They have a more delicate taste than mud crabs and are best targeted in the warmer months. They generally inhabit similar areas in the coastal estuaries throughout the State. They are masters of concealment and ambush, burying themselves in the sand or mud bottom and pouncing on their prey, either small live fish or crustaceans such as yabbies or soldier crabs. They are an ideal target for lures that bounce along the bottom and they can be found along the edges of mudflats and sandflats on the falling tide. They are a good eating fish, although the flesh of larger specimens tends to be coarse and dry.
Most large flathead are females and they are best released carefully to ensure their survival.
Generally taken with flesh baits on handlines, coral trout are an enthusiastic taker of trolled or cast lures and exhibit great determination to avoid capture, often burying themselves in crevices in the coral. They are an excellent table fish with white firm flesh that freezes well. They inhabit the reef and rubble patches along the coast and are also caught in shallow waters such as off Peel Island in Moreton Bay. They are generally more prolific in the cooler months when they move into the reefs and wireweed patches to spawn. Another excellent table fish, snapper grow to 19 kg, although the main captures are more commonly in the 1 kg range.