How to Go Fishing for Flathead: The Complete Guide Reading Time: 10 minutes

Australia is home to some of the best sportfishing on the planet, with Barramundi, monster Sharks, and the world’s biggest Marlin on the cards. But Aussies will tell you that none one of these are the most popular game fish in their country. No, it’s a fish far tastier than these, which is so easy to catch that anyone can do it. We’re talking about the humble Flathead. Don’t believe us? Well, then, you have to try Flathead fishing for yourself!

How to Identify Flathead 

The Flathead fish family (Platycephalidae) includes a variety of species found in tropical regions of the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific Oceans. The most notable place to catch them is Australia, which is home to more than 50 kinds. Of these, the most common are Dusky, Tiger, and Blue-spotted Flathead

An elderly angler in a baseball cap and wearing a neck bluff holding a Flathead aboard on a fishing charter with the water behind him and land visible in the distance
Photo courtesy of Fishing Smooth Water

Flathead earned their name due to their compressed bodies, which makes it possible for them to cruise shallow water. Locals refer to them by a number of nicknames, including “Flatties,” “Frogs,” and “Lizards.” 

Many species are some shade of brown or gray in order to camouflage themselves against the seafloor, where they wait to ambush their prey. Their forward-facing eyes and large mouths lined with tiny, sharp teeth give Flathead the edge they need to make quick strikes before they resettle in the mud or sand to digest.

As the largest species, Dusky Flathead (Platycephalus fuscus) are the main target for most anglers. They usually reach somewhere between 500 grams and 4 kilos in size (1–10 pounds), but can grow as large as 15 kilograms (33 pounds). Apart from their size, you can distinguish them from other species based on the large, black spot they have on their tail fins. 

Duskies inhabit the east coast of Australia, from Cairns to the Gippsland Lakes region in Victoria. You’ll find them in bays, estuaries, estuarine lakes, coastal flats, and along beaches. Additional Flathead species live in similar areas around other parts of the country, and you can catch them using the same techniques. 

Best Flathead Fishing Spots 

Whether you’re a tourist from afar or an Aussie who’s finally got wise to the best game fish down under, rest assured there are plenty of places to catch one…

Cairns

A photo capturing an angler from the back while he is standing on a pier and casting a net from it somewhere in Queensland

With Cairns laying claim to so many big game fish, Flathead aren’t the most popular target around. But make no mistake – fishing for them here is still good sport. Local river mouths and estuaries are home to both Dusky and Tiger Flathead. A couple of top fishing spots for them just beyond Cairns are Yorkeys Knob to the north and Mourilyan Harbour, a two-hour drive south.

The best time to fish for Flathead in Queensland is during the cooler months between May and September. The possession limit for Dusky Flathead is five fish, with a minimum length of 40 centimeters and a maximum of 75. There’s a combined limit of five for all other Flathead species, which should be at least 30 centimeters long.

Brisbane

An aerial view looking down a river lined with boats docked towards the skyline of Brisbane on a clear day

To the far south of Queensland, Flathead can be found in the rivers and creeks around Brisbane. They’re especially numerous during winter and will fill every accessible water system by July. 

Try your luck fishing the mouth of the Brisbane River as well as the Pine River. Shore-based anglers should check out Shorncliffe Pier, Nudgee Beach, and other beaches up the coast toward Caloundra. Your chances of catching Flathead are good at any time of day, but we recommend fishing for them during the first two hours of run-in tide or the last two hours of run-out.

Sydney 

A rear-view image of a man fishing in Sydney, with a sunset in the distance across the water, along with a cityscape including Sydney Harbour Bridge

Urban fishing for Flathead can be every bit as good as casting for them in the wilderness. This makes Sydney Harbour a top location – but you may have to hunt for a good fishing spot that other anglers haven’t already crowded! Flathead are available year-round here, with peak seasons in April and May as well as September and October

About 45 minutes south, you have Botany Bay, another go-to Flathead fishing destination. And just around Cape Solander lies Cronulla, a suburb perfectly situated where Port Hacking meets the Pacific.

New South Wales recently changed the size and possession limits for Dusky Flathead. Anglers can now keep Duskies between 36–70 centimeters, with a daily bag limit of five fish. Meanwhile, there’s an aggregate bag limit of 10 fish for Tiger and Blue-spotted Flathead, which must be at least 33 centimeters.

Gippsland Lakes

A view out through an inlet from the Gippsland Lakes towards the ocean, with plenty of boat traffic visible on a clear day

At the southernmost point of the Dusky’s range, you have one of the best fisheries for them: the Gippsland Lakes. You’ll find them here year-round, but the warmer months are especially productive when the local Flathead have tons of prawns to feed on. 

