The River Wolf: A Guide to Hunting Flathead Catfish
The flathead catfish is the apex predator of the river system. With its wide, shovel-like head, mottled camouflage skin, and a mouth full of sandpaper-like teeth, it is a perfectly designed eating machine. Unlike its cousins, the blue and channel cat, the flathead is not a scavenger. It is a true predator that prefers its meals alive and kicking. Chasing them, especially the big ones, is more akin to big game hunting than fishing. It’s a game of patience, stealth, and presenting the right bait to the meanest fish in the river.
Understanding the Flathead: A True Predator
This is the most important thing you need to know: big flatheads eat live fish. Period. While a small one might eat a piece of cut bait, the mature, trophy-sized fish are hunters. They are solitary creatures that claim a specific piece of heavy cover as their home—a deep hole, a massive logjam, a bridge piling—and they defend it aggressively. They don’t roam in schools like blue cats; they wait in their lair for a meal to come to them.
The Only Bait That Matters: Big and Lively
If you’re serious about catching big flatheads, there is only one choice for bait: big, tough, lively fish. Your bait needs to be struggling and sending out distress signals to draw a reclusive flathead out of its home. Forget the stink baits and prepared concoctions. The best baits are:
- Live Bluegill or Sunfish: A 4- to 6-inch sunfish is arguably the best all-around flathead bait. They are hardy on the hook and are a natural food source.
- Live Bullhead: Small bullhead catfish are incredibly tough and will stay alive on the hook for hours.
- Other Live Baits: Depending on local availability, live suckers, chubs, or goldfish can also be effective.
Heavy-Duty Rigs for Heavy Cover
You are fishing for a very large, very strong fish that lives in the thickest cover imaginable. Your gear has to be up to the task. The most common and effective rig is a beefed-up Slip Sinker Rig. Use a 2 to 8-ounce no-roll or egg sinker on your main line, followed by a heavy-duty swivel. Your leader should be 12-24 inches of 50-80 lb abrasion-resistant monofilament, tied to a stout 8/0 to 10/0 circle hook. A circle hook is ideal for live bait, as the fish will often hook itself perfectly in the corner of the mouth as it swims away.
Where to Find Flathead Catfish: The Thicker, the Better
Flatheads are homebodies. They live in the single nastiest piece of cover in a given stretch of river or lake. Look for:
- Logjams: A massive pile of submerged logs and trees is a five-star hotel for a big flathead.
- Deep Holes on River Bends: The outside bend of a river is where the current scours out the deepest holes. Flatheads will use these as their daytime resting spots.
- Bridge Pilings: The concrete structures and the scoured-out holes around them provide perfect ambush points.
Fishing After Dark: The Prime Time for Flatheads
While flatheads can be caught during the day, the biggest fish are primarily nocturnal hunters. Under the cover of darkness, they will leave the safety of their deep daytime lairs and move up onto adjacent shallow flats and sandbars to feed. Setting up your baits on the edge of these feeding flats just after sunset is a prime tactic for catching a monster.
The Bite: There’s Nothing Subtle About It
A flathead bite is unmistakable. It often starts with a single, solid “thump” as the fish inhales the bait. Then, you’ll see your line start to move off slowly and steadily as the fish swims away with its meal. With a circle hook, there’s no need for a massive hookset. Just let the rod load up, and when it’s bent over in a deep arc, start reeling firmly to drive the hook home.
The flathead is the apex predator of the catfish family we introduce in our Guide to Catfish Fishing. Tangling with one is a true test of an angler’s nerve and tackle.
-Captain Sal
