With everyone getting all whipped up about Musky opener, I got to thinking….Which fish is truly the top of the Line preditor, the Flathead? or the Musky?
I do know a 45in Flathead weighs about 46lbs vs. only 26lb for a Musky…..I know who wins that fight!
Musky!they are way more agrresive and have waaaaaaaaaaaaay sharper teeth. they are also very fast vs. a flathead
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Which fish is truly the top of the Line predator, the Flathead? or the Musky?
Keeping to the actual question,
I don’t know that much about ski’s so I’m not going to make a call either way.
Flatheads don’t need teeth because they swallow the 
muskies whole.
It’s been recorded that a flat will eat up to 1/3 of it’s body weight over a 24 hour period.
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It’s been recorded that a flat will eat up to 1/3 of it’s body weight over a 24 hour period.
Wow you Cat heads are sick 
Now start talking about fighting ability on the end of the rod…No other fresh water fish can release as much adrenalin in as short time as the ski.
IMHO
yeah thats probably why they have become a popular species to catch, although you dont catch one everyy cast, its defineatly worth it at the end 
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Which fish is truly the top of the Line predator, the Flathead? or the Musky?
It’s been recorded that a flat will eat up to 1/3 of it’s body weight over a 24 hour period.
Sounds like a group that hang out at a certain resort 
and a truck load of fine baked goods shows up 
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Now start talking about fighting ability on the end of the rod…No other fresh water fish can release as much adrenalin in as short time as the ski.
IMHO
Your right,for about ten seconds! Then you can’t handle them or they die like a shiner on a hot summer day. 
Whimpy little sight feeders
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y don’t u cat guys start throwing bigger baits like us muskie guys then? i just bought a 2lb. bait yesterday.
Wimp…..I’ve been using 4# musky’s for cattin for years now, least the ones I don’t eat….
Al
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y don’t u cat guys start throwing bigger baits like us muskie guys then?
The easy answer to this is because we don’t have to.
If the MN DNR would allow us too and we had access to 2 pound live bait, there would be many that would.
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Now start talking about fighting ability on the end of the rod…No other fresh water fish can release as much adrenalin in as short time as the ski.
IMHO
as far as top predetor the musky hands down, but IMO.. the musky is overrated in its fighting ability. the adrenalin is a build up thats is rapidly released once you hook one.
“ANTICIPATION”
ive caught my fair share pretty quick when i first started fishing for them .. lucky i guess 
..
fighting 40.. 50 class ski is a blast but you better had eating your wheaties with the whisker fish
flathead is a bigger predator imo with the ability to eat larger prey. I used to think muskies would be more exciting with the thrashing and seeing the strike but a clicker running at 1 am and the scramble that follows is a better adrenaline shot for me anyway. I do think they are similar sports though in the hunting for them, big enough baits to tempt them, and slim return on time invested.
Both are big predators, so you can’t go too wrong, but the flathead gets bigger and fights with more power, while the toothy fish fights with more speed.
I’d like to find the guy who’s caught both a 50+ pound flathead and a 50+ pound musky.
I’ve done the former, but nowhere near the latter – can’t imagine the big musky having the same endurance, but that intitial burst would be incredible.
I can say from catching Northern pike on the tackle that I use for flatheads that a 10 pound northern is a complete wimp next to a 10 pound flathead.
We were talking about this last night in the boat and nothing really compares to a big flat devouring a large live bait and making your rod slam so hard in the rod holder that it actually shakes the boat. Then after than happens, you usually have to muscle the fish as hard as you can to keep it out of the surrounding obstacles (trees, rocks, roots, other lines, etc). That is what makes it so much fun. Flatheads out in the open water would be lacking significantly compared to their woody river counterparts.
Having said that, the med river musky excursions can be just as fun 
From a guy whos caught both, the flathead hands down is a battle. I hunt muskies for the thrill of the hunt, it’s an obsession, both are top end predators and as much as I love the muskie I’m giving the edge to the flatheads.
Muskies from hook up to net rarely last a minute on proper equipment a big flat may take an hour to land or longer.
I talked to a guy once who had a big flathead hooked and he knew it was a big one. It pulled his small 12′ jon boat up river for aways so he decided to get into the front of the boat and fight it there. He got the flathead up to the surface then it decided to go down from where it came. It darned near swamped his boat and he had to hit the free bail quick or he said the front would have went under, is that big enough, can a musky do that. You get into a nice one in the current of the river and its a waiting game. I think flatheads are the powerhouse of the bigger freshwater fish, bar none.
