It works when everything else doesn’t. It needs a slow sink and a constant horizontal lie. These fish are often disturbed in the shallows and are very hard to catch. By David Green (Images: Patrick Linehan) | 14 May 2018. Dirty water makes things more difficult but you can still catch the odd fish if you persist. It is new, innovative, effective and clever and was a closely guarded secret for quite a while by a select few anglers. From my experience the best water is somewhere between 5-8m deep with a mud and sand bottom. Ken spent 10 years fishing bass tournaments and in 2015 finished 12th overall in the BFL Hoosier Division in Indiana. These fish shake their heads a lot and getting sawn off in the shallows is common, but lighter leaders get more bites. I like the Gamakatsu Darter 26 jig heads in 3/8 ounce and 3/0 hook. You should be lifting the rod tip and whipping the lure up every five seconds or thereabouts. By Joe Cermele. Go up the creek in search of springtime spawning flathead catfish. 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. While Chris has been the innovator a few keen anglers have also been perfecting modifications to lures and doing well. I do go down to 1/4 ounce in shallower water around 4-6m deep. However, the steep banks with a lot of cover will attract a larger number of flathead catfish. With numerous articles and images published online as well as national and regional magazines Ken McBroom is an accomplished outdoor writer and photographer. Walking the flats at low tide is a good way to find where big flathead are laying. The bites can be more like barra than flathead, with a lot of thrashing on the surface and head shaking as they try to throw the lure. Fish these banks or nearby flats where dead shad, from the winter kill, wash in during early spring.
I like Black and Gold and also the Root Beer, New Penny or Cola colours, which are various shades of brown. I like a feed of fresh flathead fillets as much as anyone and am certainly not averse to taking a couple of 50cm fish home for a feed. He’s pretty easy to spot, as the inflatable has an electric motor, a large sounder and a big poodle on board. A shallow water croc that fell victim to an unweighted 220mm Squidgy Whipbait. Climbing mountains to hunt the Sitka Blacktail deer and Black bears, trolling the ocean for the mighty Chinook Salmon and Coho, Fly fishing the many streams, rivers and estuaries throughout Alaska for the many species that swims there and catching deep water Halibut are just a few of the things that Ken enjoyed as a young man. The dusky flathead (Platycephalus fuscus) is very common in Australian estuary systems and can be found from Cairns in Queensland right around to SA. Growing up in Lynchburg Tennessee allowed Ken many opportunities afield as a boy and young man. They mature at around 30cm (males) and 55cm (females). Fishing World is Australia’s premier and longest established fishing magazine and has become known as the “sport fishing bible”. Extend your season with this tip and remember as the small water flatheads begin to spawn and refuse to bite those big waters are just getting warm enough for more fishing action.
The oldest fish in a recent NSW study was aged at 16 years, but the majority of fish in recreational catches are aged two to five years. The common misconception is that flathead breed during spring and seem to shut down and go into hibernation in the colder months. Leader is a subject of much debate. A 70cm fish is probably 6-8 years old, female and in prime breeding condition. The Robins begin to show and the songbirds begin to sing signaling the coming of spring and the end of winter. Catfish are on the prowl in search of their next meal. You might be surprised how far up they will go to spawn. We both fish St Georges Basin on a regular basis and it’s a very rare session where we miss out on a large croc. During the early spring flathead catfish have much slower metabolism. By removing the jig head and replacing it with a worm hook the eel is an absolute winner. Hunting.
If you keep the lure about 10 cm under the surface the fish will find it. NSW Fisheries regulations currently allow you to keep one fish over 70cm but I’d urge all anglers to release any fish close to or over 70cm. Quality 3000 size threadlines are well suited to this method. When conditions are just right, the autumn action for big flatheads is so good, it's frightening. I’ve spent a lot of time on the water over the past 12 months refining this technique and it has accounted for more big flathead in that time than I’ve caught in the past 30 years. I went out for a fish yesterday and saw Chris and his mum casting the flats. Keep track of water temps on your area waters and when the surface temps reach the 50’s the catfish begins to feed-up for the upcoming spawn. It's possible to catch a flathead in one of these pools simply by anchoring upstream, casting a float rig into the rotating water and waiting for a bite.
