Anglers Advantage

Flathead

Probably the most popular species to target on Soft Plastics the Flathead is the fish that most Anglers catch on their first attempt to get in on the Soft Plastics market. This fish is found prolifically throughout most estuary systems.

Depending on the depth of water you are fishing will determine the weight of the Jig Head that you choose, you will however want to get to the bottom to target this species but as in all cases fishing Soft Plastics fish with as light a Jig Head that the prevailing conditions allow. In most of the systems that I fish on the Sunshine Coast a 1/8oz does the trick in most Tidal conditions up to 24ft of water, if however fishing some shallower spots up to 5ft of water I will fish a 1/16oz Jig Head and alternatively if I get deeper spots or larger tidal flow around a full moon I will sometimes fish a 1/4oz weight.

Hook size again will depend on the size of Soft Plastic that you are going to fish with. If using 3” Minnows I will most often use a Sz2 hook matched to the relative weight above relative again to the depth of water, so for example if fishing in 8ft of water with a 3” minnow I will use a 1/8oz sz2 Jig Head. If I go to a 4” Minnow I will use a size 1/0 hook so again in similar water using a 4” minnow the Jig Head will be a 1/8oz sz 1/0. For most Lures for Flathead there isn’t much need to go above a sz 2/0 hook.

Now to Soft Plastic selection. There are literally thousands and thousands of soft Plastics on the Market. Some are Good, some aren’t as effective as others and i reckon some catch more fish by accident than design but they will all catch fish at some stage in their lives. The ones I touch on here are my personal preference and i find them very effective given the right conditions for each.

Maple Softie Rack Gliders are hard to come by around the traps but they are beginning to get distributed around the country and I find them deadly on Flathead. Colour choice would be Mandarin gold or Fairy Floss in cases of low water visibility or brownish water down to say 1 to 2 feet. Silver Shiner or Sour Grapes in cases of clear water or where the visibility is better. These are an 80mm lure so there is no need to go above a sz 1/0 hook, I generally fish these with a sz 2 hook as Bream will also hit these regularly.

Berkley Gulps in the 3” Minnow are also very effective on Flathead and i use quite a few of these on charter as they are biodegradable and will break down so in a case where I’m on the water 7 days a week they are not doing any harm to the environment or the fish. Colour choice here is Nuclear Chicken in Murky or low Visibility water and Emerald Shine in clear water, these again I run with a sz 2 hook. The 4” minnow in the Watermelon Pearl or Peppered Prawn will work on the bigger flatties, just up the hook size to a 1/0. The 3” Shaky Shad in the Pumpkinseed colour is another one that can be very effective.

I find most of my Flathead seem to fall to me on a run out tide, the drop offs off the side of mudflats or sandbars or right down the centre of deeper channels producing most fish also pockets of water in eddies where the tide is running out near River mouths. 8lb or 10lb Fluorocarbon is the order of the day here as these toothy critters will bite you off if you go too light.

Bream

These Finicky little fighters are much sought after by the Soft Plastic Fisherman for their tenacious approach to lures and their hard fighting characteristics. If you can master Bream on Soft Plastics then you have them sussed. Depending on where you target these guys they will be harder to catch in one area than another and some times of day they will fire where other times they won’t. You might have to change your lure 5 times and your retrieval mode as well just to be in with a chance.

Number one with Bream is their ability to sense something amiss so go as light as you can with your Fluorocarbon leader as the conditions will apply. If I’m targeting Bream alone I will go all the way down to a 3lb Fluorocarbon leader if I’m fishing relatively snag free water like around the Tuna Trawlers in Mooloolaba but if you are fishing around rocks or oyster leases check your leader regularly for wear and tear and the fish will drag you over oysters and bust you pretty easily.

Again with Jig Heads fish as light as the conditions will allow, if there is very little flow and where the fish are high up in the waterline I will use a resin head Jig Head or a 1/32oz or 1/16oz if I want to get down a bit. You will catch them on heavier Heads and we regularly do on 1/8oz heads where there is a bit of run but again as light as the conditions will allow, with Bream you do not need to get all the way down in the waterline. Hook size i prefer for Bream is 4 if fishing with small grubs or 2 for 3” minnows or worms.

Soft Plastics for Bream again vary right across the board, I catch them quite regularly on Maple softie Rack gliders as above for Flathead and also the Berkley Gulp 3” Minnows again in the same colour selections for the relevant conditions. Also in the Berkley Gulp range the the 2” grub in the Mango Apple Ripple colour proves very effective for me. The Sandworm range cut short proves very effective as well.

I catch Bream throughout all states of the tide but when the tide is full I find they push up onto the mudflats and sandbars and when it drops they tend to hang around the drop offs. You will also get them hanging around the sides of the river where there is structure such as fallen branches or mangrove roots or shrubs. Around the edge of Oyster Leases or Bridge Pylons with Growth or Jetty’s or where Boats are constantly moored are also great areas to hunt.

Jew fish

What size Jew fish you are targeting and where you fish for them will determine what sort of  Tackle you choose. For larger fish say from 5kg up i tend to use the same sort of Soft Plastic outfit I would use for targeting Snapper, A 10-17lb Rod matched to a 3000 to 4000 size Reel spooled with 15-20lb Braided line and a 20-30lb fluorocarbon Leader depending on how snaggy the ground is that I’m covering.

For School Jew like we get in a lot of the river Systems here on the Sunshine Coast I will use the same set up as targeting Flathead. IE a 4-8lb Rod Matched to a 1500 to 2500 size reel spooled with 4lb Fusion line such as Stren or Fireline with a 10lb Fluorocarbon Leader.