I’ve caught both and I enjoy them both. Flathead cats are a better fight hands down. The strike is better for muskies but that is about where it ends. I have had flatties that took a half hour plus to land. They see the boat and take off and do things like spool you that a musky would never think of. You get a hook into a big cat and they will test your tackle and often find it lacking. You don’t have to throw your back out for 10 hours to hookup either. Any hacker can go huck baits all day but it takes a determined angler with hard won skills to consitently put big cats in the boat. They are both great fish to go after. I do musky trip every fall. If you have musky gear and a boat that will work at night, give catfish a try.
Without a doubt, hands down…
Largemouth Bass
Pug, we aren’t talking about which tastes better. 
Actually I thing a closer question would be
What fights more, a flathead or a sturgeon?
They are so different but very much the same.
The bite is just as much the opposite of a musky as the length of the fight.
Sturgeons tails will be nose high out of the water and then down in 30 feet of water faster than a person can say HOLY CRAP!!
This in very interesting. I love to fish for fish, and can appreciate the qualities of most fish, except bass
I think Musky and Flathead guys have a lot in common. Both like to fish for top of the line predators and can go many hours on end without seeing one. Both spend many hours and many dollars to chase their choosen species. Both have great respect for their quarry.
That being said, I can understand why musky anglers fish for them. Muskies put up a great fight for about 30 seconds and it is very exciting. The glitz of a $40 grand sparkly boat with a 200 HP motor, throwing $30 lures for hours on end, hoping to see a fish over the course of a day, and then that 30 seconds of excitement. Pure exhilaration 
Compare this to flathead fishing. Sitting in a $2,500 boat with a 25 HP motor, drinking beer, toss a rod out with a bullhead or (God forbid MN Guys) a sunfish, tells some lies, watch the sun set with your feet up, listen to the radio and BS. Maybe a little more my style
But I guess maybe some guys just enjoy all the build up for 30 seconds of excitement, Compensating for something……
As far as the fight, there is no comparison to a Sturgeon. If we caught Sturgeon around here in timber laden waters, we would only get half of them boat, if that.
Also if you are fighting flathead for a half hour or more, you are most likely way undersized on your gear. One of the longest fights I’ve seen was in heavy current and it was a 48lb fish. It lasted just about 9 minutes, and that seemed like an eternity.
What Dtro said!
It’s a growing sport fish in MN. Still very very under fished.
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As far as the fight, there is no comparison to a Sturgeon. If we caught Sturgeon around here in timber laden waters, we would only get half of them boat, if that.
Also if you are fighting flathead for a half hour or more, you are most likely way undersized on your gear. One of the longest fights I’ve seen was in heavy current and it was a 48lb fish. It lasted just about 9 minutes, and that seemed like an eternity.
While I’m not quite sure what the “right” equiptment is, I agree with dtro and the size of your equiptment, my wife once spent over a 1/2 hour trying to get a 28# musky in…..she was crappie fishing at the time and was using a ultralight with 4# test.
I spent at least 20mins getting a 37″ Cat up at pool4 once on a walleye rig and 8# test, much to the dismay of Moreyes, who was my partner for the first Saugerama I fished..:)
I think it might have been closer to a half hour, but didn’t really keep track.
Seems current musky tackle now consits of 100# test line and I’m not so sure between a 25# cat or musky either would take all that long to boat..imho
While my cat catching is usually by mistake, I’d have to say the Musky is more exciting to catch, while the cat puts more stress on the tackle.
Both are fun.
Al
Did I say largemouth? I meant White Bass. I guess this is a little off from the OP, but as far as a fish that combines so many aspects of a fight that I like and find challenging, the white bass is near the top of my list.
I never musky fish, but I have had plenty of pike follows to know that part of Musky fishing I would find exciting.
The real answer to the question might well be that the flathead is the greater predator because of the amount they eat. Now if your talking about fighting ability, flathead wins hands down. After the first five minutes, the flathead will be towing the muskie around the lake for the rest of the day. On top of that, the flathead will be able to do it again day after tomorrow and the ski will probably be dead. If you want real fighting fish, you have to go to sturgeon which commonly grow bigger than muskie, fight much longer and harder and can jump higher.
Now if that doesn’t light a fire, it can’t be done.
Can you imagine the power of a 50lb green sunfish swimming in a circle on the end of your rod????
I’ve caught flats to 46″ sturgeon to 60″ and muskies to 53″ (we won’t count sturgeon in this because there not a predator) and between the big flats and big skies I’ve caught the flats win hands down for power. I gave up catfishing a few years ago (soaking a bully got borring) and now all I do is chase Muskie. Have you ever seen a 50″ Muskie hit at the boat on a figure 8? Well I have and can tell you that for this ex cat guy there’s nothing eles in fishing like it Not the screaming hit of a flat taking a bully of a sturogen with a 5 foot vertical nothing else compairs to a Muskie hitting boat side.
But this is just a diehard Muskie guys .02
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