Flathead are one of the more common fish found in our Bays and are very popular with anglers. They have a firm and very palatable flesh and are easily distinguished from other types of fish, with their ugly frog like face and protruding eyes. Most caught are around 35 cm long and weigh a bit less than a kilogram but some varieties can grow up to 1.3 metres and weigh a whopping 15 kilograms in the ocean.
Known also as frogs, lizards or just flattys, 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 which can cause a very painful injury, so care should be taken when handling these fish.
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, with only their eyes poking out above the sand. Sand flathead are mostly scavengers, and pounce on any 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 tones of Flathead are caught by recreational fishermen inside Port Philip Bay yearly, their popularity is probably due to them being fairly easy to catch. They could not really be regarded as a sport fish. The fish are fast on the bottom but don’t put up much of a fight bringing them up to the surface. As for eating, the fish are great, their fleshy white meat is delicious and very popular quickly deep fried or baked.
Flathead 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, they really don’t care what they eat, they will also take artificial lures readily. Small bait fish, yabbies, prawns, and pilchard are popular baits for flathead. The at the time of writing the minimum size of fish that can legally be taken is 25cm (total length) and there are bag limits also in place.
Ensure you check with authorities before taking any seafood from our waters as rules and regulations and change on a regular basis, including where you can fish.
Intown’s Easy Flathead Tacos
Here’s a tasty easy recipe that is a bit different to the normal fried flathead.
For the fish you will need, about 500 grams of fresh cubed flathead pieces, 1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano, 1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin, 1 teaspoon of chilli powder, 2 cloves of crushed garlic, some rock salt and cracked pepper.3 tablespoons of plain flour. All you need to do is put all the ingredients into a plastic bag with the fish, coat well and put a side.
For the tacos, mix in a bowl, shredded lettuce, 1/2 an onion, diced tomato and the juice of 2 limes.
Quickly fry the fish in hot oil, put salad in taco shell, followed by fried fish and garnish with some salsa. It is delicious.
