Oyster Bay - 24/3/13

Grabbing him by the ankles, I dragged Lachlan out of bed at 6am. 'It's still dark,' he said while rubbing his eyes. 'It won't be in 30 minutes,' I said. So a quick hot chocolate and some raisin toast and we were on our way.

The tide was right on high and there was no run whatsoever but I still figured we pick up a Flathead or two. You also get some good bream in this area but there definitely needs to be some water movement before they come on the chew. But we weren't here for bream, we were after a meal and nothing is better than fresh Flathead fillets. We only needed three fish around the 40-45cm mark and I was sure we'd get them fairly easily. And after the Narrabeen round the other week, I knew just the lure that would do the job: the Gladiator Bingo.

In fact, the Bingo was the only lure we took with us. That's how confident I was in it's ability to tempt the local Flathead population. It's only a small lure but it's action is perfect whether it's used with a slow retrieve or a medium-paced troll. The depth of water is about 1.3 meters which is an ideal depth for these lures. And luckily I had a pink one, too, a colour which is a Flattie favorite.

So we set off and quickly deployed two lures out the back, with Lachlan holding one rod and me holding the other. We'd only covered a hundred meters or so when my rod bucks and I'm on. 'Ooh, dad, gimme!', so I pass over the rod and flathead number one falls to the pink Bingo. 'Ha ha, one to me,' says Lachlan. What the....? So it's my lure choice, my rod, yet it's HIS fish. I can see where this days tally is heading already. This guy goes 41 cm so there's number one in the well.

Back out go the lures and it's not too long before we get another hit. This time it's Lachlans lure so I say, 'Gimme!'. Fat chance of that happening. This one goes 43 cm so there is number two. One to go. So out go the lures again and hang on, what's this? Aaarrgggh, it's a boat towing a wake boarder and he proceeds to race around the flats even though there's two boats and another yakker fishing this bay with us. Oh well, not much we can do about it I suppose.

To mix it up a bit, I took Lachlan in close to the edges so he could practice his casting. Maybe he getting better as a few times he cast right up onto the shore but then again it could be due to the fact he's using these Psyborg Rods which are a step above the rods he's cast with before. 'Come on Lachlan, we need one more Flathead,' and on cue, he hooks up. This guy was much feistier than the others and I was hoping for a bigger specimen but when he surfaced he looked pretty similar. And man, had he really wanted that lure! He'd completely engulfed it so I told Lachlan to go easy on him as we were only using 4lb leader. We eased him into the net just as he gave one last head shake and severed the line. Hoo-ee, lucky.

Once the lure was extricated it was high-fives as this was Lachlan's first legal 'cast and retrieve' flathead. Well done, Lachlan, you handled it perfectly. And at 42 cm he was ideal for the last fish for our bag. A quick photo and then it was time to head for home. '3 for me and none for you dad. I told you I'd beat you.' Hmmmm, I'm going to have to come up with some new tactics if I'm going to win one of these father-son fishing comp's. Next time I promised Danielle I'd take her out, so I think my chances of getting another beating will be pretty darn high.

So the Bingo's came through with flying colours. They cast well, have sharp strong hooks and swim perfectly straight out of the box. I can't wait to try them out in the racks down in Woolooware Bay. I'm sure there are some 1 kilo blue-noses just waiting for these to swim past.

The next lot of lures I'm going to test out are the Gladiator Elfin Shrimps. Maybe I'll swim these in the racks instead, or over the oyster-encrusted rocks around the edges of Woolooware. So many choices. Here's hoping you all have a safe and happy Easter. Happy yakkin' everyone!

cheers,
Cid