is critical to your success rate with catching Flathead.
They do not behave like Salmon or Snook. Flathead are not morphologically evolved for chasing down bait fish like Snook or Salmon are. They lie in wait as an ambush predator with a explosive burst of speed. Often slowly stalking, following the baitfish. Then with an explosive burst lunge and seize the baitfish. Especially when the baitfish momentarily pauses.
There is plenty of drone video footage here at JC's Fishing Shenanigans of Flathead stalking baitfish … : https://www.facebook.com/JCsFishingShenanigans
As we most commonly chase Salmon & Snook with lures we have become accustomed to a fast retrieval rate. And the YFW surface lure fishers only know to retrieve fast and continuous!
The lure retrieval rate for Flathead is very slow … Extremely slow! A few erratic twitches now and then followed by a few seconds of dead pause. Should a Flathead strike and you miss the hook up. Pause again and it will most like pounce back on your lure. The stalking or hidden Flathead likes to strike when the baitfish pauses.

   ~   In knee deep shallow water they go hard. You need to play them out before gliding them into the net.
My arthritic wrists are certainly enjoying the change in retrieval tempo !
RESULTS
Over the two days of pleasant weather I covered a lot of ground, wading the sandflats, searching for and hunting down these beasts. This style of fishing does take some physical effort, but it is the most satisfying experience to successfully find your prey.
I kept 14 fish ranging from 45cm to 69cm. I even picked up a few whiting while traversing a Flathead barren, weed free sand patch.
 

   ~  My catch retained for the 2 day outing. I even managed a few whiting while traversing a Flathead barren sand patch.
 

   ~  these Flathead are high 60s. Size enhanced by photos taken from the “Anglers Angle” !! T
I also caught and released a couple of 70+cm Flathead.

   ~  75cm Blue Spot Flathead … Released
 

   ~  Taken close to the weed wracks. A 72cm Flathead … released.
 
So WRACK ON !!! It’s time to fish the weedy Sandflats.
Cheers and tight lines Des

I had a disastrous day last week and could only manage one Yellow Fin Whiting all day. I got the tide and the weather conditions all wrong.
I was fortunate to realise the error and managed to back it up the following day by relocating my fishing to a spot better suited to the tide and weather and finished with a bag of 20 large YFW on surface lures.
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The sandflats of the upper SA Gulfs are a dynamic environment and ecosystem with many a variable factor that affects fishing. It keeps you thinking. Keeps you on your toes! And we don’t always get it right!
One of the most dynamic and important factors on these sandflats are the tides.
And Beware! tides also are, the greatest danger for a novice fishing these areas !
Knowing what the tide will do on any particular day is essential.
Every spot has different characteristics, where the same tide will behave differently.
For a successful fishing trip to these sandflats, you need to consider the tide along with the weather on the day. You then select the most suitable spot for those tides and those conditions.
My recent trip to the upper St.V Gulf clearly illustrated this.
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On Day 1:
It went terribly wrong. The predicted tide was a slow steady run out all day. That did not happen. The spot was a wide sandflat. A small tide across a wide space means a slow steady water flow. That has a lot of fish lingering over the soft nipper beds. Unfortunately an unpredicted drop in air pressure and SW winds far stronger than forecast pushed against the flow and held the water at a standstill.
No flow no fish. I only ended up catching the one fish on Day 1.
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On Day 2:
The tides and weather were very similar to the previous day. Having reconsidered the factors at play. I moved to another spot. The location was narrower, more restricted & channeled sandflat squeezed between a mangrove wall and the weedline.

The tide flow here was quicker moving through this restricted space. And the fish were a lot more responsive. I finished with a bag of 20 quality large Yellow Fin Whiting.

The Sugapen 95 was the most successful lure. And Zipbaits Fakie Dog DS70 took a few.

 
For a successful day of YFW fishing on the sandflats you need to be aware of all the tide and water flow factors.
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GULF SHAPE, TIDE ENTRY, WINDS & TIDAL FLOWS
I do most of my fishing in the Gulf St Vincent. So this post will focus on the tidal influences on the Gulf of St Vincent Sandflats.
The very shape of the St V Gulf affects the tides in the gulf.
The first factor are the openings to the gulfs and their orientations.
To the East of K.I. the Backstairs Passage. A narrow and very restrictive entrance to the gulf. Not much water can flow through that passage. Although the tide that does, races through at a great rate.
On the West side is Investigator Strait. Which is considerably wider and the main entry point for the tide in St V Gulf tide.
If you study the tide times in the gulf, the tide arrives earlier on western side ports. This western orientation of the main gulf opening, has a major impact on tides when a SW wind blows. The SW wind or storm surge forces a lot more water up the gulf than any other wind. That will increase the tide height, considerably far more than the forecast height.
And the opposite also applies. A NE wind will force water out of the gulf, dropping the actual tide to lower than forecast.
 

Air pressure adds a compounding factor. A lower Air pressure draws up more water and a high air pressure will force water out.
Our Afternoon Sea breezes (occasional Gale) also act similar to a SW wind. It forces more water up the gulf and increases the tide height. Particularly in the upper gulfs.
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So if you have ever arrived at a sandflats location expecting the tide to be where you thought it should be … and it is NOT. Reconsider the above factors.
Danger is present, should these conditions come into play whilst you are out a kilometre away from the safe shore. A change in conditions can have the tide come in far faster than you have expected.
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Our gulfs narrow at their northern ends. This amplifies any tide movement. In the constricted space of the upper gulf the tide has no where to go but up. Check the high tide on the same day.  A Pt. Adelaide 2.60 mt tide, will be a 3.90 mt tide at Pt Wakefield. So in the upper gulfs the effect from any of the above variables will be amplified. Stay alert! And factor it into your fishing.

TERRAIN, & STAGE OF TIDE
Narrow areas will increase the height and speed of tide. Wider areas the reverse. This may assist or hinder our fishing depending on the weather and tide on the day.
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It is important to know your spot and its height in regards to the low water mark.
Beware the elevated sand flats. If the tide at a spot, like Bald Hill Beach, arrives 3 hours after low, then you are obviously on the higher ground on an elevated sandflat. When the tide arrives here, it arrives at the fastest period of tide flow. Many fisherman are caught and taken by surprise in these locations.
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Know the “RULE of TWELFTHS” .  How much water comes in and when. How much more will be coming in. The Flow rate of the tide in that hour. So you can decide; do you sit it out there and keep fishing or get out of there quickly.
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THE RULE OF TWELFTHS FOR TIDE MOVEMENTS:
- Based on the most frequent 6 hourly tide cycle experienced.
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If we Start at LOW Tide.
There is no movement. 100% of the water movement is yet to come in.
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1 HOUR after Low Tide:
- 1/12th of the tide moves in this hour.
- 7% of the tide has moved in, during this hour.
- 93% of the water is yet to come
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2 HOURS after Low Tide:
- 2/12th of the tide moves in this hour.
- 25% of the tide has moved in, by the end of this hour.
- 75% of the water is yet to come
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3 HOURS after Low Tide:
- 3/12th of the tide moves in this hour. The first of the fastest 2 hours of movement.
- 50% of the tide has moved in, by the end of this hour.
- 50% of the water is yet to come
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4 HOURS after Low Tide:
- 3/12th of the tide moves in this hour. The second of the fastest 2 hrs of movement.
- 75% of the tide has moved in, by the end of this hour.
- 25% of the water is yet to come
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5 HOURS after Low Tide:
- 2/12th of the tide moves in this hour.
- 93% of the tide has moved in, by the end of this hour.
- 7% of the water is yet to come
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6 HOURS after Low Tide:
- the last 1/12th of the tide moves in this hour.
- 100% of the tide has moved in, at the end of this hour.
- No more water to come in. This is the top of the tide.
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There have been a few occasions, when I have been counting the minutes and calculating the tide, whilst I was stranded out on a bank with water too deep to cross all around me.
Hopefully your sandflats fishing can be much more successful armed with the knowledge of these variables and their effects on your fishing.
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Cheers and Tight lines, Des