Jig Heads will again depend on depth,you will want to get down to the bottom with this Species, In the river systems for the School Jew up to 20ft of water a 1/8oz Jig Head will do the trick most of the time. In the deeper holes a 1/4oz or 3/8oz may be required. Hook Size again will depend on the Plastic you choose, For School Jew a 1/0 or 2/0 is an ample size hook but for larger fish you may progress up to a 4/0 or even a 6/0 for bigger Jew again.

Soft Plastics that I choose for Jew again vary across the board, For Schoolies the 3” Minnow or 4” Minnow in the Berkley Gulp range will do the trick as well as the Maple Softie Rack Glider, Maple also do a larger version of this called the Reef Glider which is also very effective. Maples Shad Fish range in their 150mm and 100mm sizes along with their 150mm Jerk Shad are very effective on Jewies.

Colour choices for me in the Gulp Range again in Murky water are the Nuclear Chicken colours and for clearer conditions the Emerald Shine, Smelt, Peppered Prawn and Watermelon Pearl Colours. In the Maple Softies Range for Murky Water I run with Mandarin Gold, Fairy Floss and Gold Tiger and in Clearer water the Ice Blue and Silver Shiner. For Low visibility Conditions in Deeper water or if you are fishing at Night under Bridge Pylons with some street light the Lumo and Pearl colours are the go.

Quite a few of you ask do Soft Plastics work at night and my answer would be in the case of Jew fish that yes they do, Scented Plastics certainly help in this regard or a spray scent is advantageous. We get a lot of better size Jew at night on the coast here in winter time and I used to get them Quite often off Stockton Beach in NSW. Evening time in the Last hour of light with a full tide i find is the best time to target the bigger fish in Deep Holes in the River Systems or the Gutters off the beaches fishing with the larger Shads in a slow lift and drop technique.

Trevally

These Guys are great fun on the light Soft Plastic Gear and hit like miniature freight trains and don’t stop fighting all the way to the net. Again the same set up as for Flathead with an 8lb Fluorocarbon Leader…the main difference here is your retrieval rate, With Trevally I cast it out and then give it 4 or 5 sharp jerks through the water then pause and do the same again bringing the Soft Plastic all the way up in the Waterline.

Jig Head weight again as light as you can Physically fish, 1/12 oz or 1/16oz is generally on the money matched to a hook size 2.

Soft Plastic selection for me is a bit different here although I have caught them on the Rack Gliders and Minnows I generally prefer Smaller Curl Tail Fish in the Maple Softie Range or the Smaller Atomic Paddle Tails or Berkley 2” Grubs. Colour Choice in the Softies is for me Pumpkinseed,Silver Shiner and Spiced Coffee. In the Atomics the Motor Oil Gold, Pumpkinseed or Amber and in the Berkley the Pumpkinseed or Purple Red glitter generally do the trick. For Golden spot Trevally or Diamond Trevally I find the Larger Fatter grubs do well fished along the bottom in a lift and drop motion.

Run in tide is best for these speedsters,you will often see them busting Baitfish on the surface early in the morning or evening time and extensively throughout the River System though run outs from smaller Creeks and around Bridge Pylons where Baitfish tend to congregate are good places to start.

Whiting

These are great little fighters to target on the Plastics when they are on and pull like Miniature Jewfish.You need to fish pretty lightly and slowly for these guys using a 3lb Fluorocarbon leader.

Jig Head selection is as light as you can Physically cast a 1/32oz or a 1/16oz weight with as small a hook size as you can get though a no 4 will usually sort out the good fish.

In the Soft Plastic Selection the Berkley Gulp 6” Sandworm cut in two with the tail section used threaded from the thick end with the tail dangling is my number one choice here, Again Nuclear Chicken goes good if Murky or the more Natural Colours if the water is clearer. I have also caught quite a few Large Whiting on the 3” Shaky Shads in the Pumpkinseed colour while targeting Flathead as well as on the Rack Gliders. I also target these guys on Surface Poppers which is a great way to hook up, the little Rebel Pop R Lures being my Choice for fun.

Target these fish right up on top of the flats in the Shallower water, they will hit hard and pull even harder in the shallow water.

Mangrove Jack

One of the ultimate sports fish on the Australian Anglers hit list, this much sought after hard hitting, hard fighting species is worthy of it’s respect among anglers.

Jig head selection on these guys depends again on the depth of water you are fishing but I tend to target these guys in the deeper holes in the river systems so heavier Jig Heads are generally required. 1/8oz will do you up to 12 odd foot of water then i tend to go to 1/4oz up to 20 feet and deeper holes or heavy tidal flow 3/8oz weight. Hook size is 1/0 for 3″ shads or 2/0 for 4″ minnows and use a minimum 10lb Fluorocarbon leader if you are in relatively snag free water although with Jacks they tend to go straight for the nearest snag so sometimes you might have to beef up to 14lb but again try and fish as light as you can.

In the Soft plastic Selection I find the 3″ Shaky Shad in the Berkley Gulp range in the Pumpkinseed Colour pretty effective in the lift and drop technique or the 4″ or even 5″ minnows in the Nuclear Chicken Colour jerked along in the deeper holes will get results. also the Maple Softie Reef Gliders in Mandarin Gold for deep holes or Ice Blue Colour chucked in close to snags will do the trick.

Look for deeper holes or drop offs in the river bed for these hard hitters particularly if there is a snag down there or if rocky outcrops, peaks or pinnacles show up on your sounder. Same applies close to a bank if you get a sudden drop or a fallen tree into deeper water. Summer time when you get a hot and humid day will bring them on the chew and if your sounder shows water temperature look out when it gets above 27 degrees celsius!