# advice for catching winter channel and flathead catfish from the bank



## flattiesinohio

i was wondering if anyone has any advice on how to catch or even locate winter catfish?i live a stones throw away from the muskingum river and havnt had any luck while fishing for anything....lol....here is a picture of the river from my back door just to give you a idea of the area im fishing in...well i cant figure out how to put anypics on here not even for my main pic sorry fellas and ladies


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## Salmonid

Flatties will be real tough, maybe with a boat if you really lucked out and find a wintering hole but I wouldnt count on that. Channels will hit all winter long, key is finding them in different conditions, IE> high water vs low water. Temps do not seem to be a problem, once you find them at a certain water level, Id bet they will be in the same spot (usually deeper water with a little current) all winter long. The bite is light and its typical to get a good hit and then they never come back on it and you will think there is no bait and its perfect??? Go figure, the bite is light, Id suggest a smaller hook, softer rod if using circles and smaller cut baits like shad the size of a quarter vs a matchbook .

Good luck and happy hunting..
Salmonid


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## flattiesinohio

thanks.....last year i did great off of my dock with deer meat....this year it isnt working at all i know where the deepest hole is in the pool i live on in the muskingum river it is about 30 feet deep and then i know of anouther one that is about 23 feet deep but no boat been tring to get someone to take me out but no luck


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## dinkbuster1

i have yet to see water temps get below 32 degrees in the winter, even during sub-zero temps. saying that, i have done pretty well catching channels in 35 degree water during the winter. they are hard, VERY hard to catch when the water is low and clear but if its up and muddy you will find them fairly easy in the same "high water spots" you do in the spring and summer. get a warm rain or snow melt in the winter and you will have a field day catching channels. flatheads? you might still get a few right now in a deep hole, but once that water gets below 45-48 degrees forget it. only flatties i have caught this late ( Nov 18th has been my latest) are really small.


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## flattiesinohio

thanks......i went out lastnight off of my dock tried everything from deer meat to crawldads and all i caght was waterdogs.....them things are like roachs in the muskingum river right now


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## flattiesinohio

does anyone have anysuggestions on how to rig up a pole using crawldads for bait this time of year


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## Tiny Tim

I was at Salt Fork today and a guy brought in a Flattie that weighed about 30lb.that he got while trolling a crankbait for Saugeye.Just wanted everyone to see it and then he released it back in the lake.


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## flattiesinohio

30 pound flattie on crank bait.....wow.....i bet he never expected that to happen....i went down to my dock for about a hour today used some floating jigs and minnis i caught in my minni trap and got 2 nice smallies in about 8 feet of water


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## Tiny Tim

Good job on the smallies !! I was just glad to see him release it!!! There sure has been a lot of them taken out of there in the last few years.I fish for them out there some in the summer. It is a good way to spend a nice night on the lake without people trying to run ya down with a jet-ski or a cabin crusier. LOL My pb flattie came on a crankbait while I was bass fishing in the city res.I turned it back but a guy I work with got to see it and we figure it around 40-45 lbs.


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## flattiesinohio

i only fished for flatties there once with out a run but my wife injoys it cause she can sit there and catch channels all night...lol.....of course the only thing i know about saltfork is the back waters on freedom road so that is where i fish for the most parts....i seen alot of pic of flatties takin from there off of 22 this year and a good bit was 50+....so i know how you feel about the releasing........my pb was caught in my back yard it was 44 inches didnt have a scale but it was caught on a 10 inch channel cat


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## Tiny Tim

Good job on the 44 incher!!! The jug fisherman are putting a hurt on them there now-a-days.If they keep them at the rate they are now it will be even harder to get 1 on a rod and reel.I do a lot of my flat-head fishing around the first bridge you come to in the park off rt.22.The only bait I ever use is Bluegills I catch around the Old Marina before I go out.Sometimes I float them under bobbers and sometimes on the bottom.


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## flattiesinohio

i heard they was there at that bridge i just never fished out that way cause you never know where your able to park if you go to lakeside store you will see some of the fish takin from there....its unbelievable what they are taking!!!!i live in blue rock the muskingum river is a spit from my back porch and i dont keep any real big ones i might keep something around ten pounds but thats bout it


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## Tiny Tim

Dont blame ya there. I have ate a few of smaller ones,but that is it.Dont know what I would do with a hundred pounds of flatties anyway.


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## flattiesinohio

now bass and trout my wife would shot me if i ever let her catch me release one.....lol


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## Tiny Tim

I know what ya mean there. LOL My son loves to eat just about any kind of fish. He used to fish for nothing but flatties and was getting pretty good at it until he discovered the oppisite sex.He is always after me wanting to know when I am going to fry some fish for him. LOL


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## flattiesinohio

hahaha....well i found this nice little trout hole here in blue rock and she pretty much makes me go there almost everyday now


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## BrianC

I have noticed this year that with the Muskingum it is liked someone flipped a switch on the flatheads. They bit steadily all summer and nothing once the water temps dropped a bit. They definitely have repositioned or moved on...there were too many in the area all summer long for the bite to be that slow. I haven't done enough fall catfishing on the river in the past to figure anything out, but something has definitely changed. 

Don't do much channel cat fishing anymore but when I used to in the spring we always caught a ton of those darn waterdogs like mentioned above. Those things are pretty nasty and seem to always bite when the water is cold.

On the opposite end of the spectrum the river bass are jumping in the boat! I saw a 5.5 smallie weighed in at a small tourney in the Stockport area last weekend. A Muskingum fish of a lifetime!


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## flattiesinohio

i been doing real good on the smallies using just a common rig up sinker on bottom three hooks above with minnies.....but cats ain't doing a thing the last big one i got out of the muskingum was in augest it was 44 inches but only to after that and neather was big.....i havent even caught a channel cat yet behind my house but i think im gonna get closer to the philo dam and see what happens


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