A sunny Cup day meant getting out for a fish rather than be stuck home watching the races.
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The flats were very crowded on race day. There were hordes and hordes of legal but smaller sizes Yellow Fin Whiting in the 25 to 29cm mark. They were a fish a cast for much of the day.  But …  Not the kind of horses I wanted to back.
With so many little mugs about it was inevitable that the sly and the opportunistic would be out there ready to prey on them.
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A sunny day on the sandflats is such a delight. The clear visibility and water clarity makes watching the passing parade a pleasure. Such an array of different species that cohabit this shallow water ecosystem. Amongst all the delightful sights on a sunny race day, are the diverse collection of Rays cruising around mooching in the sand. But amongst the happy crowd a few seedy characters lurk.
Yup, “Bronzy Bob” turns up just when you least expect it. While you are distracted.  Intensely concentrating on a big Whiting chasing your surface lure, one of only a few on a lean day, your wading tub suddenly lurches left!
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“Bob the Bag Snatcher Bronzy”   was at it again. He snuck up from behind and latched onto my catch-keeper bag that I have dangling in the water.
Shooing him off did not work. He was persistent.
When he made one too many swipes at my catch bag of whiting, I thought I should teach him a lesson.
I allowed him to feel comfortable for yet another swipe. When he was just about to launch into my keeper bag I scooped him up with my landing net.
It was a bit of a heavier load for the landing net.
He was a healthy looking 3 foot specimen.
I gave him a stern talking too, a slap on the snoot, took a couple of mug shots for the “Crim files”, and sent him on his way.
 

 
I am told they are very good eating at this size if they are prepared properly after they are caught.
However there is just not enough room in my wading tub to handle the job.
Lucky for the Bronzies!
These guys are frequent but annoying visitors on the sandflats.
Mostly in the 3 to 4 foot range.
They are not a threat, just disturbing. I can assure you they are discerning feeders and far prefer the whiting to the revolting taste of your waders and leg within!

 
On the occasional dull session I have targeted them with a whiting fillet on ganged hooks. Good fun landing them on your whiting gear, whilst wading the shallows !!!
 

   ~ One hooked up on a previous session.
The biggest I have come across on the shallow sandflats is a 6 footer, maybe 7 feet. I didn’t hang around for a closer inspection and accurate measurement!
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My luck had abandoned me today as the weather factors negated each other to provide difficult conditions for stimulating the YFW bite. The wind speed and direction up the gulf, negated the small natural tide movement and the resultant actual tide was virtually at a standstill all day.
Even if only small, Some tide movement is a great stimulant for the YFW to feed.
It was hard work catching and releasing dozens and dozens of smaller fish.
But I still managed to back in a few good horses on cup day.
I finished with four fish around 40 to 41cm. And kept 10 of the better ones, that were mostly around 35cm.
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   ~ "Bob" took a chomp on this one! 
Regardless of the fishing, it is always an interesting and enjoyable day wading the sandflats.
Cheers, Des

The seasons are changing. The temperature is rising.
The water is warming. It is all happening a bit earlier this year.
Lizards are crawling on the roads. And “Lizards” (flathead) are crawling in the sea.
Water birds are gathering, lining up for a feast of baitfish from above.
The Flathead are lining up for a feast of baitfish from below.
In these ambient temperatures, food is plentiful in the shallows.
The ecosystem has had a great kickstart with the rise in temperatures and every thing comes alive and thrives on the sandflats.

Temperature is the biggest driver for a series of chain reactions, in the sandflats ecosystem.
I am forever monitoring the water temperatures.
The rise in water temperature is early this year.

A series of natural events occur, which results in delivering us fishers, some fine Yellow Fin Whiting and Flathead.
Stimulated by the rise in water temperature about now our local Prawns, the Western King Prawn, start spawning in their mid gulf grounds.
Also now, the Haswell Shore Crabs shrug off their cold weather torpor and also spawn in the inshore shallows.
Post larval Juvenile Prawns start migrating from mid gulf to the warmer, shallow, inshore waters of the upper gulfs.
The Haswell Shore Crab larval zoea, now abundant, provides food for the juvenile Prawns and schools of baitfish.
There is a boom in the population of Juvenile Prawns, Haswell Shore Crabs, and Baitfish in the inshore waters … And also their predators. YFW and Flathead, have moved in, enjoying this abundance of food.
Having experienced a sustained period of exposure to higher water temperatures, the YFW have now, increased their metabolisms and have developed voracious appetites. The larger predatory YFW that I like to target are now aggressively hunting on the sandflats. Devouring juvenile prawns and shore crabs.
So it is a perfect time to place myself at the end of these chain reactions and target some YFW and Flathead.

I took advantage of the warm weekend.
Given the tides, I selected an area that amplifies the small tide movement and works best on the slower tides.
I started with chasing Flathead on the falling tide. The Flathead are very active chasing the baitfish as they retreat to the shelter of weedy areas in deeper water.
Fishing for them in heavily weeded areas does present it’s challenges.

Lures with trebles catch too much weed. And when a Flathead is hooked they will head into the weed. All the exposed treble barbs, hook onto the surrounding weed and help the Flathead throw the lure.
I have recently started to use floating hardbodies like OSP Bent Minnows, with singles and assist hooks, for these areas. These hooks pull through the weed easily. So far, I have yet to have a Flathead throw these hooks.


Look for where the Herons are feeding to show you where the baitfish are and the Flathead will be holding just downstream.
I was able to extract 3 Solid Flathead that were hiding around the weed, terrorising the baitfish, before the tide slowed.

Next on the agenda were the YFW. A good depth of water was holding over the softer feeding sandflat areas. Usually you will find this substrate holds more food and fish.
Whilst not feeding as aggressively as when there is more water movement, the YFW were still keen enough to take a well worked lure offering over the sandflats. My usual favourites, Sugapen, Ecogear ZX and Zipbaits Skinny Pop, were the more successful lures.
However it is a new season and there are always a few new offerings to try out.
They did not get too much time in the water but both these new lures took fish.
The New Sugapen Splash, which is perhaps better suited to a choppier day still took a fish.
Daiwa’s Slippery Dog 80cm in the colour “Ebi” that I had not previously come across, I thought could work well in this area, had some success.

A drop in air pressure with a change in wind direction from North to SW, pushed water up into the gulf and provided a small wind tide. The water movement, stimulated the fish to bite late into the afternoon. “Bob the bag snatcher” is also making an early season appearance. I normally don’t see them on the sandflats till November.
I kept 14 of the better YFW. Most are over 35cm. And the best a very nice 42cm.

The Flats are Firing early this year !!! Hopefully we can look forward to a great season ahead.
The only downside is the heavy toll the professionals have taken over this winter as they increasingly search for alternative species to supplement their restricted and dwindling catches.

