I think that they may be a little too grumpy to be in a school together. They will eat together, but don’t school together that makes sense. Maybe they just happen to follow the food together to the same cover and current breaks?
Very interesting subject. 
One reason that Flatheads have become my favorite freshwater fish is the fact that they are so hard to figure out and dont act like most other gamefish (bait) 
.
What the heck is the difference???
If you have 20 fish moving out of one large deep basin, all traveling at the same time to the same feeding area… its still a group of fish doing the exact same thing at the same time. I have cught more than one fish out of the same snag many times day and night… its irrelivent. I’ll tell you one thing I do know, the fish are different everywhere, and they are way different on large river systems where you have more fish of all sizes than tiny river systems.. when you have lots of big fish, they have to learn to co-exist or they are not going to get big.. it takes food, lots of it in this case.
Word it as you like, its a school of fish. If they dont want to snuggle under the same blanket when they sleep, I really dont care. If a group of fish is moving in at the exact same time.. its always going to be a school of fish to me.
Hillbilly intellect? Maybe.. but I am going to take it with me and go fishing and if I am really lucky, I will run into a bonifide school of flatheads.
Have fun ya’ll.. ill be fishin
I’ve got it, it’s herd of catfish! 
Dave’s right, lets just go fishing.
Rollin, rollin, rollin! Keep them Flats a rollin! CATHIDE!!!!!! 
Flats are on the move. There was a study done on the Missouri River but I can’t find it. Here’s one example though…
A couple of unrelated PDF files I found while looking for an old article on the migration patterns of big cats…
Evaluation of stomach tubes and gastric lavage for sampling diets from blue catfish and flathead catfish. North American Journal of Fisheries Management
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“We just don’t know a lot about flatheads on our interior streams
and neither do we… 
Thanks Wade!
I’m amazed at how much info has been placed on the net. Just three short years ago, while googling flats I could only find two reports…
I’m thinking catfishing is catching on. 
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I’m thinking catfishing is catching on.
Ya think?
I would be willing to bet the catfishing pressure is going to triple in the next year. Many people have realized its not just for old cajun guys sitting on a bucket with a tub of chicken liver catching glorified bullheads. The pressure has easily doubled in the last year in the twin cities and there are more inquiring about it every day.
“A small rock remained in the stomach of another flathead catfish sampled by PGL.” Hmmmm….
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Concerns from anglers not seeing as many big flatheads prompted the multi-stream survey. As the top predator, a balanced flathead population is critical to a river’s overall health.
Concerns from anglers get results in Iowa – cool. I wonder if they have a better relationship with their DNR, or if catfishermen have more relative clout due to the less walleye/bass/muskie focus (at least in the interior of the state)?
The article that’s from also points out that sampling flatheads is tricky – one method tends to come up with the small sizes, another the big ones. Can’t say much about a population if you’re sampling only one size class from it, and can’t compare catch per effort from different methods. I’m looking forward to the results, though.
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What the heck is the difference???
Word it as you like, its a school of fish. If they dont want to snuggle under the same blanket when they sleep, I really dont care. If a group of fish is moving in at the exact same time.. its always going to be a school of fish to me.
To me the difference is that if a fish moves in a school, its movements are related to the other fish of its own kind. If they turn left, it turns left.
I don’t think flatheads do anything of the sort – I think their movements are related to cover, current, and bait – not eachother. There’s a difference, and if you want to understand your quarry, it matters.
If flatheads “schooled” you’d always have two or three on at a time when they hit (depending on how many rods you’re allowed). Not two in a half hour, two in two minutes.
It happens, but it’s the exception rather than the rule – so it’s mainly coincidence.
It seems we still have plenty to learn about this fish. Maybe the question now is, whether they school or not, what does it mean to us when we fish?
