Flathead Catfish of the Mississippi River

It’s that time of year, the time all of us cat folks have been waiting for since the flathead catfish went to sleep last October/November!

The water temperatures of the ol’ Mississippi are hanging around 75 degrees and the fish are hungry getting ready to spawn. Now is the time to grab your heavy rod and head out for Minnesota’s top predator fish!

Clive with his arm full of flathead!

Friday evening I had the pleasure of fishing with Clive Brookshaw of the Hager City area. Clive is a known sturgeon and cat fisherman from way back. With a little help from his dad, Clive set the hook into 4 fish with the largest being 20 pounds and was an arm full!  We missed a number of fish this night. I’m not sure if they were small fish that didn’t get the hook far enough into their mouth or just a bad time to set the hook.  We would just feel a little weight and then the ugly feeling of the hook coming free. This happens but it seemed to happen Friday night more often then normal.

Sam proudly holding her very first flathead catfish tipping the scale at 47 pounds!

There is nothing like watching a young adult pull in a 20 pound River Monster unless it’s  a young adult pulling in her first River Monster at 47 pounds!
Saturday night my two guests were “Sam” and her dad Mike Schmaltz.

We spent a good deal of time talking about the river and it’s fishing while waiting for the first nibble.  About the time I said “hmmm we had a few fish by this time last night” the sound of the Folbe rod holder made that distinctive “thud” and we had a fish running with out bait.  Sam set the hook like she’s done it 100’s of times before and I heard a loud splash coming from the wood pile we were fishing in front off.  This confused me for a moment as I wasn’t sure if it was a beaver or a fish Sam hooked into. Good thing it was a fish!
I should mention I don’t recommend flathead fishing in shorts but Sam said the flathead poop running down her leg was something she’s never experienced before. So I guess the cool ride on the way back to Everts Resort was a small price to pay for that.

Mike with his first flathead coming in at 27 pounds.

Next up was her dad Mike. We couldn’t get another fish to go in that area. Since flatheads become very anti social this time of year, it’s to be expected. We relocated a relatively short distance away. It wasn’t too long and our 8″ sucker became flathead prey. As Mike set the hook on his first flathead I glanced at his eyes. They were close to silver dollar pancake size!  Not knowing what size of fish is on the other end of the line and being your first time will do that to a person!

I don’t know for certain but I think Pool 4 and flathead fishing has worked it’s way into Sam and Mikes blood.  I expect them back to the river again soon!

Last but certainly not least is Sunday evening. My annual Fathers Day fishing trip with the Favorite Daughter. Niki missed last years trip because of scheduled back surgery and little Ella in the oven.
This years trip just about didn’t happen. I didn’t watch my bait very well and the warm temperatures killed all but two suckers. Trying to find bait at the last minute is all but impossible although I did have a couple friends offer bait to me after the fact. We had two live suckers bought from 4 Season Sports in Red Wing. I had a good 18 or so dead suckers.

The plan was to get something to eat then head out to fish Catch and Release Lake Sturgeon fishing until dark, then use cut sucker and the two live ones to hopefully get into a flathead. Well, dinner took too long and we decided to set up for flats and wait about 45 minutes until the long shadows turned into darkness.

Our first run came on cut sucker but what ever it was, it dropped the bait never to return. The second run that came a few moments later was on one of the live baits. Fish ON! Niki wanted so much to get a Fathers Day fish and it was looking good until the dang fish found some wood to wrap the line around. Fish OFF! Now we’re down to one live sucker. <sigh> Not looking good for the home team.

Normally I can’t tell when a sucker is about to get eaten by a flathead. Heck in watching live sucker decoys while spearing they will freeze when a pike starts getting close.  This sucker started acting differently. Short kicks and a lot of them. It was different then the way it was struggling earlier…then a solid “thunk” of the rod in the rod holder.

This time there wasn’t any wood in our way and the Favorite Daughter brought it to the boat like a pro! Although I’m going to have to buy a bar of soap. I’ve heard sailors with cleaner mouths as she struggled to bring the fish close enough for me to net it. The last words before heading back to the resort were “I’m going to be black and blue tomorrow!”  I smiled.

Another successful Fathers Day outing with the Favorite Daughter. 34.5 pounds of flathead and a 100 pound smile!