 
Tight lines all.
Cheers, Des

TERRAIN:  HIGHWAYS TO THE FEEDING ZONES  …  You can sign along to this post !
Yellow Fin Whiting have been showing up in good numbers in both gulfs recently.
But you still need to find them, and fish the right spots … at the right stage in the tide.
YFW are always on the move. Actively feeding on a moving tide. Both in and out going tides.
But there are dead transit zones, over which they will pass through without providing you much of a chance to catch them. These are merely the … Highways to the Feeding zones.
The feeding zones is where you want to be fishing.
In each YFW Habitat there are transit zones and feeding zones.
In the upper gulfs the coastal environment contains a lot more mangroves and samphire beds. Nearest to shore and onshore are the Salt bushes and Samphire bed areas.
On many stretches of the upper gulfs they will also be a mangrove forrest wall.
Through these mangrove forrest flow many small tidal creeks and channels, that pour in and out onto Sandflats. The Sandflats drain out, eventually meeting the ribbon grass weed beds.
In the lower gulfs, the terrain is slightly different without Mangroves and less Samphire.
They are replaced by open sandflats, sometimes with a little scattered reef, and banks of fine seagrass weed beds, that drain out to a weedline of ribbon grass.
Each area has it’s own characteristics and features, which influence the movements and feeding behaviour of the YFW. The all have their transit zones and their feeding zones.
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WEED LINES.
We start at the deep end, the weedline. This is the first of the habitats in which we find YFW.
The deeper seaside of the sand flats are always bordered by the weed line of sea grass beds. These are usually Ribbon weed or tape weed beds (Posidonia varieties). Often this will be where the bottom of the low tides hold. And were the YFW take refuge on the low tides.
In the lower sections of the gulfs, their cousins the King George Whiting also keep them company at the weed line. Along with many a Flathead too.
The best spots for land based KGW are the weedline areas that receives a natural berley stream from  sandy shallow drains, running off the sand flats.
This habitat is also a favourite for Flathead, which take cover in the weed edges and like to ambush baitfish straying too close.
You will find the larger YFW hanging around here, mixing it with the Flathead and KGW. Large YFW have the speed and morphology to take minnows at the weedline. They are able to chase them down along with any Shrimp that may have come out of the sheltering grasses.
The barrier like structure of the weed beds will mean there is always some channeling through the weed beds, caused by the tidal flows. These channels are the main flow areas during tidal movements, on and off the sandflats.
Focus your fishing at these channel openings, both at the bottom and at the start of the tide.
And in a dodge tide, it is the only place to be. The minimal water flows of a dodge tide will be greatest at these channels, and so stimulate the YFW to feed in that area.

~ King George Whiting, Yellow Fin Whiting and Flathead all found down on the weedline.

~ Find the water flow and fish at the channel openings
SANDFLATS
Sandflats … are never Flat !!!
Sand flats don’t always slope seawards in a continuous gentle gradient. They is more often a series of ridges, gutters, bowls, channels and steps leading down to the weedline.
These are not necessarily dramatically obvious. A 4” to 5 inch depth difference is a significant change in these shallow sandflats.
These structures and variations in the sandflat terrain are the most obvious fish holding areas. The slightly deeper areas of the shallows, are the first areas that YFW will retreat into on a dropping tide, or swim into and hold in, on the incoming tide.
Fish always hold at steps and drops on the sandflats, wether it be the run in or run off.
They prefer to feed on the shallow edges of any deeper water areas rather than in the deep water itself.
If in a fast flowing channel focus on the slow side of a bend in the channel. It is where food would naturally settle and fish will feed. It is where the benthic organisms colonise more with out fear of being swept out by a fast moving tide.
Shallow weed beds of finer bladed, lawn like, seagrasses ( Zostera varieties) are often found on the more open flats lower in the gulfs. They are important for the movements of YFW during the tidal flows. In very shallow water YFW will tend to favour moving along the weed bed edges and take cover in the weed beds. It is an ideal spot to target them in ankle deep water. The water is always a bit deeper alongside the edges of these fine grass weed beds.
Should the wind be a bit strong, YFW will hold on the Leeward side of these beds a bit more. And on light winds with gentle lapping waves, the windward side of these weed beds.

~ The small variations on the sandflats hold the fish
SUBSTRATE on SANDFLATS
Regardless of upper or lower gulf areas, you should identify the substrate that you are fishing on.
As a wading fisherman you can feel and identify the different substrate underfoot.
It is simply either, coarse, gravelly and hard, or soft, silty, and sandy.
I usually move on quickly from the coarser, gravelly areas and onto the finer, siltier, sandy areas.
Coarse gravelly limestone or shell grit areas are not as productive. They do not hold the YFW food so don’t hold the YFW long. It often is a faster flowing area and a transit zone for fish.
You will still catch the odd few YFW as they use it as a highway to the feeding zones. But they won’t hold and feed there.
The feeding zones are characterised by finer, softer, siltier sand beds. Which holds a lot more YFW food. This is where all the benthic dwelling creatures, like cockles, worms and clickers live. All the juvenile prawns that we see leaping around on the surface at night as nocturnals, now bury themselves for the day in the soft sand and silt.
YFW linger a lot longer in these softer sandy areas searching for and feeding on the food it holds.
MANGROVES
Bordering the sandflats on the shoreside in the upper gulfs are often mangrove forests. Amongst the mangrove forest there are clear water ways that channel the considerable tidal movement experienced in the upper gulfs. The tides flow through tidal creeks and mangrove openings and into the samphire beds, or out onto the sandflats. These mangrove openings will hold a greater concentration of fish when the tide is moving.
At times the thick growth and dense mangrove canopy can totally conceal an opening. There are however some tell tale signs of a concealed creek or channel. Ever wondered about those Shags, that regularly congregate on certain mangrove trees overlooking the sand flats. It’s the Shag breakfast club. The shags are there because there is food flowing out there. Minnows, Shrimp and Prawns are being brought out on the falling tide through a creek concealed by the mangrove canopy. The larger YFW are not threatened by the Shags and will also hang out the front of these spots.

~  Mangrove Openings have high flow rates and hold fish
SAMPHIRE BEDS
Once past the mangroves there are obvious narrow channels through the samphire beds. These are invariably gravelly rarely holding benthic species. But they will hold and concentrate YFW passing through that can’t help but see your offering. The YFW like to move up into the muddier samphire bed areas primarily to feed on Haswells crabs and small mud cockles. This is a highway on which you can actually take a toll.
Great spots are Junctions, like one I nicknamed “Gepps X”. It does bring to together a concentration of fish. Even if only a relatively short time at the right time of tide. You can even catch YFW by hand at night in these narrow and restricted spaces.
Google satellite images are the most useful tool you have to help you find the spots and plan your strategy for the incoming and outgoing tide.

~  Fish move into the channels of the Samphire beds
OPPORTUNISTS
This has nothing to do with the terrain. Try casting lures around feeding Eagle Rays on the sandflats.
The YFW often hang around feeding Rays hoping to pounce on food that the Ray has dislodged.
They are in a switched on and opportunistic feeding mode, ready to pounce.
Just offer them your lure instead! This has worked well on a few occasion.
And in the better years now past, when the YFW biomass was not that badly decimated by the pro netting activities, they would also hang around swimmers on metro beaches, in the hope of some dislodged food.
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~   A nice Catch wading for YFW
As keen Hunters and Gathers, we always need to stay alert to and aware of all the features in the fish’s habitats and how they will effect our catch rate.
Tight lines all.
Cheers, Des

I have just enjoyed a couple of golden bag out Lure sessions on the “GOLDBARS”.
Two successive days with bag limits of quality fish in the 32 to 41cm range
This time mostly caught on the incoming afternoon tides.




