flathead catfish question

[Andrea]

I'm posting this in the lounge because I know some of you know the answer to this but won't scroll down to the fishing section. I need to know how to catch monster flatheads. The biggest I have caught is 18 lbs. But the locals always win the tournaments with 35+ pounders. I use live bait and fish the deep holes. We even caught one that was feeding in the shallows. I've bought every available video but nothing brings the results we want. PLEASE HELP!!!!!!
I don't even care to win a tournament anymore...I am just determined to start catching the bigguns'!!

[dogdoc]

i have my best luck using cut shad.

[Andrea]

Pardon my ignorance but what is smelt? We have used liver, stink-bait, homemade stink-bait ( boy that was an experience!) and various rotted fish parts. And the only thing we catch on the smelly stuff is channel cats. Never heard of smelt. Maybe that's the ticket.

[Andrea]

I know that flatheads are similar to grouper in that they lay under logs and brush waiting for something lively to drop by. But....I've also caught grouper on cut bait. I just had an idea...maybe I could swap a saltwater trip in the Gulf for a flathead trip. ?????

[Andrea]

That's ok. The only small fresh water fish we net down here that I know of are shiners. Or fresh water mullet.

[Andrea]

I may just have to bust out and get one of those "Aqua-Vu" cameras and use it. Don't know how well they work or if they even work in a river. The current probably would pose a problem. At least I would be able to tell if there's anything in the hole!

[Texan_Til_I_Die]

Flatheads (yellowcats or oppoloosas) actually prefer live bait over dead/stink type baits. The bigger the better! I've used red ear sunfish or goggle eye perch as big as 1/2 lb for bait. And if its legal there, you might think about trying goldfish or carp. Try to get some that about 8 - 10 inches long. I caught my biggest flathead, 65 lbs, on a goldfish.

[Andrea]

Dude, if it will catch a flathead---I will try it. How long was the bait in the water before he hit it? We use red-bellies to catch jack-fish (pike) and as soon as they hit the water they are gone!

[Andrea]

I have heard of people taking a live bream, cutting off its' tail and using it that way. Sounds cruel but they can't get away as well and the blood atrracts attention too.

[Orion_70]

Huntin Girl, you hit it with the last post. Not for sure it it's legal here in Fl. but we always used bream for bait. Find the holes and the deep dropoffs. We would take the bream and cut off it's tail, the blood gets flowing and the fish flounders a lot attracting the big ones. The bigger the bream the better. You can also attach a piece of cut fish or liver on with the bream. We catch them like that on rod/reels.
In the lakes we fished we would always used drop hooks on cypress trees just off the channels. We'd set out a couple hundred hooks to run.

[Orion_70]

Oh another thing, what kind of setup are you using? We used 50 -80 lb line to the hook and off the hook we used a bell sinker about 12 -18" down attached with 4lb line. This keeps the bait just off the bottom in the range the like to hang out and the light line snaps off when they head for cover.

[007hunter]

Here is what I have read about catfish.The past year I have become a avid catfish fisherman and all this information supports what I have seen. Up until catfish reach a certain size they are scavengers meaning they eat what they can find. This is where your chicken livers and stinkbaits will work. Once they reach a larger size they become predators. You need to find what they are feeding on and use that. Chicken livers and stinkbaits will not consistently catch the big ones. There is alot of information on the internet....Good luck!

[Texan_Til_I_Die]

[ QUOTE ]
Dude, if it will catch a flathead---I will try it. How long was the bait in the water before he hit it? We use red-bellies to catch jack-fish (pike) and as soon as they hit the water they are gone!

[/ QUOTE ]

A couple of hours before I caught the big one. That's the great thing about goldfish and carp, they'll stay alive and lively on a hook "forever".

[preacherman]

I use shrimp or rooster liver..........I personally like the rooster liver because it stays on the hook a little better. That is how we do it in Mississippi!

[benelli_man_84]

Use chicken that is pretty ripe. That always works with me. I put apple juice in there with the chicken and leave it out in the sun for a day. Then I fish with it. Get some rubber gloves to bait it on the hook with. The smell will not come off of your hands for a few days if you dont. It works though. I caught a 25 lb flathead with it 2 years ago. It was fun!!!!!!!!!!!