Good luck trying to catch flathead on stinkbaits. Stinkbaits and store bought baits like liver are great for channels and bullheads, but flatheads are hunters. The best bait you can use is a live bluegill, chub, bullhead catfish (spines cut), or shad (if you can keep them alive!). Some guys have a lot of success on goldfish as well. Hook bullhead through the lower jaw and up through the nose. The others halfway between the tail and the dorsal fin, right above the spine. Use a BIG hook. I’m talkin 5/0, 6/0, even 10/0 for the big ones. Make sure you have a big gap from the shank to the point, too much bait fish in the hook will keep the flathead from getting hooked, trust me, that is no fun. I use an 8-ft surf rod with 35# test Iron Silk (great stuff). Tie on a swivel and a 50# test wire leader to connect to the hook. Then, tie a 3 or 4oz sinker onto a 5# monofilament line with about 2 or 3 feet of line before tying that to the swivel as well. That way, if the cat drags your sinker into thick cover (which they always seem to manage to do) your sinker will drop right off and you won’t lose the fish. That was pretty long winded, but either way, the only way to productivly catch flathead is with either live or freshly-cut cut bait. Good luck!
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I have a lot to say, Dan, and I have many questions of my own. But for now, I like to express my "thanks" for dedicating so much of your time to run this web site and buy you some fishing tackle! |