On most occasions, when you get it right, the bites are ferocious, and as a lot of the best fishing is in clean water on the top of the tide, and you can see the fish move in on your lure. If the wind picks up (as it often does in the afternoon) we use a sea anchor to slow the drift down and make sure we cover the best water at the right speed. Ken spent 10 years fishing bass tournaments and in 2015 finished 12th overall in the BFL Hoosier Division in Indiana. Use the wind direction to work out a drift that will take you over and through the best water. Find some 3-4 inch paddle tails in the above colours and you’ll catch big flathead using this technique. We are all constantly refining the hook-up. Big flatheads are exhausted from the flathead spawning season and don’t feel like chasing big baits. I used two metres of 17lb leader to avoid being worn off if I hooked a big fish. Don’t be afraid to go down to two-inch tails either. Ken McBroom is an accomplished outdoor writer and photographer. This can be bream, small snapper, tailor, whiting or prawns or even other predatory fish feeding near the bottom. The amazing "Vanilla Drip Trick" that catches BIG catfish like crazy.
Most of the big fish I’ve caught over the years have come from water that’s 5–8m deep.
They can show up from North Dakota to Lake Erie and from the Florida Panhandle over into Mexico. The Greenhorn’s Guide to Catching More Big Bass . As a final point, look after these great fish. 12 inch Sluggos, Westerns Long Plastics, Silstar Slap Sticks, Storm Jigging Eels and the largest Squidgie Whip Bait all work.
A real good spot to find early spring flatheads is at the mouth of incoming creeks. Why You Need to Consider Your Training Capabilities Before Buying a Gun Dog. You might be surprised how far up they will go to spawn. Noodling for Flathead Catfish Know nesting locations. Sign-up to receive the twice-weekly email newsletter. Michael likes to get out of the boat and wade the shallows and is getting pretty bloody good at this method. They are there you just have to be patient and believe they are there. I’ve never caught a big flathead in water less than three metres deep. Keep in mind however that particular spots might work well at the start of the run-out, while others may be better on the last of tide. Sign-up to receive the twice-weekly email newsletter. It took these tips from better anglers than me to help extend my season. Flathead catfish, that are in these ambush spots, will engulf the cut-bait without knowing it is dead so take advantage of this during your early spring trips. This means an 80 or 90cm fish would be around 10 or 12 years old. Good Luck catching a big one this year,I've lost several on Santee and I was using 100# PowerPro. Fish the right water with the correct technique and appropriate tackle and you’ll be surprised at how many big lizards you catch.My “go to” technique for big lizards isn’t anything special. Fishing. Treat them with great respect and release them carefully. To get the bite you need to perfect the glide. In my opinion the big girls just don’t seem to feed or live in shallow areas. I now use that same Stella 2500 reel but it’s loaded with 6lb braid and has a 2.5m length of 8-10lb Platypus Stealth Leader tied to the end. Watch our video and read our guide to learn some tips on how to catch flathead catfish using live bluegill from the river bank. The hardest bit to perfect is the strike. We fight big flathead nice and softly and never let them break the surface because this is when they panic and head shake. […]. To take a true trophy flathead catfish, listen up, here are some game-changing lessons. I was a bit of a late starter and after Michael took me out for a session where he caught nearly all the fish, I went through my extensive collection of plastics and in the bottom of the pile found a packet of Storm jigging eels. They will also sit and wait for mullet and whiting to get off a flat as the tide drops, so spend time fishing the deep edges and drop offs around flats. Retrieves vary according to conditions, but in general a pull forward about a metre followed by a short pause and very small twitch, then another pull seems to work. These small waters is your best bet early and they can warm up weeks before larger waters. They are reported to reach 130cm in length, and about 10kg in weight, but the majority of fish caught are 40 to 60cm in length and 0.5 to 1.5 kg. If you do get a fish hooked down deep take the time to remove the lure gently.
How To Catch Flathead Catfish With Old School "Stealth Rigs" First off, for catching flathead catfish I recommend a 7' medium/heavy action rod (minimum)... and a bait-casting reel (I like Penn's and Ambassadeur's). These tributaries may be flowing strong but they will have less turbulent water and more ambush points to hide behind.
Go and buy a big landing net. I hope this helps you think outside the box when it comes to hunting flathead catfish. I use the Minn Kota autopilot to fish a certain line that takes me over the best water.
Man Woman. This is the best time to fish for spring flatheads. Scaredy Cats: How to Catch Giant Flathead Catfish in the Fall. Going down to 10lb leader concerned me greatly.