Liverpool Weir/Georges River Report – 2/10/06

This winter has been very quiet on the flathead front compared to the last few years. I’d normally pick up a couple on a day out but this year they’ve been very few and far between. The warmer weather though has seen them turn up again (yay!) so I threw the video camera on the yak and set off to spin up a few prime specimens. The tide wasn’t quite right but I still thought I’d get a few.

Kyle Bay and Connells Bay on the Georges have some nice flats and I started working a few HB’s – a Halco Scorpion and a SMAK Rack Walker. After about 10 minutes I hooked my first on the pink/purple Rack Walker. Not a big fish (about 38cm) but it was a start.

As I drifted about, if I was close enough to a boat or a pontoon I’d flick out a SP. Flathead, like bream, will shelter in the shade and pounce on unwary prey, as a flattie did to the 6” sandworm I was hopping along the bottom. This felt better and I slid a 52cm model into the net. A few snapshots and back into the depths it went.

I picked up one more on the SMAK lure again and it could’ve been a twin of the first fish….or maybe even the same one! These Rack Walkers are great for working the sand flats. They dive to about a meter and have a nice tight wiggle. Tie them to your leader with a loop knot to maximize their action and work them over drop-offs and the edges of weed beds with a few pauses and twitches in your retrieve.

Monday I put the yak in above Liverpool Weir to see if the bass wanted to play. Fordy couldn’t make it today so I had the place to myself…until another kayaker turned up, so I took one side of the river and he took the other. I had an early hit on my East Coast fizzer which was promising but that was it! I tried spinners, SP’s, poppers, shallow divers, deep divers….still nothing! I kept my eye on my competition on the other bank and he was having just as much success as me. Zilcho.

I persevered for a few hours then cut my losses to have another attempt at the flatties. Back to Oyster Bay and within 90 minutes I had two bream and three flathead in the livewell, although none of them were monsters. The hot lure today was the Rack Walker in Black with silver stripes. All the flathead and one bream fell to this little beauty.

Now if you’re a die-hard yakker, you mightn’t want to read this next section. Last week I went with my family to the Gold Coast and my wife and I had a half day session with Thomas Seebach who runs Coastal Sports Fishing Tours. Big flathead around Stradbroke Island were the targets and using live herring we managed 4 each. Nat’s best was a ripper of 80cm and she danced around me as all I had managed was one of 59cm which I thought was pretty good!

Not to be out done, with half an hour to go I hooked one that took off in the current. We took chase and I finally got the best of her. Then it was my turn to dance: 82cm and a new PB! How good is this! If you’re up that way and have a chance to get out, call Thomas on 0412 691 929. He has a very comfortable boat that can take up to six people, he knows the spots and you’ll have a good laugh as well. Plus he’s the man to see if you want some fly fishing action, too. Happy yakkin’, everyone.

Cheers,
Cid