CatFish Hunter's ..

FlatHead CatFish

    Ok these tips are for anglers that are dead serious about catching trophy catfish. Some of this my sound like its to much tackle, but i will enplane the principle behind every thing the best i can.

    So if your only looking to catch 2 - 12 lbs catfish look at my other tips, But if you want that trophy cat the please read one and i will let you know some of my secrets i have learned.

   Well first thing i would like to talk about is the body of water you will be fishing in, weather it be , a local river, lake, resavore, or stream, and this apples to anybody of water.

   FlatHead Catfish and not like there brother the blue or channel which are scavengers, Flathead cat are predatorial fish and actually hunt for live food. Now the best time to hunt the giants are at night, but with a little location and tackle change you can catch them big trophys during the day. Remember that flathead love live bait. I use creek chubs, But use what every bait fish is a natural source in the area u fish in. Weither it be shad, shiners, suckers, brim, blue gael, Don't be affraid to put big bait's on the creek chubs and suckers i use are generally in the 7 to 12 inch range weighting 1 to 2 1/2 lb. You want a bait that is going to get the big guys atention and also big enuff to discourage smaller fish from messing with it.

   Shore Fishing

 What I use and would also recommend is a decent heavy saltwater spinning reel, Now don't think that you need to speed hundreds of dollars on a reel i got my okuma Avenger ABF65 which is 7 ball baring and 4.5:1 gear ration and also hat the new bait feeder, which actually gives you two drag system with the bait feeder on you have a nice loose drag and when you land that big trophy cat with just a turn of your reel the bait feeder disengages and the top tighter drag kicks in. Which i only paid $52.00 which i purchased at Cabalas the rod i have it on is a ll foot eruropn style surf medium to heavy action rod. Trust me like i mentionent before don't be afraid of the big tackle. the rood you will need for good casting distance. I have it spulled with 40lb Brakley smooth action big game line. I use 2 to 4 oz slip sinkers. and ## 0/7 to 0/13 circle hooks  (circle hooks are a must for big game deep water fishing they are fairly new to freshwater fishing, but have been used for many years in the saltwater community they feature a odd shap which actually garnets a perfect set if you do not quickly set jerk the hook like with conventual J-style hooks circle require just a steady pressure to graerat and perfect hook, pulse big game fish rarely come unhooked and they are super easy to remover from the fishes mouth.)

Finding That Perfect Spot

           You want to look for ceratin things in the area you plan to set up for a good night of bank fishing. Try to find a spot where there is a feeder stream or creek in a river scenario. The lay out of the water bed should have a nice shallow lead off flat 8 to 20 feet the a good bait feeder hole 20 or so feet deep try to fish your big pole out as far as you can get it kinda center out from the feeder creek or stream which the bigger live bait that you have. Do not mess with the pole after that just set your drag and you will know when that big you hits.

   Now for your second pole i have a Mictchel Outback combo which i purchased at walmart for $24.95 which is a steel for this ultra smooth spinner its on a 7 foot 6 inch medium to heavy action rod which is super strong. I rig this pole with shakespear cajun cast 20lb fire red line which is a super thin smooth casting monofalntin line and work great one this combo. i use a number 0/3 to /07 circle hook and a 6 inch ultra thin 50lb leader. I usually use this pole to play fish as i call it. i will mover it about every 15 to 20 min min altering baits and spots which defently makes the night for fishing fun. 

   If you follow some of what i do u will surly be on your way to catching the big game trophy cat in no time at all.. And please fish responsible and keep our river bank littler free and put your camp fish out when your done. And don't forget catfishing is growing in populatry buy the numbers and more and more people join the fun every year. so make a night of it and please include the whole family in it because fishing is fun and gives your a life time of storeys and memorys. So besure to take a camera on your next trip so you can show off your trophy.