Flathead???

[quivira kid]

Has anyone here ever targeted flathead in a river before? I would think if you could get one on, it could be a heck of a fight!

[Buddy Sanders]

kid,

I've landed a couple while bass fishing in lakes. They are extremely powerful fish. Caught a 9# flathead on a three weight once..wow!

Never fished for them specifically and never hooked one in moving water. If you hooked a big one you'd need lots of backing....

Buddy

[cycler68]

I have heard of a fly fisherman on the East coast that regularly catches flathead on the fly so it can be done though if you get a big one a heavy outfit would be needed.

[FishnDave]

I haven't targeted them with flies. Used to catch 'em on blade baits, twister-tail jigs and large 4"-5" swimbaits in the river using spinning gear.

[HideHunter]

There's a rip-rapped place along the river below me where you'll see fish busting minnows.. Throw a jig in there and you might come up with any number of species - including flatheads. They usually aren't real big but I plan to one to my "list".

[Gigmaster]

It can be done, but keep in mind that Flatheads are very moody, like Muskies. It may take a lot of casting to get one to bite. Also, they are exclusively fish eaters, and not scavengers, so they won't eat any fish that does not appear to be alive. I would recommend larger clousers, and especially shad and bluegill Puglisi-style patterns, like these:

Puglisi Shad.jpgPuglisi Bluegill2.jpg

I catch Channels and Blues on these all the time, mostly behind tailraces. If you go downstream, and work these through the deeper holes, you should hook up with some Flatheads. I also put a drop of Shad, or Baitfish Smelly Jelly on the files every 20 casts or so.

Good Luck.