Fishing the currents for big-river flatheads may require manhandling big cats from the
dense woody cover where they often hide to ambush prey. B’n’M Pro Staffer Michael Haney
caught this brute in just such a spot on the Alabama River.
Flatheads in the Current
By Keith “Catfish” Sutton
Rivers should be your targeted fishing area any time you’re hoping to land a heavyweight flathead
Flathead catfish seldom thrive in creeks, ponds and small lakes. Many are caught in large natural lakes and impoundments, but hard-hitting, pole-bending flatheads reach their greatest abundance in big bottomland rivers. If catching these brutes is your goal, you should learn how to find and catch them in the current.
Begin by learning these almost invariable facts:
- Flatheads prefer well-oxygenated, flowing water over hardened sand, mud or gravel bottom. Where the river bottom is soft (a pole can be carried to test it) and current nil, flatheads will usually be absent.
- Flatheads are cover lovers. During daylight hours, they seek shelter around or within submerged logs, piles of driftwood, toppled trees, snags and cavities in mid-depths. At night, they leave these sanctuaries and move into more open, shallower waters to feed. Fish accordingly.
- Adult flatheads tend to be solitary and often are aggressive toward others of their kind. Thus, a single spot of cover usually yields only one, or at most two or three, adult flatheads. It’s best to relocate in another fishing spot after landing a sizeable fish.
Bait
Flatheads to 10 pounds may be caught using almost any bait, from chicken liver and prepared stinkbaits to night crawlers and crawfish. When targeting adult heavyweights, however, I prefer to use live fish baits. Cut-baits and other enticements sometimes work, but adult flatheads rarely scavenge, preferring to eat lively native fish such as shad, herring, carp, suckers, chubs, sunfish and small catfish. Domestic baitfish like goldfish and large shiners also are effective and readily available from bait dealers. Be sure, however, to read local regulations for bait use and fish only with what’s legal.
Location
In the current of big rivers, I look for flatheads in locales of three basic types: 1) cavities and rotating current areas that form in or near cuts in shoreline revetment and/or riprap; 2) upstream edges of rock jetties or dikes; and 3) bottom troughs along bluff banks with woody cover.
The first type of hotspot can be found on big-river navigation systems maintained by government agencies such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. To stabilize the river banks and prevent erosion, bulldozers are used to smooth the shoreline, then the soil is covered with concrete matting called revetment. The revetment may be covered with a layer of large limestone rocks (riprap) to further stabilize it.
Circular areas of rotating current that resemble gigantic, slow-moving whirlpools often form where the river races past “cuts” formed when fast-moving water erodes soil beneath the revetment. As the undercut increases in size, the concrete/rock superstructure eventually collapses and sinks, creating a deep hole adjacent the bank.
Fishing the slow or rotating current areas around these cuts often produces good flatheads. Some of these rotating currents are no bigger than an automobile; others may be as large as a football field. It all depends on the depth and length of the cut. No matter what their size, though, all such areas tend to hold big flatheads.
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. Chances of a trophy catch increase, however, if the angler can pinpoint a large hole that has formed beneath buckled revetment. Giant flatheads love the security of these dark cavities, and anglers who use a “finesse” presentation to put the bait right in front of the fish often find themselves battling a trophy-class cat.
A good sonar unit is essential for finding these underwater houses. Start downstream and troll slowly upstream parallel to the bank, watching the screen for the ups and downs of these buckled-up revetment slabs. When a hole is found and you feel like the boat is directly over it, pick out a reference spot on the bank. Then motor upstream and anchor the boat casting distance away from the hole.
Consider using a float rig set 4 to 6 feet deep for this type of fishing because the revetment houses are small, and precise location is mandatory for success. Cast directly over the hole, let the rig settle and wait for a hit. If you haven’t had a bite after 15 to 20 minutes, motor up the bank until you find another likely spot and anchor again. Continue doing this, working your way upstream and fishing first one hole and then another.
If strong wind and/or current make it difficult to properly position and hold the boat, try beaching your craft and walking the bank to present a live bait in a similar manner. You have to be extremely stealthy to fish this way. Flatheads, like all cats, have very sensitive hearing, making it hard to slip down a rock bank without being detected. But this tactic may earn you a bite if you can’t fish a hole any other way.
Rock jetties or dikes are another type of structure where a “get out of the boat and walk” presentation is useful. The best extend from bank to bank, usually behind islands.
Flatheads are attracted to the jetties by the promise of a shad dinner. In summer, when the river gets low enough, the water between two jetties may form a lake that clears quickly as mud and sediment settle to the bottom. Large algae blooms occur in the clear water, and the algae attract feeding shad. The schools of shad attract hungry flatheads.
Flatheads typically hold on the upstream side of these rock formations. And presenting a live shad under a cork is a surefire way to catch them. Work the top side of the dike quietly and slowly from bank to bank, paying particular attention to places where water runs through rocks in the dike or over low spots. These areas have some current, and cats will hold nearby waiting to ambush the baitfish.
Another hotspot in big rivers is where a steep mud bank, slow current and timber combine to create an area attractive to flatheads. Cats visit these areas in spring looking for spawning sites in protected cavities and undercuts in the woody cover and may remain here in summer to feed on baitfish.
Look for bluff banks with timber or old stumps sticking up. These are excellent fishing spots, particularly those on the downstream side of shallow sandbars where the current is slow and baitfish stack up. These banks often drop off into troughs of water that are more than 20 feet deep just 40 feet offshore. The troughs typically run parallel to the bank, and they’re great features for cats. Flatheads run the troughs most of the year, depending on the water level and current speed. And you can catch them by working a float rig in and around the cover.
The King of Big Rivers
Mississippi River catfishing guide James Patterson once discussed with me the many qualities of the flathead catfish.
“The flathead is the king of big rivers,” he said. “I sometimes hear people call it ‘mud cat,’ but I assure you it doesn’t deserve that title like a lowly bullhead. The flathead is a true predator, a sprinter that can run down the fastest fish. It has a monstrous mouth and can swallow a fish 25 percent its size. This fellow can give you one of the best fights of any catfish, and he is by far, the finest table fare of all the cats.
“Patience is a virtue you must have to catch flatheads consistently,” he concluded. “It’s never easy. But when fishing big rivers for this incredible fish, the next flathead you tie into could a 50- or 60-pounder, maybe even bigger. That makes all the extra effort worthwhile.”
Amen to that.
(In 2022, Keith “Catfish” Sutton was one of the inaugural inductees in the American Catfish Association’s Catfish Hall of Fame.)