My usual fishing sessions, most often involve some of both the outgoing and the incoming tides.
It is interesting to ponder on, which tide has the best fishing.
There has always been many a discussion amongst Yellow Fin Whiting fisher people as to which tide  is better to fish. The incoming tide or the outgoing.
My view is that varies. Generally it changes with the peak tide cycles, prevailing at that the time of year.
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Yellow Fin Whiting’s lives revolve around the tides. Especially across the sandflat habitats.
The tides are what provides them access to their feeding grounds or wash out food to them.
So it is no surprise that their feeding behaviour and movements change and mirror the tide cycles.
They do most of their feeding on the biggest tide of the day.
They probably have evolved a 24 hour digestive cycle to match and so have developed a 24 hour hunger/feeding cycle. Hence they soon form a feeding routine that coincides with the biggest tides of the day.
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Follow the Tide height cycle. By around the end of February the evening tides start to get bigger than the morning tides. This is when I find the YFW feeding behaviour starts to switch from AM to PM.
In the earlier part of the Yellow Fin Whiting lure season, from early October to February, I prefer fishing the bigger run off morning tides. From March onwards I prefer the bigger incoming evening tides.
However I am selective of the tide sizes I choose to fish! They are different tide heights that work better for the outgoing and incoming tides.
The big morning tides of early season, see a lot of YFW move into a wide area of samphire beds and sandflats. The bigger the tides the more fish that move in.
So early season I like to fish the runoff of the biggest morning tides and have a chance of catching the most fish as they beat a path back to deeper water in the outgoing tide.
When it comes to the evening incoming tides late season, it is the opposite. I don’t want to go chasing fish far and wide, spread out by a big incoming tide.
I pick the smallest evening tides to fish. When the fish will be concentrated in a small area. When the competition to feed in a restricted space heats up.
There are exceptions to the rule … but that is a story for another day.
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There is a slight shift in the availability of food and subsequently successful lure choices with these two tidal situation.
The early season big morning tides, which usually happen before dawn, provide access to a lot of juvenile prawns and Haswell mud carbs. Surface lures are highly successful during this period.
In the smaller evening tides, surface lures also take their share of fish, but subsurface lures are more successful. Especially on the smaller evening tides when the fish are restricted to the more inshore sandflats holding Clickers. So it is reasonable that a subsurface lure bouncing and puffing up the sand along the bottom is likely to be more successful.
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My go to favourite lures did the trick on these two Golden Sessions. The Bassday Sugapen 95 on the surface, earlier in the run off. Then most fish taken with the Ecogear ZX 43 in the run in, bouncing along the bottom.
There was a new kid on the block this time. It was my first use of the Chasebaits Armour Prawn Vibe 50mm. I had accidentally ordered the wrong colour. I thought I had ordered orange, the go to colour for YFW. But nonetheless it took a nice whiting in the limited time in the water on both sessions. I have yet to figure out the best tow point, the assist hooks to rig, or the best action for these. They look very promising as a sub surface whiting lure and I am keen to try them some more.

 
The Ecogear ZX is a good all rounder and able to attract a variety of fish. Flathead regularly fall victim to this lure. They are a delightful by catch and provide a great fight in very shallow water on your ultra light whiting gear. I managed to land a nice 51cm Flathead in my second session.  I missed a couple on the first day, mainly due to too fast a retrieval speed that I was using to attract YFW.

 ...    It pays to have a few spares when they swallow the whole lure !
 
One of the great pleasures of fishing is getting connected with nature. Becoming in-tuned with the varying seasons. Observing the changes in the habitats and the changes in your target fish’s behaviour.
I find it perfectly summarised in this quote from the famous Canadian, Author, Naturalist and Outdoorsman   … Roderick Haig Brown
"Invoke a mental and physical discipline that goes beyond making a successful catch or kill. Its central virtue is knowledge, intimate and thorough, transcending the pursuit”
Tight lines all.
Cheers, Des

I put this post up in a Facebook group last Autumn ...
 
HAND CAUGHT YELLOW FIN WHITING
As the YFW lure fishing season is starting to wane when Autumn progresses.
I resort to catching them by hand!
At this time of the year YFW are more active in the evening tide and into the night.
They have shifted from their major meal of the day being Breakfast to now being Dinner.
It is not so much water temperatures. But rather it is all to do with the tide cycles.
The YFW behaviour is as strongly driven by the tide cycles as much as it is driven by the water temperatures.
Autumn water temperatures are still holding above 20C and their metabolism and appetites have not yet slowed down.
The evening tide is now the larger more dominant tide. YFW use the largest tide on the day to access many otherwise inaccessible feeding areas.
Their daily feeding cycle and movements have now changed to feeding more in the evenings using the larger evening tides of Autumn.
Morning runoff tides and mid day lure sessions are far less productive now. The better lure fishing sessions now occur during the evening run in tide.
Particularly an evening after a warm day with a strengthening evening breeze and a large tide pushing through the mangroves.
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However there is only a limited opportunity for lure fishing, before night falls. Whiting Lures don’t work in the dark, and so bait fishing for YFW in the night run off tide is very productive this time of the year  …  Or alternatively for a challenge catching them by hand.
 
In a previous post on YFW Habitats and the food source they held,  I covered a favourite YFW food item. Haswell’s crabs.  ….
It is their love of these little critters that gives you the opportunity to Hand Catch a few YFW at this time of the year.
Under the cover of darkness in the evening tide, the YFW will hang back in the very shallow waters of the littoral zone, as the tide drops. In the narrow channels that run between the Samphire beds.
They wait for the Haswells mud crabs to emerge from their mud holes, that are under and around the samphire beds.  They YFW will linger a long time amongst the samphire beds. A long time after the high tide has dropped, and in very shallow water.

If you are equipped with a bright headlight you can momentarily hold a stunned YFW (not Mullet!) in the shallows long enough to try and grab him.
 
I missed a few by hand tonight. A very still evening meant the tide did not push in as high and not as many fish came in. But nonetheless I managed to catch a dozen on bait in the couple of hours after dark.

 
Try hand catching. A good fun alternative to lure fishing them.
 

 
Cheers, Des

I will put another old post of mine up regards their attraction for the crabs. I have only ever taken one YFW on the Cranka. But I have not given the Crankas much time in the right spots at the right time.

Wow DES . I have landed whiting on lures not many but sometimes they go off like marlin jumping around . Mullet believe it or not fight really well on lures mind you biggest I’ve got is around 20 cms in west lakes and Patawalonga. Now that picture of lures top right slightly darker base colour with same lines mullet love as do STs . Now I started after bait on salt water flies then hardbodies then plastics back to hardbodies . Now I’m not the greatest fly fisher gave that up what I noticed with bream in west lakes and I was wading on windy mornings choppy water they loved surface flies I’d tied with a building material that made them float painted green with nail polish . Not sure if they’d work elsewhere though .  Which brings me to you saying about fish learning. There are lures I’ve had and some I still have . Now what I’ll say might be strange and it doesn’t or hasn’t always been correct . What I’m trying to say some lures will land me bream STs ect in the Patawalonga but not get a touch in west lakes . However before I’m told I’m wrong I’ve lost some lures like double clutches that did n fact work in both water ways . I bought as a clearance sale item a double clutch grey on top light grey white underneath bream mullet at the Patawalonga and mullet in west lakes . Now the bottom colour one day when using a plastic accidentally hooked a tiny bait dish belly colour matched that double clutch . And we all know I do like black lures these do work in both including on a dodge tide in the lake when school mulloway ripped the trebles off ! But I’ve also have so many lures that STs attack in the Patawalonga but bigger salmon won’t look at in west lakes . Now plastics please everyone who uses them don’t just use motor oil please try other colours because sometimes motor oil won’t catch a fish .
Thank you DES for sharing and letting me ramble . I think tackle shop people hate me I study any lures before I purchase them colour being the biggest seller !
And my thoughts on plastics got me banned on a Facebook page years ago lol 

I found a post where you did mention Cranka Crabs....strange I must have missed that post, or not retained the bit about Crankas 🤔. It seems they can work as you say but best used where live Haswell crabs can be found, match the hatch. I probably wouldn't use them on the flats then but maybe around the Mangroves, good to know.
Cheers

Thanks so much for sharing your wealth of knowledge Des. Your posts are my go to for learning and planning when targeting YFW, with limited success (not due to your info I should add but my application of it😕).
I was wondering if Cranka Crabs would work for YFW, if you or anyone else has tried them? Maybe they'd be too big for their mouths and they wouldn't go after them. Other posts you've made show small crabs in gut contents. Appreciate any input.
I don't get to the Northern flats very often so don't get much opportunity to experiment but I'm curious if Crankas could work.
Cheers, keep up your brilliant posts.

