So far this year I am right at 50%, landed flatheads per total number of “runs”.
I am a little frustrated but it seeams like most guys are missing a fair share of fish. For me it sometimes comes down to adrenaline fueled errors before and during the hookset.
I’ve been on again – off again with circle hooks. And I think if I get myself calmed down more I could up my percentage.
Just wondering where other people are at.
I dont know the number but my guess is about every other bite, give or take a little. I have boated several channels on bullheads this year and I think most of my misses are due to them. I have been using kahle hooks and dont know if I like them or not yet.
I haven’t been yet this year but with circles I tended to do better and friends with less experience also did better by leaving it in the rod holder and just cranking 10 times. By then you either have them or you don’t. Anyone that says they do better than 7 out of 10 has luck on their side.
“knock on wood”
But my hookups this year has been great. I’m 8/11 for the year.
Landed the fish is a different subject. LOL!
I’ve been going pretty good there also.
My percentage numbers are for fish in the boat. I’ve had a couple come unbuttoned just feet from the boat, but I count those as misses.
I was going to mention channel cats but I don’t want to use them as an excuse. I’ve caught one so far on an atypical run. If I remove the runs I truely think were either channels or gar or something else, my percentage goes to 61%.
I am off circle hooks right now because I love setting the hook and June is the time to do it.
Catdad what type of hooks do you like??
I haven’t been out in a little while but I “believe” that my Hook Up Percentage this year is right at 100%.
One thing I’ve changed this year is that I have been waiting to “feel” the fish before setting the hook. Even if its allowing the rod to load a little bit, then setting like CatDad said. If you can feel that flathead “pulsing” or “throbbing” down there, give it to him.
In the past, if I’ve had a fish on a good run pulling clicker, I have engaged the reel and swung blindly, rather than engaging the reel and waiting for the fish to load up the rod and then setting. My hook up ratio last year was aweful, sometimes missing every run in a night.
I’m 6/6 this year so far, but it’s early. I probably get about 75% or more each year. I use 7/0 kahles and do it just as catdadmn said – let ’em load up and take ’em.
I’ve learned to be very patient with setting the hook. Reel up and when I feel the pulsing I just lift from 8:30/9 to 12. I try and keep the rod tip high and loaded for as long as I can to make sure the hook works itself in before lightening the tension up.
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Al I do is pick up the rod, shut off the clicker, engage the reel and allow the fish to load the rod up. Start with your rod at ten o,clock and let him pull the rod down to about level then give it to him. If he drops the bait just wait I would say at least half of the time they will pick it back up. The only time this will be different is those rare occasion when a fish is really screaming line. In that case pick it up and engage the reel and set the hook. Normally when you engage the reel the hook will set.
Works for me! Personally I’m at 100% Wish I could say the same for my customers. 
I’ve been demonstrating with practice fish… 
and that’s been helping. Although I’m always surprised how much of a hook set it takes to get the hook out of a bullhead and into the mouth of a eye. 
Many times the new, sharp Gamakatzu 10/0 is just pricked in there mouths.
Part of my problem is that I’ve had two “doubles” this year and missed the second fish both times. Fishing alone it is hard to be calm when that happens.
Waiting to feel the fish is the key IMO.
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cant think of a way to improve.
15/0 Gamakatzu’s. 
I’m somewhere around 60% with 18 fish landed. I really think some of those missed fish were very small or even channels or walleyes. I also transitioned from circles to a Gammi Oct hook so there was a small transition curve 
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I’m somewhere around 60% with 18 fish landed
Sounds more realistic. We will have our lucky streaks but overall, 65-75 percent is about all I really hope to get and have gotten over the years. Unless you fish where there are no small fish I cant see getting much better than that.
The other night I missed a run that was steady in taking line out. I got a bit excited and flipped the lever over cranke down a few times, did not wait to feel the fish and set the hook. felt the fish on for a few seconds then pop out. Pulled the bullie in and it was hooked twice. The second run of the night I told myself that I would take it easy and flip the lever turn off the clicker and let the fish load the rod in the same manner as Catdadmn. Set that hook solid and it was fish on! That flat gave the medium tiger rod a little workout! Good times!
My hookup percentage is around 75% right now. I maily use 7/0 and 10/0 gami’s depending on size of the bait.
A 15/0 gami might work well with some of those “nokomis butterballs”. 
A wise river rat once told me “the only reason you’ll miss a fish (flathead) is because the hook is too small.”
He was refering to the size of the cat’s mouth in proportion to the hook size. The larger the hook, the better the chance of hooking into that big mouth. I recall last year when many were missing fish run after run…and I wasn’t experiancing that…but then again…every dog has his day…I guess. 
Let your minds eye wander with me for a moment. When hooking a bh or anything for that matter at a 90 degree angle to the bait. The bait and hook enters the mouth of Mr. Big…Mr. Big generally moves the bait around in it’s mouth to swollow it head first…but when he does this…he presses down on the eye end of the hook which then turns the hook so the point is pointing back to the bait’s body.. You set the hook…and a double hook bait fish comes out….no point exposed to catch Mr. Big with.
Piercing a bait with the hook at a 45 degree angle with the point facing toward the baits nose will increase hook ups because…if Mr Big bites down on the eye of the hook…the point will rotate…but not into the bait.
Marc, I don’t have a clue how you’ve been hooking your bait…I just know I haven’t had a double bully hookup since I started doing this. (knock on wood!) 
I was wondering about that Marc…..
