FISHO reader Max Smillie contacted us today with a story of a very unusual dusky flathead encounter.
Not giving much away about the location, Max (from NSW) says he found the flathead seen here in the photos on a recent trip down the coast to a “popular spot”.
“The flattie was lying on the bottom of the lake, dead, with a fish firmly wedged in its mouth,” wrote Max via email.
“We walked past this spot on the Saturday morning and again late on the Saturday evening, but when we went for our early morning walk on the Sunday, here was this monster lying in the clear water, in only about 30 cm of water and not far out from the edge.
“I walked out to have a look and couldn’t believe my eyes. The flattie must have taken this fish not long before we got there as although the fish was quite firm it was still very fresh, and extremely heavy. I estimate the flattie to have been around 80 to 90 cm long, excluding the bait [which appears to be a tailor]. Where I found it was only about 3.0 metres from the edge of a drop off into deeper water.
“There is always a lot of discussion around how big is the right size bait to use for flattie. I am amazed to see what they are actually capable of going after, although too big a bait may not provide the best outcome for the targeted species!”
Thanks for the story and photos Max.
Any other readers encountered anything similiar?