LURE OBSESSIVE
Okay! I am a little crazy about lure fishing Yellow Fin Whiting.
I need to have at least a couple, if not more, wading & casting sessions a week.
But the obsession does not stop when I am out of the water.
I have rarely, in recent years, fished a single lure straight out of the box.
Every lure needs to be tinkered with and modified.
  
I and a few others are starting to think, tinkering, modifications, and multiple lure options are starting to be a necessity to ensure ongoing success when lure fishing YFW.
There is some anecdotal evidence that fish learn and are conditioned by their experiences.
They will soon avoid those dangerous items (lures) that have caused distress and have taken away some of their school mates.  Especially in the heavily fished locations.
Lure fishing may well cull all the risk taking aggressive fish. Or those with a higher metabolic rate. Leaving behind in the gene pool only the fish with the “timid cautious genes.”
You will continually have to change things up, present new options, to keep fooling them.
Little wonder there is always a new wave of super successful lure, shape, UV finish, Colour finish, material, etc, etc.
  
Well respected fishing writer and fishing product designer Steve Starling “Starlo” wrote back in March 2015, in the “Fishing Monthly Magazine” an article titled “Sticking it to Whiting on Top”
He wrote:  “In the places where I fish, bigger whiting (which are quite old fish) have now seen a lot of poppers, and I find they can be rather suspicious of them. Stick baits are more subtle and sneaky and seem able to go on catching these more ‘educated’ whiting season after season.”
  http://www.fishingmonthly.com.au/Articles/Display/17914-Sticking-it-to-whiting-on-top
We have seen the waning of the “Popper” lure’s effectiveness and the rise of “Stickbait” lures over the last 7 years.
Now how educated are those bigger older fish to Stick baits, after 7 years of experience? Will they avoid Stickbaits soon?
Blades and Vibes have since arrived on the YFW scene and they have been amazingly successful on YFW.
The Stick baits have now got bigger and bigger. And the bigger lures I find are proving to be more successful.
I recently got some Daiwa Slippery Dogs in their new larger 97cm size. For me, this has been Daiwa’s best lure yet for YFW.
How will lure designs for YFW progress? What are the adaptions we need to make to our lures?
How do we keep our offering new and fresh? We will always be trying to out smart these ever smarter YFW.

   - A Variety used in these sessions.
 
Here is a run down of some lures types I use and some lure modifications I make  ..... 
 POPPERS
A floating lure. They have a big cupped mouth, which when retrieved makes a big splash. They are a “look at me! LOOK AT MOI !!!” noisy lure that I still find successful in choppier windy conditions. When your lure has to compete with the chop on the water to catch their attention. The fish are less visually discerning with their obscured view in these windy conditions.
These lures need to be worked, with a higher rod position and a constant retrieve to maintain a continuous bloop and splash.
I use Atomic Hardz, Shimano Bresnious Rise, Bassday Backfire, mainly.

  
STICKBAITS
Also floating lures, known for their “Walk the Dog Action” or Zig Zag Glide actions across the surface of the water. Dependent on the vigour of your retrieve. These are my most effective lures.
There are usually in a pencil like shape. They may be a more bellied shape on some. On retrieval they move in a zig zagging fashion across the water surface.
These lures are very easy to work. Especially if you have the right ultra light, sensitive tipped, fast action rod. It’s automatic!
Some, as is the case with the Sugapen and Daiwa Slippery Dog, have a very small cup face that provides a slight forward splash.
I use Bassday Sugapen mostly, but also Zipbaits Fakie Dogs, Daiwa Slippery Dogs, occasionally Fish Candy Skinny Dog and Berkley Scum Dog. A kennel of lures !!!!
  
   - My Favourite Stickbait Sugapen95 Col# MB16
 
HYBRIDS
Again floating lures. Basically the longer Stickbait pencil body with a larger cupped popper mouth. They are very versatile in variety of conditions, but never seem dominant in any situation. Due to their larger cupped face they provide enough splash to be effective in choppy conditions as well as “Walk the Dog” in calmer conditions. On their day they can work when fish are turning up their nose at the Stickbaits. Again a very easy lure to work. I use Zipbaits Skinny Pop, MMD Splash Prawn, occasionally a Berkley Pop Dog
  
   - Zipbaits Skinny Pop at work
 
SIZE MATTERS
As a general rule I find the bigger lures catch bigger fish. Especially in windier conditions. In very calm conditions I use smaller lures, like a Jackson Ebi Panic, Sugapen 70, or Berkley Pop Dog. I avoid calm conditions if I can help it. I much prefer the windier days with long down wind casts working over more water.
The larger Daiwa Slippery Dogs in the 97cm size, is proving to be Daiwa’s most successful YFW lure for me.
Zipbaits Skinny Pop 90 way out fish the smaller Skinny Pop Jr 70mm. Their Fakie Dog 70mm is also way better than the 50mm
I use the various sizes of the Sugapen to suit a variety of wind conditions. My favourite is the 95mm size as it suits the most frequent wind conditions in which I fish. The Sugapen70mm for glassy and light winds (0-5 knots). 95mm in moderate winds (5-15 knots). 120mm in stronger winds with heavy chop (15+ knots)
  
   - A size range and suitable wind conditions. 
 
BLADES and SUBSURFACE LURES
These don’t float! There are a few subsurface lures for YFW. Like StrikePro Blades, Zipbaits Zoea, but IMO none are better than the Ecogear ZX Blades. They flutter, vibrate and hop along the sand beds much in the way a Clicker or prawn would flee. They are so easy to work. Use a constant rolling retrieve. Feel the vibes of the lure. No vibes means there is some weed attached on it.
A hop or two adds excitement. A pause can often find a Flathead latching on.
They are made from metal and lead. Can cast long distances and into the wind easily. This is the lure I give to the lure fishing newbies. Their only drawback is bouncing along the bottom they can easily pick up weed. if you get a clear run they are very effective.
In deeper channels and cooler water conditions, when fish are too lethargic to come to the surface, these will see them out fish all the surface lures. Ecogear ZX, in the biggest 43mm size is my go too. TT and StrikePro blades, I have not given as much time in the water, but I have taken a couple of YFW and Flathead on them.
  
ASSIST HOOKS
Never use Trebles. I immediately remove all the trebles from a lure. They catch too much weed. And too many fingers as well.
The standard size trebles fitted on the lures are always an overkill for the small mouthed YFW anyway. If you want to retain the trebles you should downsize them. My favourite treble for this class of lure is the Daichi Death Trap #10.
Sharpness is a key factor for consistent hook ups. The fine gauge of the smaller assists provide penetrating needle sharpness.
On all the slightly larger lures it is possible to mount assist hooks both in the middle and on the rear.
The Ecogear ZX assist hooks, sitting in the middle of a stickbait lure I feel provides a good resemblance to a bunch of dangling prawn legs. The rubber “legs” dangling around your hooks also act as a weed guard deflecting weed off your hook. The YFW hit these middle assists with surprising frequency. I think aiming to disable their prey prior to feeding. My preferred size is the “Small” size Ecogear ZX Assist. There is now an increasing number of options available. Some of the better ones I have tried are Oceans Legacy and Shinto.
On the rear mount of the lure I most often use the Atomic Trick Bitz in size 8 attached with a few extra split rings.
There are less lures “thrown” by the fish when using assists. The flexible joint/connection with multiple split rings, does not provide the fish any leverage, to throw the hook. On Blades try a double set of assists. A combination of Trick Bitz and ZX, on blades and vibes ensure you get an inescapable, multi hook - hook up.
  
