56 pound flathead
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1,858 Posts
Man that is impressive..I want to hook into a 50+pounder so bad "in the wild".. Would you be willing to tell us more about the tactic/gear/bait or what body of water you got her on... Without giving away more info then you like of course..Just trying to get a better grasp of what successful katers do/use....
Edit..I see the website now,and I am checking it out
Edit..I see the website now,and I am checking it out
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48,626 Posts
Wow...what a monster ...
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1,071 Posts
Nice flathead!...:coolgleamA:
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1,442 Posts
Nice! Rod and reel or trotline?:thumbs_up:
Mossy Oak
I fish several lakes in Eastern Ohio. Lots of the flathead
I catch come from MWCD lakes.
This particular fish was a very pleasant surprise. Following
a flash flood, I wanted very badly to fish the very back of
the bays. I have found that severe rainstorms raise the
flood control lakes very quickly which puts the flathead
on a feed. I have found that during the hotter periods
flathead will travel from all over the lakes to get into
the cooler oxygenated water and also use the muddier
water to gain advantage over the wary baitfish.
I fished alone and I had to fish a spot that would allow me to
set baits by myself in somewhat windy conditions. With the
limitted options I decided to fish one of my big fish spots that
will produce one or two big flathead per year.
The hot weather had my baits (bluegill) gasping when I arrived
and they never recovered to an ideal state before I dropped baits.
I got to the spot plenty early but threatenning clouds and thunder
made me very nervous as I dropped the gills near promising structure.
Shad and predator activity seemed low as I watched the sunset
and I prepared myself for another long wait. About 10 PM I got some
activity as the baits started getting jumpy but this happens often as
white bass or channel cats cruise the area.
At 10:30 I got the unmistakable slow click I had been awaiting from
a levelwind. The rate slowed and I worried because I figured the
cat was going sideways and putting a larger bow in the line with
every inch. I put the reel in gear and fortunately for me she had
enough forward momentum to tighten the line for a solid hookset.
I jumped in the 14 ft Alumnacraft and reeled myself out into deeper water
letting the fish wear itself out pulling me around. As planned it wore
itself down in about 15 minutes. It was darker than the inside of a
cow and I knew that turning on a light would make the flathead go
balistic so I waited until the boat turned and I could make out the
form of the cat before dipping the landing net.
This was a mature female flathead. That was the big surprise.
After spawn the big females scatter to secluded areas where
they are the supreme and only predators. This makes them almost
impossible to target.
This particular spot will hold large males till Fall but normally only
immature females. My best guess was that this fish intended to
travel back to the muddy water to enjoy an easy meal and came
across my bait before arriving.
I fish several lakes in Eastern Ohio. Lots of the flathead
I catch come from MWCD lakes.
This particular fish was a very pleasant surprise. Following
a flash flood, I wanted very badly to fish the very back of
the bays. I have found that severe rainstorms raise the
flood control lakes very quickly which puts the flathead
on a feed. I have found that during the hotter periods
flathead will travel from all over the lakes to get into
the cooler oxygenated water and also use the muddier
water to gain advantage over the wary baitfish.
I fished alone and I had to fish a spot that would allow me to
set baits by myself in somewhat windy conditions. With the
limitted options I decided to fish one of my big fish spots that
will produce one or two big flathead per year.
The hot weather had my baits (bluegill) gasping when I arrived
and they never recovered to an ideal state before I dropped baits.
I got to the spot plenty early but threatenning clouds and thunder
made me very nervous as I dropped the gills near promising structure.
Shad and predator activity seemed low as I watched the sunset
and I prepared myself for another long wait. About 10 PM I got some
activity as the baits started getting jumpy but this happens often as
white bass or channel cats cruise the area.
At 10:30 I got the unmistakable slow click I had been awaiting from
a levelwind. The rate slowed and I worried because I figured the
cat was going sideways and putting a larger bow in the line with
every inch. I put the reel in gear and fortunately for me she had
enough forward momentum to tighten the line for a solid hookset.
I jumped in the 14 ft Alumnacraft and reeled myself out into deeper water
letting the fish wear itself out pulling me around. As planned it wore
itself down in about 15 minutes. It was darker than the inside of a
cow and I knew that turning on a light would make the flathead go
balistic so I waited until the boat turned and I could make out the
form of the cat before dipping the landing net.
This was a mature female flathead. That was the big surprise.
After spawn the big females scatter to secluded areas where
they are the supreme and only predators. This makes them almost
impossible to target.
This particular spot will hold large males till Fall but normally only
immature females. My best guess was that this fish intended to
travel back to the muddy water to enjoy an easy meal and came
across my bait before arriving.
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1,858 Posts
Great story!And very well told .The Katchaser webpage looks great as well,I am leaning a lot from it..:thumbs_up:.
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810 Posts
Congratulations and thank you for being a sportsman! :coolgleamA:This female was long (49 inches) and thick
even post spawn.
![]()
Fri July 27.
Released after photo.
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810 Posts
Here are two that we caught last fall. Rarely ever carry a camera but did have the presents of mind to use the phone to take these before we released them.
Attachments
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48,626 Posts
Nice river monsters ...
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1,916 Posts
Great story and one big ass fish
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2,062 Posts
I love flathead fishing. Sold the boat last year so I'm kinda done flatheading for a while but did quite a bit of it on the Ohio River. I have a buddy that just got a house with access to the Muskingum. I'll be sitting on his property at some point looking for some flatheads.
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