I’m about 50 percent….I have hooked 4 of my last 5 though!
I did use your 45 degree trick Brian. I think what I did wrong is hook the bullie a little too far below the adipose fin. The next bullie I hooked right under the adipose (and was using a 7/0 By the way) so maybe a quarter inch or so under the skin. I think that had something to do with keeping the bullie a little more lively as well. He seemed to move a lot more than the others I hooked too deep. I think to be a little more patient and let the fish pull the rod down before you set the hook is great advice.
Very interesting post!
I’m running about 80% maybe a hair under… After this last week and analysing whats been happening. There is a definite correlation between letting the fish load the rod and setting the hook using 10/0 gamma octo. I’ve been getting a little jumpy and excited and popping the trigger a little too soon then previously. Well see what happens this week and weekend.
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Also as stated above it is very rare the bullhead doubles over on your hook.
I had my first one on last Friday. In who knows how many fish….. I was pretty surprised to say the least. Buried deep in its gut while still hooked in the orginal spot. The fish had a solid hold on it. Looked like someone pressed the side of the bully up against a belt sander. OUCH!! for both me and the bully.
In an old In-fisherman video, they talked about running the hooks in line with the dorsal fin, that way when a fish turns the bait to swallow head first, your hook is in the best place for a hookset. I have been doing it this way ever since. Does anyone else do this, or is it just me?
And I have been having some really strange bites as of late. Last weekend each fish I caught (of 3) I had one strong run, and two pick up and hold or swim upstream. Only 
diligence and intelligence on my part caught those fish 
I need to work on letting the rod load up. I just get too dang excited 
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I need to work on letting the rod load up. I just get too dang excited
I think I finally got it down. It’s hard going from a hookset with a texas rigged worm to using circles! It’s pretty satisfying when after about 5 seconds you don’t feel the bait pop out and you still feel the fish. I get sick when I feel the hook pop out in those first 5 seconds or so.
So I didn’t knock on wood hard enough!
On hookset we missed a fish…taking a look at the bully..the hook came out of it’s back and planted itself right smack in the head of the bh!
I’m going to look for more wood to knock on!
All this talk about hooking up and knocking on wood. 
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So I didn’t knock on wood hard enough!
On hookset we missed a fish…taking a look at the bully..the hook came out of it’s back and planted itself right smack in the head of the bh!
I’m going to look for more wood to knock on!
I had the same thing happen the other night….hook came all the way out and was rehooked through the belly
I do the diagonal thing from tail towards head with as little skin as possible.
1 for 1 last night.
My hookup percentage on flats lately is 0% I have had NO chance to fish them 
This year when out, my hookup percentage has been terrible.. as with everyone else near me on the same nights. The last couple times I was out the hookup ratio had been 85%ish(6 runs, 5 fish).. wish any of them were on my line!
I think it has a lot to do with how they are feeding. Most days the hookup ratio is good if they are actively feeding on what you are offering… other days, I dont think it would make a difference if they had hit a rapala.. they just dont get hooked.
I’ve confirmed that channel cats are part of my problem on this particular spot. Although it, again, produced 2 golden hour flatheads. I landed channels weighing 8, 12 and 16 pounds on live bluegills, and had a couple more runs that I am sure were channels. Screamer runs and the hook just pulls out of the bait on the hookset, it must not even be in the cat’s mouth.
16 pounds 10 ounces is my biggest non-Red River channel so that was cool.
I went 2 for 5 last night. Missed 3 runs in a row (bully was hooked in the tail) So I switched to hooking them in the bottom lip (thanks Brian A) then boated 2 one 9 lbr and my new PB (more on that later)!
Hooked up from the bottom through both lips?
My gut feeling tells me that lots of runs, chomps, and mangled bullheads are the result of “other” fish- channel cats, walleyes, etc and not flathead cats. This is hard to prove unless you actually connect with these “other” fish which sounds like you did RB.
I believe when a flathead is hungry, they eat. Ever watch fish on a camera, in an aquarium? When they eat, they flare their gills and suck their pray into their mouth. I’m convinced flatheads are no different but they move a ton of water when they suck their prey in, which creates the telltale “thump”.
I caught a little 9 pounder the other night that thumped, pulled 3 short clicker bursts, and then I set the hook and landed it. I hooked the fish good, and upon closer inspection revealed the bullheads tail just protruding out of its throat. Just proves to me that it doesn’t take very long at all for a flathead to get the bait in its mouth and heading down its throat. This is why I believe those mangled bullheads are hit by something else.
I also believe that we get a lot of “false” runs while flatty fishing that may lead us to believe we are having more activity than we really are. I know that the clicker on my 7000s will not hold when a small amount of debris (weeds, leaves, etc) starts to accumulate above my sinker while fishing in decent current. This is even worse with a 6500 which has less clicker tension. A chunk of bark or small piece of wood floating by underwater is definitely enough to cause a run as well. I still treat these “false” runs like fish but can usually discern that it isn’t a fish after a few seconds. If there is still any doubt, I’ll set the hook just in case. Better safe than sorry. Typically the hookset is enough to pull the bullhead off and you reel up thinking you just lost a fish because your bait is gone.
I guess my point comes back to what was mentioned earlier and that is too clearly identify whether or not that is really a fish before you set the hook. Hooking percentage will go waaaaayyy up if you know you are setting into a fish vs setting into a clump of grass, bark, or a channel cat with your baits tail in its mouth. 
Just my deep thought for the day.
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