   - Extra Assist hooks added to the Ecogear ZX43 blades
 

   -  A Few Assist hook options and placement on lures.
SPLIT RINGS
It may seem an innocuous little item of no importance, yet it has had a major impact on my catch rate.
Initially I experienced a lot of chasers, swoops, swipes, strikes and slurps at the back of the lure from YFW.
I kept a record of how many follows and strikes I had, versus the hook ups. It was a disappointing rate of hook ups.
It always felt like the hooks were frustratingly just that little bit too far away, out of reach, from the fish’s mouth.
So I used the extra split rings to allow the assist hooks to hang back a bit further and weigh down slightly lower towards the rising fish.
There was also extra swing behind the zig zagging “walk the dog” lure in a whiplashing fashion.
It has made a huge difference in my hook up rate. I use the Owner fine wire size #2 split rings.
“ It don’t mean a TING if ain’t got that swing” … Doo aah, doo aah, doo aah !!!!
  
   - The results of a few extra Split Rings.
 
WEIGHTS - Stick on
Add stick on weights to some of those smaller lures to add to their casting weight. It will give your small lures a longer cast.
On the open sand flats the longer retrieve from a longer cast will always catch you a lot more fish.
They can be used to favourably adjust the balance of the lure and how it sits in the water.
  

   - Lures modified with weights. 
PAINTS - COLOUR
I am a very poor artist. But the YFW are not discerning art critics. Don’t be afraid of adding some of your own colour to a lure. I use paint markers. Readily available in various colours and thicknesses.
You can remove it with a bit of methylated spirits and change colours at will.
It has worked for me. Bringing success with an otherwise dud lure colour.
There are lure blanks available to do your own customised paint work.
The most successful lure colours for me have a fair amount of translucency and some orange to red toning.
UV enhanced colours and materials have proved to be more successful in low light conditions.

    - My primitive adaption ... IT WORKED!
  
ADDED ATTRACTANTS
UV sprays have proved to be effective on overcast days. It has brought a quiet session to life for me.
No worries if you don’t have UV lures on you. A Spray on UV coating can convert your standard lure to a UV lure.
Scents? … I think they work? At least they have not put any fish off! I have used them without any definitive results.
It probably is more effective with a slower moving and pausing lure when Bream and Flathead fishing.
Those fish get more of a chance to have a sniff of the lure. I have noticed better results when using slow retrieved blades with added S Factor scent.
Scents have less impact with the faster, continuous moving surface lures for YFW. Yet I continue to use it now and again. No harm.
  
 
      - Added Extras
 
LEADERS and SNAPS
Floating or sinking leader line? I think this is only a factor with the smaller floating lures.
Using bigger lures most of the time, it does not affect me as much. I use both, with no noticeable difference.
Always remove the standard connecting split ring on the nose of a lure. A Direct stiffer connection to your lure is best for the most responsive lure action that you want for YFW.
I hate wasting time in the water, repetitively tying on lures so I use a lure clip for lure changes. Over time I have used a variety of lure clips. To date, the Decoy Spiral Snap is the lightest, fastest and easiest to use. Most secure, and most responsive for lure action.

    - A Few of many snaps tried. Decoy Spiral Snap works best for me.
  
LURE STORAGE
The reversible lure storage boxes which provide an individual storage recess for each lure is a must.
With all those dangling assist hooks any combined storage of lures end up into a fused tangled mass.

   -  Double sided lure boxes for a session  ... Too many choices !
  
TOOLS
All this fiddly lure tinkering is going to drive you mad or blind, if you don’t have the right tools.
The best split ring pliers are the ones with the skinniest, pointiest nose on them. You will need to poke them into some very small split rings.
Along side that a standard type narrow long nose pliers for holding those tiny rings. Think … jewellery workshop tools.
The Mustad long nose, split ring pliers have served me well. And should it really get fiddly out come the Pincet/Tweezers for micro split rings. These days there are a few options for micro split ring tools by Daiwa, Halco and Samaki as well.

    -  The obsession out of the water !
 
Hope this is helpful in fast tracking you towards the pleasures of lure fishing YFW
 
Tight Lines!
Cheers, Des

SUNSHINE … ON MY SHOULDERS MAKES ME HAPPY
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I had checked the weather ahead for this week.
And I could see there was a spell of Sunshine ahead.
So I managed to rearrange my week and set off fishing on this Sunny day.
It was such an enjoyable day, fishing in the brilliant sunny conditions today. And there were some good results.
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Here are a few reasons why sunny days are great for lure fishing Yellow Fin Whiting on the Sandflats.
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Simply put, on sunny days you will catch more Yellow Fin Whiting !
There is the extra warmth in the water that a sunny day adds. Increasing the fish metabolism and their eagerness to feed.
There is usually much better water clarity on sunny days.
Your lures are so much more visible to the fish.
Bright sunshine will also reflect a lot more off your lures, gaining the fish’s attention from a long way off.
Fish will notice your lure from a much greater distance, and often come hurtling in, at right angles from afar. Most often this happens very late in your retrieve.
Importantly, strong sunshine produces an extra “attractant”. Another stimulus. Something extra for YFW to chase.
The strong overhead sunlight casts a strong shadow from your lure onto the sand below. The stronger the sunshine, the stronger the shadow, and the stronger the stimulus.
Yes, in bright sunshine, you will often see whiting chase the lure shadow cast onto the sand. They will chase and frustratingly grab at the shadow along the sand, before looking up and striking the lure above.
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The sunny days also provides the fisher with better visibility.
One can clearly see all the terrain on the sandflats. It is much easier to identify and target your casts to known fish holding spots.
Structures like sand steps, shallow ledges, gutters and channels can all be easily seen and cast towards.
You can spot fish a lot easier and further away, in bright sunshine without disturbing them.
Sight casting your lures to and hooking up visible fish while wading the shallows is such a thrill.
The greater visibility of the lure, the chase, the strike, the runs and the fight of the hooked fish, all enhances the experience for the fisher.
It is so much more fun in Sunshine.
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But really, on these days, it does not matter if you don’t catch fish ! Sunshine on your shoulder just makes you happy.
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This day started with light winds creating a strong ripple on the surface, under the bright sunshine of a clear blue sky of a hot day.
Clear or lighter coloured lures work better in strong sunshine for me.
These were my successful lures today.

 
Zipbaits Skinny Pop and Fakie Dog DS in their clear colours took fish.
 

Smaller lures are easily seen in bright sunshine, and are a bit more subtle in the high visibility and light wind conditions. .
A new lure I tried for the first time today; Zipbaits ZBL Zoea Lipple 45F Floating Lure Col:248. A small juvenile shrimp imitation worked very well. I think they may have been designed for Bream but I knew they would catch YFW on days like today.

 
Jackson Ebi Panic in the clear colour comes to the fore in these conditions.
The ever reliable Sugapen in MB16 was still producing the goods. Although it was the smaller 70mm that was successful rather than my fave size, the 95mm.

