Flathead Facility

[webby]

All the facts and Features you read on Flathead fishing, and the catching of big breeding females should be released,
But a query to all you knowledgeable people out there
I have been informed on numberous occassions that
once a female reaches a length of 80cm or over, she looses
here breeding capabilites and become infertile.
is this true or false. this information was passed to me by
two well know estuary charter fisho's. Over the years i have
released some nice lizards over this size on presumption
that they were still able to breed.
Can anyone set these facts right.
Secondly did you know that lizards will also endulge on
a feed of smaller lizards.
regards

[Randall]

Gidday Webby, mate, as far as I know, and I`m no expert, the large flatties do in fact continue to breed well after reaching that mystical 80 cm mark. Lets face it, may as well let em go, even if they dont breed then, you may give someone else the pleasure in getting them again.

The large ones taste like shit anyway. ;-)

Give me a 40cm version anyday for eating qualities.

Regards, Randall.

[Lucky_Phill]

Barry Pollock is the " expert " in the flathead department. He actually wrote a Thesis for his Doctorate on Flathead.

Barry is now in the Solomons doing fish things over there.

As far as I know, Flathead have their first breeding cycle by the time they are 30cms long. That is why the legal limit.

Flathead produce up to a million eggs. The reason people say to release the big ones is ? Lots of reasons, and none are well founded. Sure, if you release the big un's they can be caught again. But as for breeding ? And I have also heard ( Brownie ) that they get stringy and tuff when they are bigger. Crap.

I can cook a sole off an old shoe and make it tender, and I know people that can turn a Rib Eye Fillet into a piece of leather. ::)

I can, if you like, give you an email address that will put you in touch with a relative expert. ?

[Jason_L]

another suggestion...

give the DPI a call. they should be able to tell u.
you'll find their phone number in the Government section of the Phone Book.

[couta]

webby,im unsure about the breeding cycle of big flatties,but if im lucky enough to land a large one i get a huge buzz watching her glide away on release as apposed to sizzling in a pan.as a kid back in the seventies the occasional two inch flattie showed up in the poddy trap.....all the same to me back then... :-X. i carnt recall landing any flatties on em but a mate scored a nice flounder once....

[webby]

Thanks for replies, #wasnt intending of changing my habit
of releasing them, #smaller are better, #was just inquiring if
anyone new if what i stated above was correct. #Just wanted
to know
Regarding the facts lizards feed on other lizards, caught one
at the tip of crusoe awhile back, when around 55cm, when
i gutted it , it had a small lizard inside it guts about 12cm.
must have too some effort geting it down. but i suppose
what ever swims past there nose they try and latch onto
if there hungry enough.
regards

[jaybee]

Hey Webby when I worked at the fish markets the net men who worked the bay used to pick the biggest flathead out of their catch and remove the roe before weighing them in. Some of these fish were in excess of 10lb and the roes were enormous. Aparantly they taste better then sea mullet roe but then I havent tried flathead roe. The roe in the flathead doesnt appear to be as firm but the old timers used to swear by them.
cheers :)