I've hooked them on nymphs, Clousers, white bunnies and Zoo Cougars, meaning a topwater hit. From my experience that just about covers the water spectrum. I'll also admit that I've never targeted Channel Cats. I was fishing other species when they hit. My largest flathead was caught on a Crappie Candy fly while fishing for crappie in the late spring, coming in just over 10 lbs. What incredible fighters, though. Wow. JGW