Bush 'n Beach Fishing Magazine Location reports & tips for fishing, boating, camping, kayaking, 4WDing in Queensland and Northern NSW
Hi everyone, the thirtieth edition of the Gold Coast Flathead Classic fishing tournament will be held on September 24-27, 2024.
The event features three days of fishing, lures only, and heaps of prizes will be up for grabs.
With long days of fishing and plenty going on at event headquarters in the evenings, there will be no shortage of fun for all ages.
The base for the classic is at the Gold Coast Sportfishing Club’s clubhouse and adjacent outdoor area.
This area is next to the Broadwater Parklands Public Boat Ramp and the waterfront Broadwater Tourist Park, which is a great place to stay, with cabins, caravan spaces and tent sites.
Every year is different when it comes to fishing in the classic.
So far, this year’s event is looking to be clean water, unless there’s significant rainfall before the comp – which has happened previously, with hundreds of millimetres of rain falling a few days before the classic.
Let’s look at a few tips based on relatively clear water, considering it has been quite dry for many months in the lead up.
I’m tipping the Jumpinpin Channel will fish well, and the northern Broadwater, from north of Crab Island to Tipplers Passage.
There are a few proven techniques when targeting flathead.
Including spot locking or anchoring then casting lures, drifting while casting and jigging, and trolling hard-body lures.
These days, there are so many choices, however my go-to flathead lures in clear water are as follows.
Soft plastics
Z-Man MinnowZ in Opening Night and Disco Cisco, Rapala Crush City Imposter in Neon Yabbie, Fish Craft Dr Prawn in Gummy Bear and MMD MicroBait, Fat Skipper and FlatFish.
Vibes
Samaki Vibelicious in Whitebait, Ecogear ZX40 in 440 and TT Switchprawn+ in King Tiger.
Hard-bodies
Samaki Redic DF 50mm in Whitebait and Coral Trout.
If there is enough rain to dirty up the water – and/or cloud, wind chop, a run-out tide, early morning, late afternoon – try darker brighter fluorescent colours, whatever works!
Keep trying different things until you crack the code on the day.
For soft plastics, basically I cast over shallow areas that feature a mixture of weed patches meeting sand, then fan the area with casts.
Using good sunglasses such as Spotters makes it much easier to see these spots.
Let the lure sink, then single and double hops with pauses in between will attract the attention of hungry flathead.
Look for bait balls on the fish finder and birds diving, flathead are usually close by.
Vibe lures work very well drifting along long weed edges or drop-offs and channels.
Cast the vibe out about 15m and don’t wind, just leave it out there while drifting at about one knot, jigging the lure one short and quick lift at a time, with barely a pause.
Use a similar technique when trolling hard-bodies – work along weed edges at a speed of 1.5-2 knots, with the lure 20m behind the boat in depths of 1-3m.
Trolling is especially useful in strong wind, and when there’s wind against tide and it’s hard to drift or cast.
I use 1m of 8lb fluorocarbon leader for trolling, 10lb for vibes and smaller plastics and 12lb for larger plastics.
Bigger lures will catch bigger fish, though not as many.
If you do want to try for that fish of a lifetime, have a go with the My Lure Box Soft Glide.
It catches a lot of giant flathead.
If you haven’t entered the Gold Coast Flathead Classic before, get a team together and do it!
You can find more information at flatheadclassic.com.au
To book on a charter with myself or Brad, or if you have any fishing related questions, visit goldcoastrivercharters.com, SMS 0432 990 302 or email fishingwithclint@gmail.com, or find us on Facebook at Brad Smith Fishing Charters.
