Deep Water Tigers by Neil Slater

Between November and January there is an annual influx of tiger flathead into the deeper waters of Bass Strait. From The Rip to Apollo Bay there are some great flathead to be caught in depths ranging from 15 to 50m. The biggest problem is getting a bait down to them and keeping it there!

Some of the limiting factors include depth, retrieval speed of your reel, the presence of barracouta, boat drift and the sensitivity of your line. While we have control over a few of these factors, there are many we can't do anything about. Adapting is the key to success!

Take barracouta for example. These brutes are a flathead drifter's worst nightmare. At their worst, they will keep you re-rigging all day and never let you get a bait to the flatties on the bottom. At best, you get to top up your bait and berley supplies.

You really only have two options when the 'couta are blowing you away. Firstly, switch to wire trace and have some fun or secondly, move to another location...