They pick the biggest, baddest, deepest, most cover-laden bends in the river. If you find the deepest hole with the most logs, sticks, boulders, and trees in a 10-20 mile stretch of river, odds are it will be home to the biggest catfish in the whole stretch.
What should I look for when fishing flathead?
I always pick the largest drop out – low tide days when targeting flathead and fish the last few hours of the run out and first of the run in tide period. This means that all the shallow flat areas will be running off and you simply then look for the best drains.
What is the best bait to catch 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.
What is the best time of day to catch flathead?
The best time to get yourself a nice Flathead is during the day, two – three days lead up to the full moon and the following two- three days after. The preferred tide time would be high tide 7-9Am and fish the run out from the top of the tide down. The fish will be most active two hours after the top of the tide.
What color do Catfish see best?
Their eyes focus mostly on greens and blues because those colors stand out in most water conditions.
How do you target big flathead?
The flathead generally strike very aggressively, as they seem convinced they are chasing a large prey that needs to be crunched. The hardest bit to perfect is the strike. When you see one monster the lure, the best way to hook up is to drop the rod back to the fish, then sweep strike forward hard.
What is the best time of year to catch flathead catfish?
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.
How do you target flathead catfish?
Flathead catfish hang out in deep cover near the current. When they come out of cover to feed, they will move into the current while staying on the bottom. A good technique for catching flatheads is to drift the bait next to the current in river bends.
What size hooks for flathead catfish?
4/0 to 8/0 hooks
4/0 to 8/0 hooks are best, not smaller or larger, only based on your bait and fish size in the water, no float. We know this might sound like overkill; the gear is a little much for freshwater fishing. But flathead cats are giants with big mouths, and your equipment, line, baits, and tackle should be large too.
Will flathead bite during the day?
Despite what you may have heard, it is possible to keep up on your sleep and still catch flathead catfish. It’s true. You can catch them during the day.
What size lures for flathead?
A safe starting point is to use lures in the 70 to 110mm size range. The Squidgy Pro Range Prawn, new Squidgy Bio Tough Fish and Wriggler are just a few options that will see you on the right path.
Does flathead move around?
Keep moving
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.
What smell attracts catfish?
For catfish scents, the smellier the better. Ingredients like chicken liver, gutted fish, Limburger cheese and rotting shrimp are examples of things that can be combined together. The best stink bait is left to marinade for a few days and “ripen” so that the blend of scents is irresistible to the catfish.
What flavors attract catfish?
Beyond its ability to attract large catfish, bubble gum is preferred by the anglers who use it because it firmly stays on the hook. Gum even helps the catfish stick to the hook as it tries to swallow the bait. Green apple flavor works well, but catfish also like other fruit flavors like strawberry and grape.
What are catfish most attracted to?
Here are our top bait recommendations for catching big numbers of channels, flatheads and blues.
- Worms. Worms are classic catfish bait.
- Shad and Minnows. Like worms, shad and minnows have mass appeal.
- Stink Bait. Unlike worms and minnows, stink bait only appeals to catfish.
- Anything from the Fridge.
- Soap.
Where can I find big flathead?
Flathead will be up on sandbanks or mangrove edges around the high tide followed by drains, weed edges and drop offs on the low. Just be prepared for those bigger flathead to run straight back out at you when they hit your plastic, as they’ll quite often head straight for deeper water.
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 flathead in shallow water?
Water depth is one of the key factors of successfully catching flathead on surface. I like to stick to water depths of 1 to 6 feet in range, you’ll be surprised how shallow these big fish will get.
Do circle hooks work on flathead?
Circle hooks have been shown to increase the survival of angler released fish. With their success already proven for many game fish species, these hooks are now used increasingly for many other common recreational species including bream, flathead and kingfish.
What do flathead fish eat?
Dusky flathead eat small fish and a variety of invertebrates including prawns, crabs and squid. They’re essentially ambush predators which lie and wait (often partly buried) before pouncing on passing prey. I’ve seen them cough up small bream, whiting, tailor, tiny whitebait and prawns at various times.
Do I need a sinker with a jig head?
You’ll need a sinker or a weighted jighead to get a buoyant lure like a plastic worm or tube bait to the bottom and keep it there.