Fishing around Geelong - Flathead

Flathead are one of the more common fish found in our Bays. They have a firm and very palatable flesh.

Flathead are easily distinguished from other types of fish, with their ugly frog face.

Flathead have a light brown to grey upper head and body with many small red-brown spots and occasionally large dark blotches (depending on habitat). The chin and belly are usually white. 

They have no large teeth but many small pointed teeth on the jaws and palate, They do have a nasty sharp spines  front of the grill cover 
spines can cause a painful injury, so care should be taken when handling flathead. 
 

Flathead are found on sand and mud bottoms of our bays  and shallow coastal waters They prefer shallow marine water (15 - 25m
depth in Port Phillip Bay). They also prefer
weed-free sand or mud bottom in which they can partly bury themselves for camouflage. 

Sand flathead are mostly scavengers, and  pounce on prey. They feed during both day and night. Around our area they feed mainly on crabs and other small crustaceans from October to March, and on small fishes for the rest of the year. 

It is estimated nearly 400 tonnes of Flathead are caught by recreational fishermen inside Port Philip Bay.

Fathead usually caught  using rod and line or hand lines from a boat or  can also be caught from piers or along the shoreline. Fresh or frozen bait is preferred fore hooking sand flathead although they will also take artificial lures. The minimum size of fish that can legally be taken is 25cm (total length).