Flats Fishing with Infeet Slippery Dog

By Mitch Taylor

As we enter the peak time in summer most of all the sand flats in our harbours and estuaries come alive. This means it’s time to whip out the light setups and watch the chaos unfold as the slippery dog carves up the surface with boils and explosions following.

Firstly best time to fish the flats for species including whiting, bream, salmon, tailor and even the mighty kingfish is now. The warmer months from November to March are prime times to target these species on the flats as generally there is a lot more bait that appears in our systems at this time. The main bait source would include whitebait and gars. The old saying of match the hatch is key when targeting these species on the flats. The profile of the lure you use is absolutely key to success as you are fishing very shallow water and generally clearer water. This means the fish can become very finicky and often the exact size of the lure will determine how successful you are. Some days you will notice the whitebait size is smaller and other days larger.

With the above said, this is what makes the Infeet slippery dog a great choice due to the variety in sizing. The sizes include 65F, 80F and 97F. With this range it covers most bait profile sizes you will find on the flats. What colour you ask? Well, I am not much a believer that the colour is a big of determining factor as others might. I believe most colours work, but perhaps some colours may be better on those clearer days such as the more transparent colours. A personal favourite would be watermelon but have used most of the varieties with success. Don’t be too caught up on colour but more so the profile sizing when targeting the flats.

What sort of tackle do you need for this style of fishing? I like to have a few different setups depending on the fish I am encountering. If you are specifically targeting whiting and bream then some of my favourite setups are:

* 22 TD Zero 722ULXS matched with a Caldia LT 1000 with 6lb J-Braid Grand and 6-8lb J-Thread Xlink FC.

*TD Black Scratchy 702LFS matched with a TD Black 2000 with 8lb J-braid Grand and 8lb J-Thread X-Link FC.

 If there are larger species like your tailor, salmon and small kingfish then my favourite setup to use is:

*TD Black Wild Weasel 610MLFS matched with TD Black 2500 with 10lb J-Braid Grand and 10-12lb J-Thread X-Link FC.

If the above cant stop the fish then well, might have to pull out the big guns and upsize again. It is common to come across some sizable kingfish on the flats and its not rare for them to take a liking to you slippery dog. Most of the above setups can eventually stop these fish unless they find structure.

With all the gear in mind now, its time to target the flats. I like to position myself if I’m on a boat just off the drop off to the flats and cast up as far as I can. Often the larger predatory fish maybe sitting on the drop offs or more often than not you can see them corralling the bait up onto the flats so that it has nowhere to go. You will find that sometimes the difference in changing up your retrieves may trigger different fish. At times you will need to do a nice slow walk the dog with many pauses and at times a fast erratic continuous retrieve.

The most exciting aspect to this style of fishing is the visual component of seeing the boils and explosions as the fish desperately try to hammer your lure. In my opinion its one of the most exciting ways to fish.