I’ll back up Dave that I have seen too many multi-runs within a window of time to pass it off as coincidence. But these also tend to happen during the evening runs for me, the 7-9pm runs. So maybe they are schooling or maybe they are just following the same highways. I know that if I am fishing with 3 guys and one gets a bite in an area, it might be a good idea for the other 2 to move close to him. Then again, if he caught a monster fish, I might stay put, because I would doubt any other flats would be close to a big cats territory.
If they are schooling or “moving in bunches” is all semantics. I tried differentiating the “schooling” of flats would be different to the schooling of other fish. I don’t think anyone here has ever caught a flathead with 1 or 2 flatheads following??? That would be a good indicator of aggressively feeding schooling fish.
Then again, what do I know? I am just talking out loud. Well, writing anyway.
Catfishing has always been very popular in IA and NE. I don’t know if it’s really getting more popular or not but it is getting a little more publicity, partly due to forums like this one, and an increase in cat tourneys. I honestly don’t think we’ll ever see it get as “popular” as bass and walleye angling (and that’s a good thing IMO) because the money doesn’t follow catfishing as it does bass and walleye. That is, unless you guys are going to start fishing for cats with #7 Rapalas now. 
Personally, I say we keep it our little secret! 
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I honestly don’t think we’ll ever see it get as “popular”..
Sorry to burst your bubble, Wade. But catfish are one of the most fished for species in the US. Though most catfishers *probably* don’t give a rats *** about whether they are popular or not.
EDIT: Unless I misread that for the regional viewpoint. 
Reading that back I think I didn’t state that very well. I put “popular” in quotes and it’s not really the word I’m looking for. I guess “marketable” is more where I was going. The TV is full of Bass and now even some Walleye tourneys, but we don’t see any cat tourneys on ESPN on Saturday morning. It’s not because they’re not an incredible fish. Like I said, it’s because the $$$ doesn’t follow them. And, I guess some folks just don’t find them as purty as I do.
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If flatheads “schooled” you’d always have two or three on at a time when they hit (depending on how many rods you’re allowed). Not two in a half hour, two in two minutes.
It happens, but it’s the exception rather than the rule – so it’s mainly coincidence.
Very well put Mate!
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Concerns from anglers not seeing as many big flatheads prompted the multi-stream survey. As the top predator, a balanced flathead population is critical to a river’s overall health.
Concerns from anglers get results in Iowa – cool. I wonder if they have a better relationship with their DNR, or if catfishermen have more relative clout due to the less walleye/bass/muskie focus (at least in the interior of the state)?
The article that’s from also points out that sampling flatheads is tricky – one method tends to come up with the small sizes, another the big ones. Can’t say much about a population if you’re sampling only one size class from it, and can’t compare catch per effort from different methods. I’m looking forward to the results, though.
The IDNR has done some surveys to determine if flathead numbers are declining in Iowa, as many anglers believe. As noted, the IDNR doesn’t really know all that much about flathead in the interior rivers.
I would suggest that if flathead numbers are declining, Iowa catfish anglers and the IDNR need to look at currently legal fishing practices. As of now, trotlines and set lines are legal in most of Iowa, including Johnson County where I live. An angler may set up to five trotlines, with fifteen hooks on each, so long as they check them once every twenty-four hours. Anglers may keep fifteen catfish (channel, flathead, or any combination thereof) per day on Iowa interior rivers, along with another fifteen in possession. There are no size restrictions of any sort. On the Mississippi in Iowa, there are no restrictions on catfish numbers or sizes that may be kept.
I will come right out and say that I hate trotlines, and if it were up to me they would be banned outright. As the law now stands, an angler can catch up to seventy-five catfish at a time on trotlines, and can leave them hanging there for up to twenty-four hours. I have to believe the mortality rate for catfish left to fight against a set-line for hours is pretty high, even if they are released. With a daily limit of fifteen catfish, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me to allow anglers to fish seventy-five baits per day, which they can check, and re-bait, as many times as they wish, so long as it is done more than once per day. I also see nothing sporting about trotlines, but that is more of an individual opinion. I do believe, though, that the IDNR needs to cut down on angler harvest of catfish if in fact there is a decline in numbers, and looking at trotlines seems a good way to start.