Nearby, you can also drift down the Tambo, Nicholson, and Mitchell Rivers. The Mitchell River Silt Jetties extend 8 kilometers into Lake King, making them a great place to cast from shore. 

There’s a bag limit of five Dusky, which must be between 30–55 centimeters in Victoria. The minimum size for other species is 27 centimeters, and you can keep a combined total of 20 Flathead, excluding Dusky.

Port Phillip Bay

A view from St. Kilda across Port Phillip Bay towards the Melbourne skyline on a hazy evening

Just beyond the range of Dusky Flathead, Port Phillip Bay offers great fishing for multiple other Flathead species. If you prefer to cast from shore, some top spots around the bay include the St. Kilda, Kerferd Road, and Station Piers.

Species such as Sand and Blue-spotted Flathead can be found close to shore much of the year and tend to be most active during summer and autumn. Tiger Flathead are more commonly caught offshore in the Bass Strait, where anglers fish for them between November and March. 

How to Go Fishing for Flathead 

You might think Flathead are lazy due to their tendency to cozy up in the mud or sand. But the reality is they’re predators! They simply lay low while waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. Treat Flathead like the hunters they are, and you’ll have more success catching them.

A man in yellow fishing overalls and a winter hat standing on a fishing charter and holding two Flathead fish on a clear day
Photo courtesy of Aquilla Fishing Charters

This means moving your bait or lure to mimic prey. Live bait is the easiest to fish with due to its natural scent and motion. But many anglers consider lure fishing more fun because you have the task of making those plastics move in a way that looks convincing! 

Before casting a line, be sure to scout out the right area. A bit of cover or structure such as weeds, rocks, and fallen logs attract bait fish that Flathead feed on. They also wait for their prey near shallow drop-offs and small river mouths. Find a spot like this, particularly one with sand patches, where a Flathead will bury itself in wait.

Be mindful of the current, as well. Predatory fish face the current head-on so that it can sweep their next meal their way. With this in mind, cast upcurrent and let your bait make its way toward the Flathead.

Remember that Flathead are quick to resettle on the bottom after gulping down their meal. If you feel a bite followed by dead weight, don’t assume you lost your bait – a Flathead may have swallowed it, with your hook set securely in its mouth. If this is the case, gently pull in the slack or lift your rod to bring your catch to the surface.  

A group of eight male anglers crouched and crowded round a table on a fishing dock that's covered with Flathead fish
Photo courtesy of Cronulla Reef Fishing Charters

Lastly, be prepared to handle these fish safely. Flathead have sharp teeth as well as spines on the back of their gill rakers. The smaller the fish, the sharper those spines! Bring a landing net and some thick gloves, and aim to hold your catch along the underside.

With these starter tips in your arsenal, it’s time to dive into the most common ways that anglers go fishing for Flathead:

Bait Fishing

Live bait will do a lot of the work for you, so you can keep things pretty simple by drifting over the right areas or bottom fishing. If using dead bait, give it a little motion. This doesn’t require full-on jigging like you would with a lure, but you should drag your bait along the bottom and pause every so often in order to coax any Flathead out of their hiding.

Casting Lures

A view from above of four anglers fishing over the side of a boat during the summer fishing season in Australia
Photo courtesy of Cronulla Fishing Charters

Casting lures forces you to get a little more creative, but this is what makes it so much fun. You can try it from shore or from a boat, and you can try switching up your action, from letting the lure lie still and occasionally twitching it to lifting the rod a little more quickly and sharper – the latter works wonders when the fish are active! 

Once your lure hits the water, keep it close to the bottom. Since it won’t move much on its own, give it a little bit of “hopping” (jigging) action. Allow the lure to sink all the way to the bottom before lifting your rod again. 

Trolling

Trolling is a great way to uncover Flathead when they’re scattered far from each other outside of the spawning season. It goes without saying that this method calls for a boat, but you should plan on staying close to shore. Scout out an area where you have at least 100 meters to troll across, such as a shallow flat or sandy bank. Trolling for Flathead works best in water that’s 10 feet deep or less – even as shallow as 3–5 feet. 

Instead of a fast troll, aim for a brisk walking pace – around 2 or 3 km/h (1–2 mph). Pull your lures about 15–20 meters behind the boat to make sure they reach the bottom. In this case, you don’t want to drag your lures on the bottom. Instead, they should bounce along in order to kick up the sand and draw attention from any Flathead hiding there. 

