Flathead Catfish

Flathead catfish is a native specific fish group to the United States. However they initially came from the Mississippi River and also the major rivers that drain off of it, flatheads are actually transferred and may now be found in waters across the country resulting from their status being a game fish & food stuff. Flatheads could be found in slow-moving water such as major rivers and streams, and also in lakes and ponds. Catfish prefer to live in deep water with objects similiar to fallen brush that offer favourable hiding regions.

Flathead cats are so named for their lengthy, distinctly flattened heads. Their eyes are flat and oval in appearance, and their bottom jaw protrudes past their upper jaw. They come in colors of bland colored browns and yellows. 40 to fifty pound flatheads are often caught in rivers and lakes. Flathead cats who are over 100 pounds have been reported.

Following hatching, flathead catfish grow rapidly. They are mature when they are about fifteen to 19 inches long, and may live for about 25 years. They grow regularly through their lives. Flatheads will consume just about everything they can get in their big mouths, but they may prefer other fish. Bream are considered one of their popular meals. These "cats" additionally like to eat live perch and sunfish. Flathead catfish could possibly annihilate the population of many varieties of sunfish, specifically in smaller bodies of water, or water where they're not from. Some smaller rivers in Georgia have lost almost all their redbreast sunfish after the introduction of flatheads. Flatheads tend to feed visually and will feed at night and even during the day time -- even if many "cats" are likely to be more active at night. It is possible to entice flatheads with bright light. They will also come in order to feed on the baitfish who're drawn to the light.

Flathead catfish like deep holes with cover at the outside edges of river bends. Identify substantial log jams, tree stumps, and rocks in which these catfish like to hang out. Cast beneath the edges. Allow your bait to drift in, and then hang on. If the outside bends are too strong to fish, seek some inside bends with significantly less current. In large lakes and reservoirs, look for the large flatheads in locations with plenty of cover -- like submerged brush piles. These unique "cats" frequently journey in aged river and creek channels in these lakes and reservoirs. At night, they'll travel these channels and be identfied at the edge of shallows to eat. Locate yourself within these areas & wait around for them to come.

You may have better outcomes fishing for flathead "cats" during the early morning, early dusk, & soon after dark at the summertime months. Although these "cats" could take bait during the day, they will not travel much to do so. You will have to become familiar with the body of water you're fishing in & the place flatheads are so as to get the bait near enough to them. Keep the catfish bait towards the river or lake bottom. Flathead catfish feed off the bottom most of the time.