Best Time of Year to Catch Flathead The best time to target flathead catfish is from the spring to the fall. Flathead LOVE warm water, so usually around may – august I have my best luck. When the water temp reaches 55, they seem to pick up and start biting. This can be found by researching your local body of water.
What is the best month to catch flathead?
June is the best month to catch flatheads, the author said. The weather is not too hot and the fish are very active during the pre-spawning period. After their spawning period in late June/early July, they settle into summer hangouts and will often return to their same spot every year.
What is the best month to catch catfish?
Late March, April, and early May are some of the best blue catfish fishing of the year for numbers of fish and also offers excellent opportunities for trophy class catfish as well. Channel catfish action is typically excellent and very consistent also.
What is the best bait for flathead catfish?
Flatheads feed primarily on live baits. Good hearty and lively baits like live perch, bluegill, sunfish, goldfish or mudcats are the preferred bait for catching flatheads.
Where is the best place to catch flathead catfish?
Flatheads are commonly found in large water bodies. They usually prefer a big river and a reservoir as its tributaries. In a river, the fish generally like to be in a deep pool where the water is slow. It is also commonly found in tailraces present below dams.
Why are flatheads so hard to catch?
A big difference between flathead and many other fish is that when they are in a feeding mode, they don’t move around other than to break camouflage and attack. They stay still until their food comes to them. So you need to bring your lure to them. A few casts in an area for no result and it’s time to move on.
Can you catch flathead in winter?
With winter just around the corner it’s time to gear up for flathead. Dusky Flathead (Platycephalus fuscus) are found in abundance in the winter months. With this said, it is a great time of year to bring out the flathead gear and chase a few on plastics. If you are new to lure fishing then this is the species for you.
What is the best bait for catfish right now?
Here is a list of the best catfish baits that anglers across the nation use to bring home the big ones.
- Chicken Livers for Deep Water Channel Catfish.
- Asian Carp for Catfish Bait.
- Crawfish Dead or Alive.
- Nightcrawlers for All Around Channel Catfish.
- Stink Bait, the Smelly Catfish Bait.
- Punch Bait with Treble Hook.
What time of day do catfish bite the most?
The best time of day to catch 3-seasons catfish is from an hour before sunset until 2 hours after sunrise and during the winter, from late morning until just before sunset. These are not hard and fast rules, but you will find the most active and hungry catfish consistently biting in these windows.
How do you target flathead catfish?
In recent times many people have had success catching them during the day. The idea is to put either a lively baitfish or a fresh chunk of cutbait right in front of their noses. Even with that being said, I have personally caught all of my largest flatheads at night.
Are hotdogs good catfish bait?
Hot dogs are a common food taken along on fishing excursions and double as excellent catfish bait. Points to remember when using hot dogs as catfish bait include: Cheaper hot dogs seem to catch more fish.
How do you get a big flathead?
Live baits are definitely my go-to when looking for big female flathead, with whiting, mullet, prawns and yabbies all being excellent baits. Flathead love big baits, with sand whiting and mullet over the 30cm mark being the perfect size for larger fish. Rigging your live baits properly is also very important.
What size hooks for flathead?
Depending on the size of your bait, 3/0 to 5/0 will do the trick. The best tip is to go super-sharp, quality hooks. Suicide, light gauge live bait, and circle hooks are brilliant here. Just remember, the worst thing you can do is use a hook too small or too large for the bait.
How old is a 25 lb flathead catfish?
To reach a 25 pound trophy mark, Flathead Catfish have to survive to at least 7 or 8 years.
How do you catch flathead catfish in the winter?
Flathead catfish don’t go into hibernation in the cold months but can often be found lurking in standing timber in the mid depths. “My best pattern for flathead fishing in the winter is going to be standing timber in the 25 – 30 foot depths,” he said.
How deep do you fish for flathead catfish?
At night, flatheads move onto shallow flats to seek out food. He says the best flats are those that have wood cover and good depth and are just adjacent to them. “I often catch 40- to 60-pound fish in flats from 1 to 5 feet deep.” He says a large flathead will often have a subtle bite.
Will flathead catfish eat cut bait?
In colder water especially, flatheads will hit cut bait, especially when they’re feeding heavily. If you’ve get even a slight movement to the bait by fishing current or drift fishing that’s even better.
Where can I find flatheads in early spring?
Flathead catfish are known to be buried in thick cover, but during early spring they love ambush points to gorge on baitfish and worms and any other food that washes by. Look for flathead catfish to position themselves in current breaks behind boulders or around channel swings in the creek, river or stream.
Do flathead catfish bite in cold weather?
When considering the best catfish bait, keep in mind that although metabolism is low, most catfish will still eat. However, “Catfish” Sutton wrote that if the water drops below 40 degrees, the flathead catfish bite shuts down completely.
What is the biggest flathead ever caught?
According to NSW Fisheries data, the 105cm flathead could be 15 (possibly even more!) years old. Patrick told Fisho he spotted the fish rise off the bottom in clear, shallow water and crunch the lure about 30-metres away.
Can you catch flatheads in November?
Small live baits and smaller fresh cut baits no longer than 6 inches are the hot ticket to take hefty flatheads once water temperatures fall below 60 degrees.