Fly Fishing

Two middle-aged men wading in the crystal clear shallow flats in Cairns and holding a fly fishing rod each on a clear day
Photo courtesy of Tropical Sportfisher

We can’t talk about fishing with lures without mentioning that it’s also great fun to catch Flathead on the fly. This is done pretty much exclusively on the flats, where you can scout out a prime fishing spot at low tide and start casting as the water rises. Large Flathead will move into the shallows, especially at low light, and you might catch one in as little as half a meter of water (less than 2 feet)!

Whereas soft plastics are ideal for casting, you should use hardbody lures for trolling. Be sure to have a range of colors on hand, including pink, orange, and green, as well as various shades of brown or gray that resemble shrimp, crab, and bait fish. 

Flathead Fishing Gear

For bait fishing, a light 2–2.5 m rod will suit you fine (that’s about 6.5–8 feet for American anglers), paired with a 1000–2500 series reel. As we mentioned, Flathead have sharp teeth, so be sure to spool your reel with 15 lb nylon or braided line. You’ll also want to have a fluorocarbon leader that’s 2–3 kilos (4.5–6.5 pounds) heavier than your main line. 

Rigging doesn’t need to be complicated, just use a standard running sinker rig with a swivel. For average-sized fish, 1/0 hooks are sufficient, while circle hooks in sizes 3/0–4/0 will hold larger baits to target bigger fish.

Land-based anglers can get by with light spinning gear. Use a 6–10 lb braided or nylon line and a heavier fluoro leader as mentioned before, somewhere in the 8–15 lb range. This also goes for trolling.

For fly fishing, you can use a 9′ 6–8 wt rod paired with a small, light reel and some floating line. Even though these fish sit on the bottom, you’ll be casting in such shallow water that your fly is going to land in the strike zone regardless of sinking or floating line.

Flathead Fishing Bait & Lures

Flathead are easy to catch thanks to their ravenous appetite and undiscerning palate. This means you can catch them using a variety of baits and lures.

A closeup of a Flathead fish being held up by a hand with a green soft plastic lure in its mouth on a clear day
Photo courtesy of Gold Coast Fishing Tours

The most common – and arguably the best – baits for Flathead fishing are:

  • Small mullets
  • Pilchards
  • Whitebait
  • Squid 
  • Prawns
  • Mussels
  • Yabbies (crayfish)

Remember that live bait works best and you want it to be as fresh as possible. However, you can fish with many of these baits frozen, as well.

When it comes to artificials, Flathead will bite soft plastics as well as hard-body lures like crankbaits and jerkbaits. You can cast and retrieve either of these, whereas anglers often focus on trolling with hard bodies.

Whenever the fish aren’t biting, add some scent to your lures in order to whet their appetite. Some anglers also swear by trolling with vibrating lures, since these draw more attention.

For expert fly anglers, clouser minnows with bead-chain or weighted eyes will be your weapons of choice. Prawn imitations should be a white-and-brown combo, while solid white with a bit of sparkle resembles bait fish. For yabbies, try white over yellow over pink.

When to Fish for Flathead 

An infographic featuring a vector of a Flathead fish above text saying "Flathead Fishing Seasons, What You Need to Know" above a vector of a boat and the FishingBooker logo against a blue background

You can fish for Flathead in many places year-round, but the peak season varies depending on where they are. To the north in Queensland, Flathead spawn during the cooler months (June–August) and will be more active at this time. To the south in Victoria, the same is true for warmer months (December–February). Meanwhile, New South Wales falls right down the middle, with peak seasons in autumn (April–May) and spring (September–October).

Some anglers say that dawn and dusk are the best times to fish for Flathead. Others claim that the time of day is less important than fishing on the run-out of a high tide, especially during the last two hours. The first two hours of a run-in tide can also be good. 

Yet another theory is that Flathead fishing is best three days before and after a full moon. Of course, it’s up to you to cast a line at all these times and decide for yourself!

Flathead: A National Favorite 

An elderly angler in a baseball camp and blue shirt holding up a Flathead he caught while fishing in Moreton Bay on a sunny day with the water behind him
Photo courtesy of Fishing Smooth Water

Flathead may not be the sport fish that brings you to Australia, but if you spend enough time casting your line around here, chances are you’ll catch one. And once you do, you’ll be back for more. With so many ways to fish for them, you could spend a lifetime uncovering new tricks, and there will always be a sweet reward for your effort. Trust us, a day of fishing for Flatties never falls flat!

Are you a Flathead enthusiasts? Any tips for visiting anglers? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below!

The post How to Go Fishing for Flathead: The Complete Guide appeared first on FishingBooker Blog.

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