The art of ‘croc’ hunting by Stuart Hindson

Soft plastics have revolutionised the way we fish the estuaries especially when we talk about the good old flathead.

Sure catching a feed of duskies isn't rocket science, but to consistently catch big fish, those trophy fish over 70cm that are prime catch-and-release specimens, isn't as easy as some anglers would like to think.

Targeting monster flathead - I call them crocs - is an art form of its own.

It takes careful planning with moons and tides, good lure presentation and technique, the ability to know where they will feed and, more importantly, when.

Water temperature is also another huge factor and where I fish on the South Coast of NSW, that becomes even more relevant.

Big flathead are lazy creatures and generally won't travel far for a feed.

WHERE

I like to concentrate on shallower areas where food is brought to them, usually by the tide, but deeper water adjacent to weed edges with minimal tidal flow will also produce.

These two areas would account for 90% of my big fish, with the run-out or draining tide the peak time to fish.

Small food like whitebait, glassies and prawns has to leave the protection of these zones, giving bigger flathead an ideal ambush station to pounce.