What's your favourite flathead lure?

[Jono4500]

I'm hoping to sneak up on a few flathead inside bribie in a few weeks, aiming to get my 1st on plastics. Taking a handful of zerek prawns, different sizes and colours, and a few vibes and minnows. Anyone have any other favs/recommendations be it lure or technique?  hoping some local knowledge could give me an edge.

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

I like Diawa Baitjunkie 3.2inch 'minnows' in 'Motor Oil' with a 1/6th jighead or Baitjunkie 4 inch grubs in 'Voltage' with a 1/4 jighead with a slow retrieve hopping it and pausing it back to you. But I have found using S-factor helps a lot.  

[charlie.hans.fishing]

- Prolure clone prone/ holt prawn or even any prawn imitations that are quality made. 

- 2.5-3 inch minnow presentations (preferably baitjunkie or zman) 

- Muddy and greeny colours. 

As @AUS-BNE-FISHOsaid s-factor scent does the trick. 

[Jono4500]

Thanks fellas il definatley check out your suggestions. Hard to find a holt prawn though I hear

[charlie.hans.fishing]

5 hours ago, Jono4500 said:

Thanks fellas il definatley check out your suggestions. Hard to find a holt prawn though I hear

Unless you get them on the night of the restock its unlikely you'll get your hands on some. Being honest, the plastic they are made of breaks very easily and doesn't last too many fish. I'd definitely check out some other ranges before the holt prawns... they've just been overhyped by a bunch of sunny coast youngsters 

[charlie.hans.fishing]

8 minutes ago, TheCharliefisho said:

Unless you get them on the night of the restock its unlikely you'll get your hands on some. Being honest, the plastic they are made of breaks very easily and doesn't last too many fish. I'd definitely check out some other ranges before the holt prawns... they've just been overhyped by a bunch of sunny coast youngsters 

Nonetheless they are decent lures though.

[Jono4500]

42 minutes ago, TheCharliefisho said:

Unless you get them on the night of the restock its unlikely you'll get your hands on some. Being honest, the plastic they are made of breaks very easily and doesn't last too many fish. I'd definitely check out some other ranges before the holt prawns... they've just been overhyped by a bunch of sunny coast youngsters 

Bit late to the party with holt prawns, they pop up everywhere in online reviews, but I've heard they don't live up to the hype. 

[charlie.hans.fishing]

1 hour ago, Jono4500 said:

Bit late to the party with holt prawns, they pop up everywhere in online reviews, but I've heard they don't live up to the hype. 

Yeah they're not great for the price either. Generally I wouldn't say they're worth it and you can find a substitution. 

[WildeFishing]

The guys have given you some great choices there! I also second what ABF said in regards to scent. Plenty out there and work good but the S-Factor is great as it also has UV in there. UV attracts but any scent really helps getting a second strike if you drop the first nib.  

A good one for beginners on lures/soft plastics I think is any grub or curly tail, as you get a fair bit of action out of the lure without having to do too much, assists you a little bit.  

One thing to remember when going for flatties on any sort of soft plastic or soft vibe, keep in contact with the bottom, if your not getting to the bottom, you aint catching a flattie. Keep it slow, nice pauses and some nice little "hops", 90% of you hook ups will probably be on the drops of these hops/movements.  

[Jono4500]

6 hours ago, WildeFishing said:

The guys have given you some great choices there! I also second what ABF said in regards to scent. Plenty out there and work good but the S-Factor is great as it also has UV in there. UV attracts but any scent really helps getting a second strike if you drop the first nib.  

A good one for beginners on lures/soft plastics I think is any grub or curly tail, as you get a fair bit of action out of the lure without having to do too much, assists you a little bit.  

One thing to remember when going for flatties on any sort of soft plastic or soft vibe, keep in contact with the bottom, if your not getting to the bottom, you aint catching a flattie. Keep it slow, nice pauses and some nice little "hops", 90% of you hook ups will probably be on the drops of these hops/movements.  

Thanks wildefishing, I'd never thought to much about scent but what you said about them coming for a second strike makes a lot of sense to me now.

[benno573]

i like trolling zerek tango shads and pontoon21 crackerjacks in the 55mm.  natural colours seem to work the best.

[WildeFishing]

4 hours ago, benno573 said:

i like trolling zerek tango shads and pontoon21 crackerjacks in the 55mm.  natural colours seem to work the best.

If your into trolling, the tango shads are like flattie lollies!  

[WildeFishing]

6 hours ago, Jono4500 said:

Thanks wildefishing, I'd never thought to much about scent but what you said about them coming for a second strike makes a lot of sense to me now.

Yeap, better than a mouth full of plastic taste and smell. If they get a little taste of something, it can stimulate a second strike, also masks your smell or any smells on your fingers, sunscreen, fuel etc.  

 

Holts were mentioned earlier, they have a very weird and strong plastic smell, 100% would use scent on them just to mask that.  

[charlie.hans.fishing]

15 hours ago, WildeFishing said:

The guys have given you some great choices there! I also second what ABF said in regards to scent. Plenty out there and work good but the S-Factor is great as it also has UV in there. UV attracts but any scent really helps getting a second strike if you drop the first nib.  

A good one for beginners on lures/soft plastics I think is any grub or curly tail, as you get a fair bit of action out of the lure without having to do too much, assists you a little bit.  

One thing to remember when going for flatties on any sort of soft plastic or soft vibe, keep in contact with the bottom, if your not getting to the bottom, you aint catching a flattie. Keep it slow, nice pauses and some nice little "hops", 90% of you hook ups will probably be on the drops of these hops/movements.  

That's true, most flatties I've caught have all taken the lure as soon as its casted and hits the bottom. The lures suggested are probably best for all sizes of flatties @Jono4500, but I know people who cast lures up to 7 inches and even bigger for jointed swimbaits and glidebaits to chase those real big monster flatties. 

[charlie.hans.fishing]

2 hours ago, WildeFishing said:

Yeap, better than a mouth full of plastic taste and smell. If they get a little taste of something, it can stimulate a second strike, also masks your smell or any smells on your fingers, sunscreen, fuel etc.  

 

Holts were mentioned earlier, they have a very weird and strong plastic smell, 100% would use scent on them just to mask that.  

Yeah they're not pre-scented like baitjunkies or powerbait, and smell quite strongly like plasticy-chemicals. Like you said, I'd definitely suggest scent on these types of lures. 

[Bob9863]

One thing I've noticed about soft plastics is brand makes SFA difference. 

Any 3" curl tail will work like any other 3" curl tail as long as they are scented the same. If you buy pre scented then there can be a bit of difference, I've noticed that the gulp work fantastic but don't last very long. But Z-man, Strike Tiger ect all work the same, even the bulk ones I get off a local Aussie bloke on eBay are no different, but I have to put a bit of scent on them. 

What's more important is presentation and the retrieval, get them right and your set. 

[Jono4500]

Many thanks Charliefisho , wildefishing , bob9863 , ausbnefisho, benno573 . Given me much to ponder and experiment with to get my aim in. Fingers crossed I can translate it to some decent fish! 

[Junky]

Pearl watermelon powerbait 3 inch minnow. 

3g to 5g jig head, most of the time on sand flats etc.

. 

[Mylesfisher]

i am not the biggest flatty fisho but i think that minnowz 4" works great and the 3" are good too