How to catch Flathead catfish

The shear brute strength and fight these fish give you are challenging to say the least. Keeping the fish from taking you to a snag once hooked is the challenging part. A forty pound flathead does what it wants, so using good equipment to turn and control the fish is a must.

Understanding there patterns and feeding habits much like deer hunting, figuring out where and when to intercept them.

Flatheads are loners and very territorial and their habits of ambush feeding is somewhat different that other catfish species however they are also an opportunist when it comes to feeding as is all catfish, but their appetite tends to be a bit more finicky than the other catfish species.

Most folks think flatheads can only be caught at night but for the guys who chase the flatheads will tell you different. Flatheads can be taken in the day; you just have to put the bait in front of them where they hold up during the day which is generally heavy cover. Flathead prefer live bait over the dead bait, however they will take a piece of fresh and I mean fresh cut, still bleeding piece of cut bait.

A flathead catfish will take up residence in or around a good baitfish attracter such as rock piles or log jams and they will protect and ward off any competing flatheads. Generally the bigger fish calls the shots.

Other good ambush points are tributaries that feed the main river, scour holes, drops and ledges along the river channel and docked barges, flathead will lay tight under the barges and wait on an unsuspecting prey to pass by for the ambush.

Flatheads will tolerate current but prefer some slack water. I will generally target eddies, current breaks and current seams in the spring and summer when there is current flow. These types of places allow the flatheads to rest and take advantage of the food that washes by them in the current.

The equipment required for targeting the flathead catfish  is a medium heavy seven foot rod, either a bait cast or spin casting combo which ever you prefer, spooled with at least 65 lb braided fishing line. The heavy pound test will help you pull the flathead away from cover or possible snags.

I use the 65lb test braided mainline and  I use a 50 lb. mono leader with a #9 Mustad demon circle hook. If I do get snagged the leader will break before the mainline keeping me from having to retie the whole rig again, I just replace the leader and hook and I’m fishing again quickly.

The best rig for search for monster flatheads is the slip rig /Carolina rig, it allows the flathead to take the bait and feel little resistance. I like to use a short leader and at least a 4 oz egg or no roll sinker, the heavier weight and shorter leader helps keep the lively baitfish from swimming of into nearby cover getting you tangled up.

The bite of the flathead is not at all like other species of catfish, and I think this is why a lot of anglers miss them.

The first indication of a flathead bite might be a short subtle pull of the rod and a pause if the fish is interested after that you will get another slow pull with a shorter pause, this is when you should carefully pick up the rod and get ready. As the fish takes the bait and you feel a strong steady pull as if he’s just swimming off which it is, this is when you just start reeling, slowly putting pressure against the fish and let the circle hook do its job and hook up. Setting the hook while using a circle hook is not recommended, you will lose the fish every time if you pull back hard and to set the hook.

The bite may even be more subtle if you happen to put your bait close to one that is tucked in cover. A lot of times when that happens the flathead will move out take the bait, you will see that initial pull down and that’s all, giving you the indication that he didn’t take the bait. But you have sit on that spot and had no action and you decide to move to another spot, you start reeling in your rods and the one that got that subtle bite but no commitment you thought, has a fish on the other end.

What happens is, you have put your bait close to where it’s laying and it eased out took your bait and just backed back into the cover only moving a bit, the flathead is the dominate fish and is at the top of the food chain and doesn’t have to swim away from home with the bait like other species do. Usually the fish that you catch like that have swallowed the hook.

The best baits for flatheads are live shad or pan fish. I prefer the shad when available, however they will die quicker when hooked. The pan fish are easy to catch and will stay alive on a hook a lot longer than shad. In current in rivers, I like to hook the baits through the nose so they are always facing the current but in non current situations like lakes I will hook  the bait in the tail portion at the top near the dorsal fin. Sometimes I will cut the bait to make it bleed and create a scent trail.

In the summer months I will target the flatheads at night simply because of the heat factor, fishing shallower water around cover.  But as the fall season rolls around and the water begins to cool, I will target them in their deep water lairs throughout the day.

The bite of a flathead catfish can be subtle at times but the fight will absolutely be powerful and full steam ahead.

With springtime comes good water flow and this means the catfish will spend times in more predictable areas. Current seams and current breaks make an ideal spot for catfish to collect and feed.

Current seams are created naturally by the obstruction of the water flow. Major structural elements in a river that create current breaks include points, wing dams, eddies, backwaters and deep holes. The diagram shows a cross section view of how current is diverted by a point extending into the main channel.

Obstructions such as points and humps have developed on the river bank or river bed that will cause the water flow to slower, creating a seam between the fast flowing current and the slower diverted water. Most times holes are created on the back side of these obstructions creating eddies [dead mostly slower water] the water is funneled from the tail of the Eddie towards its head creating a whirlpool effect. Current seams and particularly eddies can concentrate drifting food. Small forage fish will use the current seam to pick through the drift, in turn these current seams will also attract the trophy catfish as they feed on the forage fish.

The one key element that must be present to make this type of spot productive, water flow or current! But another important aspect of catfishing the current seams is to figure out how each structure break effect’s the water movement and then how the fish relate to each current break in the relationship to the different water levels or flow.

During low water flow this large hole is normally not used by the fish because the water moves so slowly above it that there is no current for the fish to need it. But, during high water when the current is really moving, this spot is used by the fish as the current seams will provide food that washes downstream and collects in the eddies and for shelter (a current break) for the fish to conserve their energy.

So the trick is to know when each spot (or spot within the spot) is productive and when the fish will use them and only fish these areas during the correct water flow
If the flow is slow, the seams will just disappear and seem nonexistent and therefore not productive!

In a nutshell, understanding where the catfish hold at during the different water levels and current speeds on this particular seam will help you catch them. When the flow changes the catfish will change so you should too.

Early in the season, the best spots are often close to the shoreline and shallow. We can usually see the actual current break which looks like a ripple on the surface or current seam which looks like a line on the water with fast moving water on one side and still water on the other side, unless wind is blowing hard up river then they are hard to spot.

Generally, aggressive fish are on top of the point or in front of the current break where inactive fish may be behind or in the hole.
Start out by anchoring directly upstream of the current break and pitching a Carolina rig baited with shad or skip jack out and let the current sweep it until it settles on the bottom along the seam. If the fish are not cooperative move downstream a bit into the seam itself.

However setting up or anchoring on these current seams can sometimes be tricky, boat placement is crucial.

If you anchor too far out in the fast side of the seam, this will cause your bait presentation to drift further out into the main current away from the seam, and if you anchor too far in on the slower side of seam, (the Eddie) will cause your boat to spin in the whirlpool effect the eddy produces. There is a fine line between these two transitions, once you find your positioning you will drastically increase your chances of hooking into a trophy catfish.

Current seams and eddy’s are not limit to guys who only fish from a boat, bank anglers can also fish these types of spots as there are many different size current seams created naturally from river bank erosion. Small points and cut away banks all create a current seam even in small rivers and streams. Setting up on a point with moderate current flow and casting your rig out, allowing the current to sweep it into the seam is the same as anchoring a boat on it.

BONUS VIDEO: How to cut bait for catfishing in current.