It seems wet weather has been around since the Flathead Classic back in October and if you are an avid flathead chaser like myself you have had few opportunities to get out and chase lizards this season.

However when the weather cleared enough to sneak out for a flick the fish seemed to have been about and many of us have been surprised at the late run of schooled up flathead around the Pin area.

If you listen to a few of the old timers in my fishing club this isn’t unusual at all they tell stories of the bigger sized flathead being captured in December to January. This has certainly been the case for our club members with good catches of 80+ cm fish being netted and safely returned to fight another day.

Not only are we seeing the bigger size fish being caught around the Pin, we are also seeing good numbers of the 55cm-75cm fish. Be sure to fish clean water which can be a bit of a challenge with all this rain and the dirty water. Chase the clean water lines and fish the top or either side of the tide.

Anglers report great success with the TT Switchblade in the Pink Bimbo colour. These can be fished much like a plastic, with a couple of flicks and then a slow flutter to the bottom. I tend to fish these a lot slower than a plastic and have a longer pause between flicks. If you are chasing bigger fish in particular you might want to upgrade your leader class as we often see the big fish woof the blade down which put there sharp teeth straight onto your leader, it is a sad sight to see a once in lifetime fish casually waft away with your lure in their gob!

The great thing about fishing the TT Switchblade is the vibration of the lure attracts the fish to your lure, which can often result interesting by-catches. Recently mangrove jacks and school jew have taken a blade while I have been chasing flatties. If you haven’t tied on a blade give it a go you might be surprised what you bring to the boat!

So amidst all the trouble and strife you can still be lucky enough to find good fishing every now and then.