41 lb St Croix Flathead – They just keep coming!!

What a beautiful night on the St Croix. Weather was absolutely perfect for a night of chasing flatheads. Clear skies, low tonight of 54 and the winds were calm with the water flat as glass with a nice moon.

I got this beauty on a Jumbo 7″ bullhead. That bullhead was one tough critter. I had hooks in the water at 1945 and I used this big bullhead because he was so fiesty. At 2005 he got hammered by a fish but the fish dropped him before I could get a hookset. When I checked him out he was pretty well mauled but still kicking so out he went again. At 2145 this beautiful 41 lb St Croix flathead decided to make him supper. You just have to love a good bullhead for a flathead bait.

This year I am using the two hook Cat Bait Harness that I posted in a Cat Tip of the Day. I’m using an 8/0 Gamakatsu Circle hook for the front hook and a 5/0 circle hook for the stinger hook. I’m having amazing success with this setup and tonight this big fish has both hooks just buried in his jaw. He was not coming off not matter how hard he tried and believe me he tried. Every big fish I’ve caught this summer has been on the Cat Bait Harness. Check out the cat tip in the Outdoor Article forum and give it a try – it sure is working for me.

Nicely done! I really gotta try that set up this year sometime. I wonder how many flats we’ve lost because of no rear hook.

Here I thought your action had cooled since I cursed your boat, because I hadn’t seen a post in the catfish forum! I’ve tried twice on pool 4 this week with my nephew and we haven’t even gotten a baby. I am losing faith. Maybe we can give it another go soon?

The harness is a very nice set up that I think all cat guys should use, well in most situations. I have not used it from shore as I think hooking up on a snag is a higher possibility when your PP is washing down the river across the current.