Flicking offshore flats with plastics
by Lee Brake on 15 Jul 2013
"Look at that over there!!!" The rocky flats are a sight fishers dream! Lee Brake
This week Lee Brake takes us offshore to those beautiful rocky flats and reef edges that border our islands. He breaks out the light tackle and shows us how lethal soft plastics are on the species that call these waters home.
I love my offshore fishing, but unlike some anglers who believe the recipe for a good day out wide is an esky full of fat reef fish taken bottom bouncing, I believe that sometimes, especially when things go slow, you need to diversify.
That’s why I’ve always loved packing the light outfits when I push out to the reef or the islands offshore from Mackay, Queensland. Usually the old 4-6kg spin stick (and sometimes lighter) is stowed away in the rod locker and when the tide heads towards full I’ll turn my attention to the rocky flats, fringing reefs and headlands of the nearby islands.
This is an exciting way to fish and can yield every species imaginable, from fingermark and trout to trevally, queenfish and parrots. However, as you can imagine, finding a lure that is the right size to tempt a wide range of species and yet can also survive the teeth, snags and terror inflicted by this environment is a big ask. That’s why I find myself more and more turning to medium plastics in the 4' - 5' size. I really like the 5' Zman StreakZ in the pearl and bubble gum colours and so do the fish; better yet, you get a whole session out of one plastic without rips or tears. Gulp Jerkshads, both standard and Crazy Legs, are also ideal and make up for their lack of durability with an insane strike rate. Fish love the taste of these things and will keep hitting them over and over. Small 4' paddle tails are also very useful and are simple to work – slow rolls and short pauses make the lure look like a swimming fish staying close to the bottom for cover. Prawn imitations are also excellent and are best worked with either a slow roll coupled with the rise and fall of your rod tip or a sharper three flicks followed by a pause method.
Jighead choice is important. Go as light as you can to maximize hang time and consider a worm-hook style to give you snag resistance. I like the TT Snakeheads, because they are strong and the hook size and shape provides reliable hook-sets in the fishes' mouths.
I remember one recent session over at Brampton Island in the Cumberland Group where we started by working our way around the deeper headlands. My old man, Graham Brake, was using the trusty pearl StreakZ, while I was using a hard body. His plastic was getting all the attention, however, and accounted for a few cod and a breathtaking little blue trevally – one of the first I’ve ever seen – while I was batting for a big fat duck. Sure enough, things got worse. We came around the corner into a crystal clear bay and suddenly I could see shapes in the water swimming towards us. At first I was thinking massive mullet, but then, as they drew closer, they were identifiable as trevally swimming in a dense school.
That old SteakZ was in their midst faster than Lindsay Lohan can pocket a necklace and was streaking through the water in a lit-up pelagic’s gob just as fast. I panicked and had my lure cut off in quick time. I looked around and the first thing I saw was a 4' Zman ShrimpZ in the bubble gum colour, so I threaded it on a little jighead and flung it out. Two twitches later and we had a double hook-up on our hands! The old man’s was a nice golden while mine was a solid little GT, and I guess you really can’t complain about that.
From that day on folks small to medium size soft plastics have always been a go-to lure for me on the offshore flats. Lately we've even been pushing further afield and the more coral-covered flats have taken this kind of fishing to a whole new level. The trick seems to be to look for trenches and blue holes in the reefs and let your plastics drop and dart into their midst. It's heart-stopping stuff and does require slightly heavier gear. A 8kg rod and compact reel with a strong drag like the famous Shimano Stella in the 5000 size gets the job done nicely. Make sure your leader is tough and non-abrasive. I mostly use 60lb but will use 40lb if the fish are shy.
Probably the mostly exciting aspect of this kind of fishing is that it's visual. Nothing beats watching a coral trout rise from a crystal-clear blue trench amongst a myriad of different coloured coral and light up as it charges towards your offering. It also means you can watch the fish's reaction. This is great for getting a hook-up as you can actually see if the fish is just nipping the plastic or if it has grabbed it and is swimming off (time to strike hard!). The fact that fish are usually around the just-legal size doesn't matter one bit. It's the thrill of the close proximity and visual strike that really makes this type of flicking enjoyable.
You'll be amazed at the variety too. I've caught many, many species in this manner: cod, trevally, queenfish, rock flathead, trout, parrotfish, pink eared sweetlip, blubberlip bream, slatey bream, stripies, hussar, redthroat emperor, juvenile red emperor (a.k.a. government bream), Moses perch, small mackerel and, well, the list goes on. All I can say is to give it a go next time you're out wide and bored with soaking baits. It's also a terrific techniques for getting youngsters into lure flicking. They will love seeing the fish charge their lures, even if they are just little cod!
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