With the removal of commercial netting and the introduction of slot sizes, dusky flathead fishing is booming. It’s common these days to catch a dusky flathead over 90 cm, which is incredible. New gear on the market tailored specifically for these fish has really taken it to a whole new level, making this such a popular form of fishing. Duskies are the ultimate ambush predators, so well camouflaged as they sit on the bottom waiting for an easy feed. Because of their size and prehistoric look, they are often referred to as Crocs or Lizards. These fish, despite a sluggish reputation, will fight quite hard in shallow waters. I have spent many years targeting dusky flathead by boat, kayak, and land wading in the shallows, and this article will share helpful information on how to catch these magnificent fish consistently.
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Where to find Dusky flathead and when to target them?
Prime locations in Victoria are widespread across east Gippsland, with Gippsland Lakes, Lake Tyers, Mallacoota, Tanboon inlet and Bemm River offering some of the best dusky flathead fishing in the country. These fish reside in estuaries and love shallow waters. They are most often caught under 2 meters deep. Usually sitting on the weed line, small drop-offs, thick rubble grounds, and sandflats. In clear, shallow waters, you often see an impression left in the sand, which is an excellent indicator that you’re in the right area. However, it’s always great to investigate new waters and keep in mind that shallow waters are best. I usually fish at the 1-meter to 1.5-meter mark, remembering that these fish will often reside hard up on small drop-offs right on the edge of a thick weed line.
The best time to catch Dusky Flathead is when the water temperatures are warm, and they bask in the shallows. Prime time is November through April when water temperatures are high. However, they often slow down during February at peak water temperatures, which can be too high.
How to catch Dusky Flathead
Watch as Al from FishingMad targets Dusky Flathead in the Gippsland Region
Some beneficial tips in catching dusky flathead includes keeping noise levels down. Minimise usage of electric motors in shallow waters, which can spook them easily. Fish areas with high concentrations of mullet, baitfish, garfish, and prawns, which dusky flathead actively feed on as their natural food source. Mix up the retrieves. I often employ different speeds and different volumes of pauses as their behaviours can be different on different days. I use a slow, steady retrieve called a slow roll or the old twitch twitch pause, which is a combination of hops, lifts, and pauses to mimic a wounded baitfish with action that gets great reaction bites. They will often hit your lure or plastic on the drop, but we encourage you to also work your lure back all the way back to your boat or kayak as, at times, they will often follow it for some time with an inquisitive nature before striking.
They will bite throughout the entire day; however, they are most active in the early mornings between sunrise and 9 am or evenings and last light. They can also be more active on tide changes, especially at the end of a runout tide into slack. Fighting an 80cm+ fish in waters as shallow as 1 meter is fascinating. I have found that striking a hard is important to setting the lure or plastics, and having a relatively loose drag can really help take the pressure and load off your gear and minimize lost catches.
Gear to catch Dusky Flathead
You can target dusky flathead with a spin or baitcast combo. Spin combos give you a lightweight finesse feel, whilst bait cast will allow you to cast a variety of heavier lures.
3-6 kilo spin rods paired with a 2500 size reel spooled with 10-15lb braid and 8-15lb fluorocarbon leader. You could also drop this to a 2-5kg or 2-4kg rod if you wanted a more finesse experience. If your casting bigger and heavier lures this will work best with a M MH baitcast paired with a 150 baitcast reel spooled with 20lb braid and 15-20lb fluorocarbon leader. This season, I have been using the new Shimano TCurve 2-5kg rod paired with a Twin Power FE 2500 spooled with 16lb Tasline braid and 2 rod lengths of 8-12lb Shimano Ocea fluorocarbon leader. For big swimbaits and lures, I’ve been using a Shimano TCurve BaitCast MH paired with a Shimano Curado DC 150 spooled with 20lb Tasline Elite x8 braid and 2 rod lengths of 12-20lb Shimano Ocea fluorocarbon leader. I’ve also caught many dusky flatheads on bream gear as bycatch. In these situations, don’t panic. Just work the fish slowly. I’ve caught them up to 80cm using 2.5” paddle tails on a 1-3kg rod and 1000 reel with a 6lb line.
Remember, it’s critical to check the lure weight and ensure the rod you’re using is capable of casting something that heavy so you don’t break your rod tip.
The range of lures to target dusky flathead has increased so much in recent years. Soft Plastics (paddle tails 3” through to 6”), shallow diving minnows and jerk baits ( 70mm through to 140mm ), surface lures ( 90mm – 130mm ), Blades, Plus large glide baits, swimbaits up to 180mm. Natural colours such as white, silver, gold and translucent colours have been the most successful as they closely match the natural food source in these systems. I have targeted them for many years and had success using the following soft plastics and lures.
Best Soft Plastics to Catch Dusky Flathead
Typically 3-5 inch paddletails in natural colours are a standout choice when targeting dusky flathead. There are endless options from your tacklestore in this space but these are the ones we have had great success with. Typically rigged on a 1/12 2-0 or 1/8 3-0 jig head. Either slow roll the soft plastic at a slow to medium pace or add some lifts and pauses.
- Rapala Crush City Heavy Hitter 3” ( whitebait )
- Squidgues Prawn Wriggler ( cloud 9, estuary prawn
- On the Edge Lures SP Mullet 100 ( snow white )
- Zman 3” Minnows ( pearl/blue glimmer, UV white )
- Krocks Rattletails 110mm
- Keitech Swing Impact “5.8 soft plastic ( whites & natural colours )
- Zman Mulletron
Best Lures to Catch Dusky Flathead
The variety of lures to target suky flathead has exploded in recent years. Large swimbaits and glidebaits that sink slowly or are completely buoyant are great ways to fish in shallow, weedy areas. These often mimic natural food in the systems, such as mullet.
- Shimano Arma Joint Flash Boost Minnow 190SF
- Berkley Nesse Soft Swimbait
- G2 Glidebait 176mm ( Borrot )
- EverGreen ES Drive Swimbait
- Sugapenn 120
- Berkley 120mm Bender
- Catch Black Label 6″ Curl Tail soft plastics
- Nomad Vertrex Soft Vibes
Best Bait to catch Dusky Flathead
Dusky Flathead will also take a variety of live and dead baits, including
- prawns
- squid
- garfish
- pilchard
- whitebait
- mullet
- tailor
- salmon
New Dusky Flathead Slot Sizes and Size Limit
Recently introduced Slot limit restrictions have seen more significant volumes of bigger, dusky flathead, which is fantastic. The slot sizes in Vic are 30-55cm, meaning any dusky flathead caught over 55cm must be returned to the water, which ensures that the big breeders are put back into the system. Other states are also reviewing this, and currently, Queensland also has a slot size allocation limit of 40-75cm. In Victoria, the legal size limit for dusky flathead is 30 cm minimum and 55 cm maximum. The daily bag limit is five fish per person.
How to identify a Dusky Flathead
Dusky flathead are the largest flathead and are often identified by a series of dark spots on their tails. They grow to larger sizes above 90cm and are often caught between 50-80 cm. Most flathead caught in the east Gippsland between Gippsland Lakes and Mallacoota is generally considered a Dusky.
Handling and Care of Dusky Flathead
We have enormous respect for these amazing fish and want to see them handled with care. It’s essential to follow slot rules and size limit restrictions to ensure we have a sustainable dusky flathead fishery for many years to come. Handle them with care, as they have spines on the back of their heads, just like other species of flathead, which can inflict pain and cause bleeding. We highly encourage using an environment and minimising time out of the water. Always support their bellies and swim them off properly.
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