Flathead Catfish

[Bowanta]

Like everyone else said.. Deep Water, Structure, and Live Bait (carp, mud cats, perch, goldfish will work too)

[12 point]

When I used to help a friend with his Trot lines at Richland Chambers, we met a guy who regularly caught some nice sized bass and would cut them up for bait. He almost always caught some really nice flatheads with bass as bait. It was kind of shocking to see him cut up bass as big as 10 pounds for bait. Other folks thought that was odd and wasteful too.

[Tubby]

Must use live bait. Perch/goldfish.. Bigger the bait, bigger the fish. Place lines or jugs next to drops where they will in between shallow and deep

Listen to this man!!

[fox1]

When I used to help a friend with his Trot lines at Richland Chambers, we met a guy who regularly caught some nice sized bass and would cut them up for bait. He almost always caught some really nice flatheads with bass as bait. It was kind of shocking to see him cut up bass as big as 10 pounds for bait. Other folks thought that was odd and wasteful too.

I thought that was illegal.

[redheadkronik]

big gold fish

[COPPERHEAD]

i use 7/0 circle hooks

You go to catching fish this size and you will wish you had a bigger hook. The top fish dang near drowned me. After loosing a couple big ones because the hooks breaking I started using 13/0. I caught these in North East Texas.

[Tubby]

When I used to help a friend with his Trot lines at Richland Chambers, we met a guy who regularly caught some nice sized bass and would cut them up for bait. He almost always caught some really nice flatheads with bass as bait. It was kind of shocking to see him cut up bass as big as 10 pounds for bait. Other folks thought that was odd and wasteful too.

I thought that was illegal.

It is!

[Tubby]

[Old Bald Guy]

I have several hundred new 12/0 SS circle hooks that need a new home. I bought 1,000 12 years ago and unless I live to be a hundred I'm gonna have way too many left. lol

[rtp]

Nice fish, Tubby. How big is the one on the right? I dream of catching one like that.

[Tubby]

Nice fish, Tubby. How big is the one on the right? I dream of catching one like that.

Thanks...

Gotta know how to photograph them. That one is closer to the camera.

He was about 25ish#

[SaltwaterSlick]

On trot lines in man-made lakes, fish along the "second" bank of the main river or creek channel that was dammed. Fish near, but off bottom with live perch, preferably little sun perch, goggle-eye, or bream. Don't put hooks too close together and make stagings 18 to 24 inches long. I don't use circle hooks. If a straight shank hook is tied on the line properly, it will have a relatively high possibility of catching an op after the bait is gone. Make your line tight. When running the line, NEVER put your hand under the main line. Keep it on top so if the fish suddenly makes a run, you can let go. Raise the line VERY slowly and carefully without any sudden movement to it. Often those ops will just come up with the line and can be dipped with a net if done quickly from the head end. Have a separate straight line rolled up on something that will allow it to unwind quickly with a very tight radiused hook on it (not a fishhook, but a hook with a radius tight enough that your main line will barely slide through it but will catch on the knots or swivels attached to the main line where the stagings are. When running the line keep the hook/line handy so if you suspect you have a big fish on you can attach the tight hook to the main line and slide it along as you continue to run the line. If a big fish makes a run, just let go of the trot line and let the fish go back down, then slowly bring him back up with the line attach to that tight radius hook. We call that tight hook/line a "yo-yo"... A big op will wear down pretty quickly. You can't out pull him so just keep some resistance on him and bring him back up when he stops his run. When he gets tired, he'll blow a big volume of bubbles, and then you can bring him up and net him. ALWAYS net the fish from the head. When that net touches him, he will be ready to fight all over again. When you touch him with the net, you want him to run into the bottom of the net, not away from the net...

Here's my biggest... 86# from Lake Livingston.



We only caught 4 on this trip, but they were good 'uns...

[rtp]

Oh, you got me. I thought that one looked like it was 60 lbs or so. Still bigger than any I have ever caught. I have set out the jug lines yet but it is getting close.

[Tubby]

River fish...

[Tubby]

Big Blue. Trotline in a lake.