21
Dec
Live baitfish is the best Flathead Catfish bait out there. This can be good because it helps them zero in on your bait.
A lot of people dont understand how to catch flathead catfish but if you sling that bait out there its half dead before it hits the water and the hook is halfway jerked out of it Pounders said.
How long can flathead catfish stay out of the water. In my exprience flatheads can stay out of water for an unbelieveably long time. My buddy caught one last June kept it on a stringer for 4 hours drove and hour home with it laying on the carpet of his van and it still lived for two days before he ate it. So how long can a catfish live out of water.
Some catfish have been known to live 15-18 hours out of the water and some wont make it even a few hours. However in general it is known that many catfish can make it several hours out of the water. In my experience its always 1 hour or less.
Flatheads put on 2-5 pounds a year between 3 and 8 years old. Monster cats grow upward of 10 pounds a year. In some southern rivers and reservoirs cats have grown as much as 30 pounds in 10 years.
Flathead catfish reach sexual maturity between the ages. Smiling for the camera. The best time to target flathead catfish is from the spring to the fall.
Flathead LOVE warm water so usually around may august I have my best luck. When the water temp reaches 55 they seem to pick up and start biting. This can be found by researching your local body of water.
Blue catfish as an example spawn at a water temperature of 70 degrees up to 84 degrees. Their most preferred however is 81 degrees. But as for flathead catfish they prefer to spawn during the mid-60s to 70s.
And this is only half of the story. This method is basically stating that flathead catfish come out at night to feed. They use the cover of darkness to leave their homes to locate bait fish and prey in shallow water.
Then they return home while it is still dark. His reel of choice is a Daiwa 7000C spinning reel. A lot of people dont understand how to catch flathead catfish but if you sling that bait out there its half dead before it hits the water and the hook is halfway jerked out of it Pounders said.
With the 10-foot rod you can toss that bad boy out. Live baits have been known to be very effective in attracting flatheads to take bites. You can use shads or carps as your live bait.
The live baits move in the water even when hooked this movement attracts the flatheads the catfish swallows the hook which gets stuck in its mouth you will feel the struggle on your line as a cue to act quickly or you can lose the fish if it breaks free. Flatheads can taste and smell certain compounds in the water in extremely minute quantities. This can be good because it helps them zero in on your bait.
But be sure to avoid handling things such as gasoline sunscreen tobacco and insect repellent which will send them scurrying away from even the most tantalizing baits. We went out for a short trip on the fox river to try and catch big summer flathead catfish in shallow water. The bait was live and cut bluegill and the targe.
Keep track of water temps on your area waters and when the surface temps reach the 50s the catfish begins to feed-up for the upcoming spawn. This is the best time to fish for spring flatheads. These small waters is your best bet early and they can warm up weeks before larger waters.
The Texas Parks and Wildlife also states that the average lifespan of flathead catfish is 12 to 24 years although there has been a flathead that lived for 24 years. Flatheads spawning begins in the Spring as water temperatures rise. Live baitfish is the best Flathead Catfish bait out there.
As for the size to choose from it just depends on what size catfish you are after. Yes the size is a factor too. While few would think of fishing for trophy Flathead with a 4 pound live carp is even a thing it is done.
Flathead catfish seldom thrive in small bodies of water like ponds and creekshabitats where channel cats and blue cats do just fine. However flatties are well adapted to life in rivers larger man-made reservoirs and many natural lakes where healthy populations often. Flathead catfish are rarely caught with chicken livers and stinkbaits although these work well for most other catfish species.
Many of the most popular places to fish for flatheads in North Carolina are outside of their native range such as the Cape Fear River and impoundments of.