BTW, as I learned when I moved from Minnesota to southern Iowa six years ago, catfish are more popular down here because the walleye, smallmouth, etc., populations simply aren’t that good on most interior rivers and lakes. This is due to Iowa’s water quality, or lack thereof. 
Iowa’s rivers and lakes (most of which are actually reservoirs) have to deal with high agricultural run-off, which results in heavy siltation. This keeps the number of walleye and smallmouth down in most Iowa waters. If it were not for stocking, few Iowa reservoirs or interior rivers would have any walleye at all, and as it is there aren’t as many walleye as a decent lake or river in Minnesota has. I spent two frustrating summers trying to catch walleye and smallie on a regular basis on the Iowa and Cedar rivers, and I finally gave up and switched to catfishing around here, as most locals have done all along. I targeted flathead when I lived in Minnesota, but never channel cat, so that was something new for me. Plain and simple, in much of Iowa if you like to fish and catch fish on a regular basis, channel cat are the best thing going.
Never understood trotlining myself. Where’s the fun in it? They should be banned for sure.
I have seen people use them here in the metro area – from time to time finding remnants of home-made trotlines. I’ve also heard horror stories of water skiers running into them, whether true or not.
Jerks.
John, Good post.
I agree. I don’t like trotlines either. Seems like it’s time to do away with that old practice…
Vikefan, I don’t mean to bust your bubble but there is a limit if 15 hooks on all of one person’s lines. I don’t like em either and here’s why. NO laws about the lines are enforced and people around my stretch basically just target flatheads. Not many people tag them because I just see the desserted ones maybe I have a bad impression.
It doesn’t make a lot of sense. People go set lines and get drunk and/or go fish with their snoopy pole and liver around here. I think a good arguement is that the poles basically bring in little to no tax dollars compared with real fishing. And they turn trophies to fishsticks out of some of the nation’s most polluted rivers. I met some guys this spring that put a 57# one in the freezer. They did catch it on a pole but I will cheer for the mercury to take it’s course.
They have better regulations in Brazil than we have here.
I hope with the hot weather…this post won’t turn ugly…please have mercy on me.
I’m in favor of trot lines. I’m in favor of winter spearing.
IF the fishery can support it.
I don’t know enough about IA to comment one way or the other…I do know that the waters that I fish in MN couldn’t support trot lines for any lenght of time…well, maybe I don’t KNOW that…I KNOW that I wouldn’t like to see it.
One thing I would like to suggest is…get some facts…reasons to outlaw trot lines and make an appointment with the IDNR.
I have a feeling you might have more support than you or I think.
There is a chance that you can make a differnce in your fishery. 
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Vikefan, I don’t mean to bust your bubble but there is a limit if 15 hooks on all of one person’s lines.
It is a minor quibble–I am reading Page 16 of the 2006 Iowa DNR fishing regulations, which say that “you cannot use more than five trotlines. These trotlines cannot have more than 15 hooks total.” I read that to mean each one of the five allowed trotlines may have no more than fifteen hooks, but it is not clear on that. If the legal limit is fifteen hooks total, there are some guys around here who don’t interpret it that way, and unlike me they do run trotlines. Whichever interpretation is correct, it does not change my mind about trotlines in the least.
The regs. also say that all trotlines must have the owner’s name and address labeled on them, but that isn’t done around Iowa City. Around here, walleye and channel cat are targeted by trotliners as well, which does nothing to make me like them anymore.
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One thing I would like to suggest is…get some facts…reasons to outlaw trot lines and make an appointment with the IDNR.
I have a feeling you might have more support than you or I think.
There is a chance that you can make a differnce in your fishery.
If you want to see some fireworks, post what I said about trotlines on the Iowa General Fishing Forum and see what kinds of responses you get.
