Small flatheads

Ok tonight will be my 19th outing this year for flats with no fish .Still going strong not giving up yet.I was wondering if fishing for smaller flats is any easier or if they are in differant locations?If so maybe i need to start this way.There is alot of guys around here getting them but they dont really respond to questions or post pics which i find strange .But they claim to be getting them.Channe;s appear to be spawning as there are none being caught and the last few weeks they were full of eggs.Anyways gonna try the pec river see what haqppens down here we can fish with alot of poles so im gonna line my boat front to back with gills on poles see what happens lol! Getting desperate dont want to start walleye fishing.

I have no clue where you are talking about fishing
I can tell you the cat I caught the other night came out of 6fow with very little current. There is some wood around but the rock is the biggest part of the structure in the area I was in. The surface temp was 68 degrees, I don’t think this is close to spawn temp. We were also set up not to far from what I believe to be a wintering hole of 30fow.
The fish hit a 5-6inch gill.

The little flats bite pretty much the same as the big ones (same bait). I’ve caught a LOT of 10lb fish this year…must have been a good year class. I don’t think it would help much to try and down grade or think it might be easier to target smaller fish…you’ll probably just ending up catching more channels or other types of fish.

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There is alot of guys around here getting them but they dont really respond to questions or post pics which i find strange .But they claim to be getting them.

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I have a feeling you’ll be seeing MANY more picts within the next week.

I’m not sure who or which questions haven’t been answered…but I’ll speak for myself here….

On a normal day, I’ll get 3 private messages or emails asking what to use and where to go.
Although I would love too…I just can’t answer them all…so I ask the person to post their questions here…that way, others can learn too.

We have MANY experianced cat guys and gals very willing to help a new person get into some cats…but it’s hard for any one person to answer all the questions…all the time.

By looking through the posts…I see many questions asked and they all seem to be answered by someone…and many with multiple answers.

So…I guess the first questions is what Bret asked…where are you fishing…what river/location?

HEY! Yes definately post your questions here Like Brian K. said. I’m a new guy too. I ask a ton of question and they even answer the obvious new guy ones too. Pay attention to some of their pictures here too. I’ve ran into two of the guys fishing the other night and introduced myself. Just getting to see how they rigged and chatting with them helped a lot. I still haven’t caught anything big and picture worthy yet. But I’ve been having fun with the smaller channels so far and only one small flat. So keep on posting your questions!

Hey Chris,

When can you take me out to relive some of the old days. I miss those late nights and the sound of the that baitclicker going off. I am off to Devils Lake Thursday but will be back ready to battle something a little bigger on the 10th.

sorry guys guess i wasnt specific was refering to other websites for my local area in rockford ill as to not being to helpful not here everyone here has answered my questions in great detail!I fish the rock river and pecatonica river which produces fish in the 50+ range weekly! Most are caught by anglers persuing other species there are only a few avid flathead anglers in my area and they are tight lipped.And i finally got one this mourning dinking and dunking the rocks in a foot of water near the fordam dam. It was only 3lbs but when you fish as hard as i do for them it was a relief.I would say it is a safe bet nobody else in the area fishes them as much as me lol so it gets depressing to see others catch them without trying lol.

The monkey is gone, I now predict fruitful outings from now on!

Tip: Never use the word “only” when describing a flathead.

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I would say it is a safe bet nobody else in the area fishes them as much as me lol so it gets depressing to see others catch them without trying lol.

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Must be referring to someone else again Everyone here I believe works hard for the fish caught

Well said Bret! Flathead fishing is a lot of work. Some will catch fish more consistantly than oters.. but that is most always do to lots of time on the water finding the fish.

I admit, some people are blessed with luck and could accidently hook a good fish in a mud puddle… but even though some make it look easy, there is a lot of work involved in locating flatheads, they do move around, and no place is good all of the time.

I dont care how much knowledge or skill we have.. there is an element of luck when it comes to fishing, and it sure hlps a lot to have a little bit of luck on our side to shorten the search.

This might make you feel better…

I went out with a newbi (for targeting flats) last night….one half hearted run…all night.

With the weather the way it was…I felt certian it was going to be a good night for numbers.

(sigh) worse night I’ve had all year…thank god for the company.

I can’t wait for company night on the 21st

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was refering to other websites for my local area in rockford ill as to not being to helpful not here everyone here has answered my questions in great detail!

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I thought your post was…kinda funny as there are a bunch of guys answering a bunch of questions.

Can you discribe the area that your fishing? Current, structure, depth ect?