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As every thing is seen so much clearer on these days, I don’t like to give shy fish a second look at the lure immediately. If they have chased the lure and have not committed, my next cast will be 90 degrees away to let them settle before I cast back at them. On windy and cloudier days fish are more aggressive and you can send repetitive casts their way with out scaring them off.
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The breeze died down later in the afternoon. And the water had glassed off.  Fish were getting timid, not hooking up well with many dropped fish.
I finished with 16 fish. Ranging in size, from 30 to 40CM. With 5 fish around the 40cm mark.
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Sunshine on my shoulder made me very happy on this day.
Cheers, Des
 

A sustained warm spell has held the Gulf water temperatures at around 22 to 23C for a few weeks now.
Since Christmas day the water temperatures in the upper gulfs have remained in the high range.
Nice Christmas present !!! This is about a month later than normal.
It is the sustained higher temperatures over a prolonged period that changes the dynamics of these gulf ecosystems, along  with the behaviour and physiological responses of its participants.
Currently the Yellow Fin Whiting have become voracious hunters and predators.
When water temperatures are at this level, It is a rare session when you will not catch a good feed of solid sized YFW.
With high metabolisms and big appetites any water movement in or out of their feeding areas triggers an aggressive response from these fish. So target YFW during these periods of water movement. Even on dodge tides where the fish are concentrated in a smaller water mass. Just a little movement produces a big response from the YFW.
I followed the late run off and early run in tide on this session for some quality fish on this session.
I kept 12 fish over 35cm. Three fish were around 40cm.
They are great fighters in shallow water on surface lures.
I was fishing a new spot so I did not experiment with many lures.
Intending to limit the variables for a good assessment of the new spot.
All fish were taken on the surface with the Sugapen 95 - Colour: MB16.
Happy Hot Sessions to all.
Cheers, Des

So true, but sadly the food shortages that are occurring in many instances are the result of government ideologically driven agricultural policies in various countries along with ineffectual sanctions designed to hurt Russia that are actually hurting the countries applying the sanctions more.
The problem with $cience today is that it doesn't take place in a political, or economic vacuum. There are too many "unscientific variables" that find their way into the process and I believe influence many findings and outcomes(i.e. funding sources....whoever pays the piper influences what music is played). But I agree it would be nice to "trust the science". Don't disregard your own observations Wert you seem like a fair minded person that has had legitimate experiences with snapper.
Also something I've always wondered, why have they banned land based snapper fishing? Surely LB fishos on the rare occasion they even manage to catch a fish that such fishing activity wouldn't impact on the health of the species.

So true, but sadly the food shortages that are occurring in many instances are the result of government ideologically driven agricultural policies in various countries along with ineffectual sanctions designed to hurt Russia that are actually hurting the countries applying the sanctions more.
The problem with $cience today is that it doesn't take place in a political, or economic vacuum. There are too many "unscientific variables" that find their way into the process and I believe influence many findings and outcomes(i.e. funding sources....whoever pays the piper influences what music is played). But I agree it would be nice to "trust the science". Don't disregard your own observations Wert you seem like a fair minded person that has had legitimate experiences with snapper.
Also something I've always wondered, why have they banned land based snapper fishing? Surely LB fishos on the rare occasion they even manage to catch a fish that such fishing activity wouldn't impact on the health of the species.

The Yellow Fin Whiting season is fast approaching. As the seasons and weather conditions change we have to think about and adapt to the changing behaviours of the Yellow Fin Whiting.
The most important thing for successful YFW lure fishing is knowing the fish!
It’s physiology. It’s habitats and ecosystems. Also it’s behaviour in all weather conditions and seasons.
The next most important thing for successful YFW lure fishing is knowing your spots. The geography and terrain.
There is always a right spot, for every weather and tide conditions. When do the fish go to a given spot? In what weather? On which tide? And what food is available there in these conditions?
The least important thing for successful YFW lure fishing is … lures !!!
Find the fish first. Before worrying about finding the right lure and technique.
 
Your chances of success will depend on assessing the weather and tide conditions on a given day and then understanding the behaviour of YFW in those conditions. YFW will be found in different locations, in different weather and tide conditions.
There is nearly always a good fishing spot available. Almost regardless of the weather conditions.
We are lucky to have the two gulfs and the Yorke Peninsula. It provides us with a variety of options regardless of the weather and which way the wind blows.
These are some weather and location factors that I consider, before I go lure fishing for YFW
 
TEMPERATURE
Early in the season air and water temperatures are critical for lure fishing. With the rising temperature their metabolism, muscle functions and locomotion increases.
At the start of Spring, I usually pick a day at the end of a series of warmer days. The water would have warmed up a little by then. It takes a while for the water temperatures to change due to thermal lag. And even then I prefer fishing the warmer afternoon on these sunnier warmer days. A smaller tide on these days is a bonus. Less water to warm up in the shallows. Bigger tides can bring in cooler deeper water into the warm shallows. However this dynamic is ever changing and does go into reverse in the hottest months. Stay alert to the different water temperatures at different water depths at different times of the year.
By November, water temperatures are now consistently over 20c. Low water temperatures and a low metabolism in the YFW is, no longer a factor. A chilly morning in summer may just dull the fish’s appetite. But by mid day as they gather in the deeper areas after the morning run off they will be back to their aggressive best.
Yes the water temperature can get too hot after a hot spell. Then the obvious thing is to fish the cooler mornings.
Also pick deeper water locations during hot weather spells. Where the fish can find some relief from the hotter surface water temperatures of the shallows. If fishing the afternoon incoming tide, you will need to fish back deeper in the tide. Where the water is cooler on those very hot days.

…… Early in the season blades work better, as fish stay deeper and are less likely to rise for a surface lure.
 
WIND
Given that water temperatures are good, wind is the next most important factor for stimulating YFW surface feeding.
The perfect wind for lure fishing YFW on an open sand flat, is in the 6 to 12 knots range. Perfect to stimulate YFW feeding as they feel a lot safer under the cover of a heavy ripple or light chop on the surface of the water. The chop sufficiently obscures their vision, so they are not too discerning with lures in these conditions. Although too windy and too choppy, will stir up the sand and dirty the water. Fish will move to more protected and cleaner water.
Strong winds are okay. In fact can be brilliant for concentrating fish in certain spots.Your spot selection in these conditions becomes critical. The geography of the Yorke Peninsula and gulfs gives us a myriad of options regardless of which direction the wind is blowing. With the gulfs and peninsula, you will always have a section of coast with an offshore wind.
In strong winds, a lot more fish are gathered on the leeward coast, as they move away from the open rougher waters.
Less floating weed and accumulated weed wracks on the leeward side is also a bonus. So strong winds are great for concentrating fish in certain areas.
….  A video of the ideal wind when lure fishing YFW
 
 
….  Both fish and their predators can be found sheltering from the wind in mangrove areas.
 
HABITATS
The varied marine habitats and terrain also provides a few options for windy days. There are habitats that provide sheltered areas regardless of onshore strong winds. A spot behind a mangrove forrest wall will have less chop and cleaner water. This area attracts and holds a lot more fish as they shelter from the rougher conditions outside. Often these strong on shore winds will produce a bigger tide, due to a storm surge. The fish take advantage of this as it provides access to fresh feeding areas around samphire beds behind the mangrove wall.
 
Flooded in shore lagoons on a high tide are calmer and protected from the heavy churning chop. They will hold more fish in windier conditions. There are plenty of sandy bays and coves on the Peninsula that exist because they are sheltered, always in the leeward side of the prevailing strong winds. The water here is always cleaner and clearer, with fish more abundant in this location during windy conditions. Persistent strong winds are good. Don’t curse them, use them to your advantage.
You may need to travel to the other side of a gulf to do this. Or even a trip down to the beautiful calm and sheltered waters of Hardwicke Bay, Point Souttar and Corny Point.