One problem such a major change in regulations (limiting trotlines) runs in to is the argument that “trotlining is a tradition/we have always done it”. I’ve never liked that argument, even when it’s used for things I support, i.e. hunting and fishing rights in general against anti-hunters. I feel this way for the simple reason that I can point to all kinds of “traditions” that were totally wrong, and therefore simply saying something has always “been done that way” does not mean it is the best way, or even a good way, to do things. Such arguments hold a lot of power, though, and any questioning of Iowa’s current trotline regulations will bring them out in force. I am a big fan of making politicians and bureaucrats accountable to the public for what they do, but this is a case where I question whether doing so automatically leads to the best results. That is a complicated way of saying that even if the IDNR finds that trotlining is hurting flathead populations (I have personally found the flathead fishing to be better in Minnesota where trotlines are illegal, but I cannot prove that no trotlines equal better flathead fishing), I would not expect any major changes in regulations to be made.
Simple fact – If you run trotlines, you are NOT a fisherman. Sorry boys, but that is the end of the story. Even the Idiots know that.
Vike, I know. All we can do is rally the troops.
Sounds like the spearing tradition here in MN. Although there was a lot of talk about outlawing it…the only thing that really happened was that some lake (that have muskie in them) were banned.
If I…from MN would post something like that in the IA forum…would you call the ambulance?? 
D..I can certainly understand your point of view… but if it’s legal….just as taking a pile of wintering flatheads home here is…well…you get the drift.
I think we all are in favor of what’s good for the over all fishery…a problem has been identified…now it’s what we can do to fix it?
I see your point Brian, but legal does not equal right. There’s always going to be someone doing it easier and cheaper, but this does not interest me as it is not sporting, nor fun.
Call me crazy, old fashioned, or whatever, but that’s where I stand.
I have taken and thrown away trots and jugs I have found on MN waters and felt absolutely fantastic for doing it.
Sorry to get so dramatic.
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Sounds like the spearing tradition here in MN. Although there was a lot of talk about outlawing it…the only thing that really happened was that some lake (that have muskie in them) were banned.
If I…from MN would post something like that in the IA forum…would you call the ambulance??
Trust me–if you did make that post, and made it clear you were a Minnesota resident who does not live in Iowa, you would definitely want to be sure your health insurance was up to date.
Yup, it is just like the spearing argument back home. BTW, I feel pretty much the same way on winter spearing back home in Minnesota as I feel about trotlines in my current state of residence. I also expect about the same amount of change on both issues, and for the same reason–public outcry about “tradition” will stop it dead.
Oh well–I am heading back home for a few days before school starts back up, and since the walleye fishing around Winona has gone in the tank by all accounts, I’m leaving the boat here and will be netting some chubs and suckers and going fishing for those pesky Rapala-grabbing flatheads a night or two… 
If Iowa is next to outlaw multiple hooks, lines, trots, jugs, limblines, setlines, bankpoles, etc, where does it stop? The entire SE part of the country has absolutely no limit on flathead catfish and allows harvesting them by any means or bait possible. And people do, with regularity. Its nothing to pop into other catfish forums and read about successful nights of catfishing with pickup boxes full of flathead cats. Its a different mentality, thats for sure. Folks eat them.
I’m not quite sure why MN has such strict angling regulations on catfish, maybe its because its MN.
All I can say is that attitudes are changing, among many people.
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but this does not interest me as it is not sporting, nor fun.
100% agreed!
Vikefan…have a safe trip… Might want to try some Sonny’s on those raps!
Brian, I don’t see spearing as anywhere near trot lining. At least in spearing you are sitting around a hole and trying to get a pike to come in. There is sport in it. I don’t spear and I would probably never try it, but at least I see sport in it. Just my two lincolns.
Unless you are talking about the Indians spearing! Whoo, you’ll really get some people riled
on that one!
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