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Post by kenlaw on Sept 12, 2013 10:09:21 GMT -5
I am wondering if any of you guys have ever tried using flatheads as bait? I have caught flatheads on bullheads and I know people that have caught flatheads on channels so I was thinking that a flathead would eat another flathead. I have tried them a few times with no luck. I was also wondering how I would rig a channel or flathead (say 14"-18"). Should I use a double hook rig, should I cut off a few fins, should I cut the bait a little, should I use it under a float of some sort? I fish the bank so it makes it a little rough using big baits like that but I am willing to try to up my game a little. Our state record is #48.5 and last spring a buddy of mine got a #47 and this year another buddy of mine got a #55 (didn't get it certified though but it is on youtube) in the same spot. So I know there is at least 1 beast still lurking in that area if not 2 or more. I used to be the only one that fished that spot for prob. 3-4 years till those guys moved in on me. 4 years ago I caught 2 different fish (3" difference) that were #38 and I am pretty sure the #55 was one of those fish. That's why I'm am trying to do something a little different to try to get one of those beasts. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!
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Post by Smoothkip on Sept 12, 2013 11:12:48 GMT -5
Big live suckers or carp is what I would use. The big carp and suckers I use I just hook them through the lips on a carolina rig. Might have to use a 6 to 8 ounce sinker to keep them stationary.
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chuckd67
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Trophy Catfish Sportsman
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Post by chuckd67 on Sept 12, 2013 11:14:38 GMT -5
I treat all catfish as game fish even though they are not classified as such in Alabama. I heard flatheads are cannibalistic but I don't even try the little channels cats that tear up my cast net even though I get so angry I want to chop them up. LOL Any Flathead should be treated as a release in my book. Just my opinion but everyone is different.
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Post by kenlaw on Sept 12, 2013 12:34:27 GMT -5
I treat all catfish as game fish even though they are not classified as such in Alabama. I heard flatheads are cannibalistic but I don't even try the little channels cats that tear up my cast net even though I get so angry I want to chop them up. LOL Any Flathead should be treated as a release in my book. Just my opinion but everyone is different. I kinda feel the same way. Where im at in Pa. flatheads are an invasive species. There are tons of smaller ones and I have thought about killing the small ones to keep the big ones around in certin spots a little longer cause there will be more food for them. up until this year the fish commission wanted everyone to kill all flatheads caught. it gets frustrating when you have an awesome honey hole and all the dink flatheads move in and eat all the bait fish up, then the spot sucks. I have had it happen to a few spots I have fished through out the years. spots will be gold then all of a sudden you cant buy a fish. 2 of the spots I used to tear up pretty good every year have sucked the past 2 years. I was getting big fish every outing and now I cant even get a small one in those spots. No one eats the fish out of the river I fish cause of pollution so everyone throws back every fish and pretty soon the only thing left in the river is going to be flatheads. The river I fish used to be loaded with bullheads and now people cant even catch one. |
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Post by kenlaw on Sept 12, 2013 12:41:22 GMT -5
Big live suckers or carp is what I would use. The big carp and suckers I use I just hook them through the lips on a carolina rig. Might have to use a 6 to 8 ounce sinker to keep them stationary. Yeah man. Its pretty hard to get big suckers around where I live. I can get them 5-10" with a cast net but the bigger ones are tough to get. I have never seen a carp under 2' in Pa. I don't know why. My favorite bait to use is live trout 12"-16". The only time I can really get those is in the spring when the state stocks them though. Every once in a while I will throw on a Bass but I don't make that a habit. The river I fish is loaded with smaller channels in the #3-#5 range. The only pain about that is we have to use a rod to catch them. |
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chuckd67
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Post by chuckd67 on Sept 12, 2013 12:51:18 GMT -5
I don't know of to many holes that are loaded with little fish that also have big ones around. Search for a better hole that may have the balance you need. The big ones will take care of the population problem. If I was a 12 inch flatty I wouldn't be going after any ones bait if a 20lb or above flathead was anywhere around.
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chuckd67
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Posts: 266
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Post by chuckd67 on Sept 12, 2013 13:11:05 GMT -5
Are you catching any big ones in those holes with the small ones? I've never had much luck with that.
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Post by rustyfish on Sept 12, 2013 15:58:03 GMT -5
I would not have any problems using channel cats from lakes that have active stocking programs but I couldn't use flathead. If they are an invasive then I guess the tables are turned a little bit, but why would anyone live in a place where flathead are not native?
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Post by kenlaw on Sept 16, 2013 11:21:17 GMT -5
Some times we get some big ones where we get the little ones. I fish a lot of feeding areas, so I get all sizes. When the little ones stop hitting its usually cause a big ones lurking around. I wish Flatheads were a native fish to my part of the state (native to western Pa. not east), cause then I would have been catching them a long time ago. I grew up on the Susky. and that was pretty much bass territory at the time. But with them being invasive over where im at they tend to grow faster.
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Post by Chuck on Sept 28, 2013 5:45:27 GMT -5
To me the only fish that isn't bait, is a flathead.
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