…  An area sheltered by mangrove walls, that will hold more fish in stronger onshore winds.
 

…. These fish were taken at the entrance of some mangrove areas
TERRAIN
Windy days on the open sand flats, will find fish sheltering in the deeper channels that will offer protection from the wind chop in the shallows. You will also find the leeward protected side of weed banks will hold more fish. Conversely should the winds be very light the windward side of a weed bank will have more food stirred up and hold more fish. What ever the wind does, there is a suitable spot to be.
A windy day bonus - long casts downwind, always catch more fish. I avoid fishing on calm days if I can help it.

… Channels and weed banks provide some shelter
 
TIDE
Any water movement provides a feeding stimulus for YFW. The tides are the most common cause of movement and will always influence fish behaviour.
However even on a dead dodge tide, SW wind surges, afternoon seabreezes, or changes in atmospheric pressure can create enough stimulating water movement, regardless of the poor tide predictions. A small stimulus on an otherwise listless day often produces a disproportionate stimulatory reaction from the fish.
Given that the main opening to the Gulfs face SW most tides will be boosted by a SW wind. Low atmospheric pressure will also draw in a larger tide. Factor these in to the published tide predictions, as there always is always a great deal of variation in tide heights on the sandflats.

…  An old tide book explaining the factors that can effect tide height.
 
The small dodge tides can be taken advantage of. The small tide holds and concentrate fish in larger numbers in a smaller area, rather than a big tide dispersing them over a large area. At times fishing these conditions can be more like “shooting fish in a barrel”.
Big tides provide fish accessibility to new feeding habitats. Big YFW love the small Haswell crabs that live in the Samphire beds, behind the mangrove forests. This food becomes accessible to the YFW during the big tides that cover the Samphire beds. The YFW are a much easier target when they make their way in and out of the samphire beds, in a dropping big tide.
Wether it be a Dodge tide or a big Spring tide, or light winds or strong winds, you will always be presented with a few different fishing opportunities, with the different conditions.

…. Some of the largest YFW are taken on the biggest tides when they were chasing Haswell crabs in the Samphire beds

…. Crabs in the gut contents of YFW
CURRENTS
Some locations with deeper major channels, that drain the sandflats have increased water flows. The localised currents, can stimulate fish feeding. It is a good location in a dodge tide when these channels can amplify water little water movement there is in the tide.
These channels will usually bring in water of a temperature that offsets the existing shallow water temperatures. The deeper water also provides a refuge in either temperature extreme. In ambient temperature conditions they are also the tidal highways for fish.
 
There are also major ocean currents that come into play. In winter the major Leeuwin current flows across from WA and effects the lower Spencers Gulf water temperatures. Boston Bay in Pt. Lincoln is well known for winter YFW.
I have caught bags of YFW in the middle of winter on southern Yorkes when the locals tell me you won’t see them till October.
A Northerly wind with a following Westerly change will flick in the warm water flows of the Leeuwin current and bring with it schools of YFW.  Maintain a fishing log. They are a great reference.

…. The Leeuwin current brings warm water temperatures to the southern Spencers Gulf in winter
 
SUNSHINE !!!
On sunny days you catch more fish! It probably is the extra warmth and the better visibility of the lures. But it does not matter if you don’t catch fish theses beautiful days !

… It is always good fishing in the sunshine
 
So you either you pick the best weather days for your regular spot, or you pick a new spot to suit the weather and tides on the day.
One way or another you should be able to catch a good feed of YFW on lures. Regardless of the weather.
 
Tight Lines,
Cheers, Des

I look forward to all the contributions from the many YFW specialists in this forum.
Over the coming weeks I will be transferring a number of posts regarding Yellow Fin Whiting which I had previously only put up on Face Book. (lazy)
I look forward to us building up a knowledge base for us to share.
The posts will not be "Fishing reports" as such but discussions about the Species, Morphology, Habitats, Ecosystems/FoodChains, Tackle and Techniques.
Looking forward to every ones input.
Cheers, Des

Any particular Japanese online stores you'd recommend MAH?
Cheers

Success at last...  thanks everyone 

Wait on, back up a sec, you do realise the seals, despite the common name, are a native species which was nearly hunted to extinction in the early 1800s and has still not recovered to the previous population level? My understanding (reconfirmed by mr google) is that their diet is primarily mass schooling fish and squid species found off the continental shelf like arrow squid, slimies and tunas, probably because they are more plentiful and easier prey than more dispersed shallower water species.
Put simply the seals are not the problem and my money would be on the primary cause for inshore fish mollusc and crustacean depletion being primarily due to overfishing and habitat destruction which are both to a large extent caused by pro fishermen. As it happens science would tend to agree with me.
I really don't see why pro fishing of all types, but particularly the more destructive practices like netting and long lining are allowed to continue given how effective and successful aquaculture is these days, certainly at the very least it needs to be a much more effectively policed and regulated industry.
Over the years I've personally witnessed pro fishermen rape and pillage breeding congregations of fish, flooding the market and causing the price of fish to bottom right out, their solution? Catch more fish! Yet when the fishing gets tough they never for a second consider, at least out loud, that they might be part of the problem. There is no way I'm taking the word of pros about anything related to fish stocks.
Net boats regularly haul seagrass beds along our gulf shallows decimating stocks, destroying habitat and helping to clog the place up with rafts of seagrass. I watched in early November last year as 3 boats were running back and forth between Pt Wakefield and just north of Ardrossan all day, god knows how many tons of YFW, mullet and tommies they smashed, not to mention all the bycatch, mainly juveniles of various species, chucked back dead they were responsible for on that day alone and I'm pretty sure I  can tell you what caused the enormous blanket of weed that pushed up the gulf with the tide..... not seals.
I'm sorry if this offends in anyway, that is truly not my intention, but to blame depleted fish stocks on a still recovering population of seals which nearly went extint due to "pro" sealers is at best misinformed and ludicrous, at worst it is downright dangerous. We only need to look to the USA to see where misinformation being treated as fact can lead, certainly not better fish stocks that's for sure. 
Finally please note I am certainly not one of these aforementioned greenies, I do reckon seals are kind of cool but I do not disagree with taking sensible population regulation measures if scientifically supported, trust in science and observation, not anecdotal opinions from people with a vested interest.

Does seem some what conflicting.
I heard the logic from Spurrier (Chief Health Officer) that organised team sports often involve participants that may live in many different areas around Adelaide gathering in one place and therefore risk of geographical spread would be greater. Hope that makes sense and explains the inconsistency.......still seems a bit illogical to me.

Surely the Woodville Pizza Bar would have been asked for a list of their employees from SAHealth if the other infected security guard from Peppers worked there as well. Maybe some of the heat should be put on them instead of just this individual worker, after all they were employing him weren't they? Not just selling him a pizza!
Why are the F'N staff from these Medi-hotels working more than one job! Get the right staff and pay them enough wages Steven Marshall otherwise this is quite likely to happen again somewhere.

Surely the Woodville Pizza Bar would have been asked for a list of their employees from SAHealth if the other infected security guard from Peppers worked there as well. Maybe some of the heat should be put on them instead of just this individual worker, after all they were employing him weren't they? Not just selling him a pizza!
Why are the F'N staff from these Medi-hotels working more than one job! Get the right staff and pay them enough wages Steven Marshall otherwise this is quite likely to happen again somewhere.

Are the masses that are flocking to the shops unnecessarily in blind panic realise that now is the worst time to be in places with high densities of people in terms of coming into contact with this virus? The behaviour of many people at the moment is a disgrace.