Searching for Southern Bluespot Flathead — Jarvis Wall

Searching for southern bluespot flathead

A trophy sized Tasmanian bluespot.

In recent years blue spot flathead are becoming a regular catch for anglers in the know. While some Tasmanian’s often don’t realise that they even exist, the Southern bluespot Flathead is a species that needs recognition by all as they’re an excellent sport fishing prospect and can grow to very large sizes.

The Species

Southern bluespot Flathead is the second largest species in the flathead clan, growing to lengths of up to one metre and well over six kilograms. They’re unique as the spots on their topside often have a blue hue to them which sets them apart easily from your more traditional sand flathead which is a much more common capture by Tasmanian recreational fishers. The blue spot flathead also has an enormous girth which gives them large amounts of power to exert through their big fan-like tail. Although having the potential to grow to enormous sizes they’re much more common at a size of 40-60cm with 70cm fish showing up on the regular occasion.

Locations to Start the Search

Inshore :

Knowing where to look for blue spot inshore can change your sessions from average to epic in a short matter of time as they are usually confined to specific habitats where they’re found in good numbers. On the Northern coastline from Woolnorth to Petal Point, I have found that any depths from one and a half to six metres to be productive. The best locations have thick eelgrass with big or small sand holes in the grass beds, these often hold good populations of the blue spot. Rocky areas aren’t to be turned away from either as the edges of rock bars and reefs can also hold some of the biggest blue spot flatheads.

Rivers and Bays :

This is where you can mix up your techniques as the flathead move around quite a lot with the tides. All along the North coast right round to Georges Bay on the East Coast, there are very productive estuarine

systems that hold healthy populations of blue spots. If you’re up shallow it’s always worth looking over a weed bed that’s around a metre deep at high tide. This is an excellent hunting ground for flathead as it has the cover for them to ambush prey. That’s a flathead’s primary weapon to get a meal and shallow weedbeds are riddled with all manner of baitfish and crustaceans that are very appealing to a big Bluespot Flathead.

Even wide-open sand flats can hold some really good numbers of blue spots, a good indication for this is if you’re seeing mullet and especially black bream you’re in the right area.

If you’re looking at fishing a little deeper, the drop-offs that fall away into the deeper channels that run through our estuaries and bays are also very good areas to work over when hunting blue spot flathead. If you position yourself to work into the tide with your electric motor and cast ahead then work your soft plastic or vibe back along the bottom you’re in with a very good chance of finding one.

A selection of the authors favourite baits.

The most successful technique is dependent on where you’re fishing, being able to make adjustments based on conditions and habitats can increase the catch rate immensely. While scouting the shallow sand flats I like to fish with hard-bodied minnows ranging from 60-80mm in length. Colour isn’t a major factor but I certainly much prefer generic black bream colours like silvers, golds and prawn patterns. Having your hard-bodied tuned so it suspends is paramount as the longer you can keep your minnow in the flatheads strike zone the better, they generally won’t move too high up off the bottom to grab a minnow. I have found a slow draw of the rod tip followed by an aggressive twitch and then a relatively long pause to be the most effective way of luring the flats for them. It’s a much different take to a bream, you get a weird sort of weight rather than the aggressive pluck. Usually, they’re hooked outside the mouth or under the chin or around the head. It pays to have very sharp “sticky” trebles on your lures for this reason!

Siglon PE, is made from EX-PE fibres and offers a tightly woven braid that provides superior abrasion resistance, a very thin diameter and minimal stretch. Available in 8 carrier PE (PEx8) and 4 carrier PE (PEx4).

While searching out over the ocean weed beds, the most effective way I’ve found to fish these holes are to cruise along slowly on your electric motor. You can then sight the sand holes and position yourself where you can best cast into them. This will keep your soft plastic or whatever presentation you’re using in the sand hole for as long as possible. The Flathead will lay in wait for anything to swim into the hole and then pounce on it like it’s their last meal. The same principle applies when you’re fishing around the rocky areas, just position yourself with your electric motor or work out your drift so that you can cast parallel to the rock edge and have your lure be in the strike zone as much as possible. Short aggressive little hops up off the bottom followed by a short rest on the bottom are what I’ve found to work best. The Flathead take is hard to miss, they sure do clunk it. Remember to always make contact with the bottom and when you feel that tap through your rod strike fast!

If you’re wading or walking a bank in hope of tangling with some bluespots, make sure you check the tides. I like to wait it out until the tides three-quarters of the way out and fish the last and first quarter of run at the bottom end of the tide. This enables you to get closer to any drop-offs where they’ll hold out waiting for an easy meal. Fish with the same principle as I explained for fishing channel edges in the estuaries from a boat, it’s the same idea you’re just on the other side of the water!

Tackle and Set up

When it comes to hunting flathead on artificial lures your gear plays a very big part in fishing them to their full potential. When fishing up shallow on the flats and weed beds, I like to fish with a 2.1 metre long fast tapered rod rated around the 2-4kg range. You need this longer rod and faster taper to whip the small hardbodies out far enough from the boat. A spinning reel of a 2000 or 2500 size is best suited for this application. I spool mine with 3-4kg braid which does the job nicely. A leader of 4kg fluorocarbon is perfect for this application. My favoured exact set up is a Majorcraft Works Truzer Mebaru 7’4 3-8lb with a 2506 Daiwa Exist which is then spooled with Unitika Bream Super Pe 3.6kg braided line. Choosing the right hardbody can be daunting but if you base your decisions off what you’d use for bream you’ll be on the right track. My personal favourites are the Bassday Sugaminnow 70SP in the HM03 colour, Jackson Athlete 7SP in the HBS colour and the Atomic Jerk Minnow 65 in the Silver Wolf colour.

While fishing off the coastline and channel edges in slightly deeper water you can beef your gear up a bit. Once again around a 2.1-metre rod is my go-to. You can fish a slower actioned rod here if you’d prefer as the taper doesn’t make too much difference as you’re only really imparting small bits of action into the soft plastic or vibe. Braid of around 3-6kg is fine and I like to beef my leader up here running 4.5-7kg fluorocarbon. I like to use a 2500 sized reel in this application as it allows for more line control while staying in contact with the presentation you’re using while it drops. My Masters of disguise, flathead can easily blend in with the bottom.

Left: Wading the flats is one of the most rewarding was to catch a flathead. Above: Target the channel edges as this is where flathead wait to ambush prey.

exact set up is a Daiwa Certate 2500LT spooled with 5.4kg Majorcraft Dangan braid which is then paired with a Samurai Infinite 7ft 3-8lb rod. An 80mm soft plastic with a paddle tail in Black and Gold or Pink colour seems to be my most successful. I fish these on a 1/4 ounce jighead with a 3/0 sized hook.

So next time you’re wondering what to target in the warmer months, consider targeting some bluespot flathead as they’re a great sport fish and are readily available for anyone keen to get out and have a go. Just keep in mind the pointers I’ve made and hopefully they help you find some of these awesome fish!

nymphing Rods

With fly fishing tactics constantly changing to meet the demands of the world’s most competitive environments, the rods used to master these specialized techniques must evolve too. Without compromise, every Douglas nymphing rod brings the angler the most advanced combinations of balance, control and sensitivity.

Light tips load effortlessly at short ranges to accurately place weighted fly rigs into the current and manage drifts with pinpoint accuracy. Douglas’ proprietary carbons and nano-resins transmit every bounce and tumble of the flies until the angler intuitively detects the strike.