10 Tips for Catching More Flatheads

by Ron Presley

Improve your flathead catching success with tips from other flathead anglers.

Flatheads are considered to be finicky eaters but powerful fighters. Their finicky feeding habits make them a challenge to catch while their sheer power and resistance to come to the boat make them a much-desired target of anglers.

For anyone interested in improving their flathead fishing skills, consider the following 10 tips from established flathead anglers. Then put the tips to work by going out and catching your new personal best flathead.

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Tip # 1: “Take the time to learn your electronics and use them to find the areas where big flatheads hang out and feed. It is time well spent.” – Joey Pounders

Tip # 2: “A key to finding flatheads is to find wood or rocky cover in conjunction with other flathead attractors such as depth changes.” – Jay Gallup

Tip # 3: “Don’t overlook the importance of the breakaway sinker. Fishing for flatheads around heavy cover means plenty of snags and break-offs. Using 25-pound test sinker drops allows you to break the line when hung and save most of the rig.” – Dustin Goodwin

Tip # 4: “Choose good cover and don’t waste too much time setting and waiting. If the fish are there they will eat fairly quickly. If you don’t get bit in 15 or 20 minutes, move on to the next spot.” – Rodney Crimm

“Tip # 5: Cast your baits just upstream of underwater clusters of wood along the edge line to deeper water. If this does not draw them out, reposition the bait by casting tighter to the structure.” – Marshall Hughey

Tip # 6: “Anglers that live in colder climes will find the flatties to be more sluggish as the season begins. They don’t like to run down a lively bait. You can slow your bait down by using scissors to remove fins to make it easier for the fish to feed.” – Eric Carlson

Tip # 7: “If you use plastic baits for flatheads, choose as light a weight as you can get away with. Nine times out of 10, flatheads strike on the fall. The lighter the weight, the slower the fall.” – Keith Severn

Tip # 8: “When you break off a good fish, check the line really well. It may have been rubbing on timber or rocks and there is a possibility of damaging several feet of the mainline. I have cut off as much as eight feet that had been damaged in a fight. If you don’t do this, you might just lose your next fish too if it is a big one.” – Ty Konkle

Tip # 9: “Patience is a must when targeting flatheads. They often have a very subtle bite. The fish might mess with it for a while before a slowly bending rod tip arcs toward the water. Be patient. When the rod loads up just pick it up and start reeling, the fish is most likely already hooked.” – Roger Breedlove

And finally, on a conservation-related note:

Tip # 10: “Start the fish fight by cranking the reel. Be conservation-minded and don’t try to bring them to the surface too quickly. A nice steady fight makes them use up some energy so they don’t flop violently once they are in the boat while you prepare for a healthy release.” – Richard Chaplin

For more information, photos, videos, and tips on flathead fishing or any other topic related to catfishing, visit the CatfishNOW website and use the search function—denoted by the magnifying glass.