# Flathead question.



## Stampede (Apr 11, 2004)

How far do you think flatheads roam from there" home" spot?


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## M.Magis (Apr 5, 2004)

I think that&#8217;s very dependent on a lot of factors, food and structure being the biggest ones. Some studies have shown that fish near river dams spend a few days near or in the fast water feeding, and then retreat to nearby slower water for a while. They may never actually travel more than a few hundred yards. Fish in other areas may have to travel quite a bit further to find available food. I believe that as the summer wears on, food sources become harder to come by, particularly for small river fish, and they tend to stray further from home as compared to earlier in the year.


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## cattin15 (May 3, 2010)

As long as there is no obstruction fish will move until they find proper spawning structure or a food source in some cases. If there is near by spawning structure and plenty of forage a fish could.live its whole life in one small area
If food becomes hard to find and that fish has no obstructions(very shallow water or a dam) it will move. Its all on a case to case basis. 

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## katfish (Apr 7, 2004)

To clarify the answer I will define movement as normal feeding patterns during summer fishing. These findings are from telemetry studies from several experiments conducted for thesis papers and by fish and game departments.

Flathead in rivers will vary the amount of movent they travel to feed.
Most only travel a short distance less than 100 yards from security cover to feeding areas. There seems to be a wider base for population pyramids in rivers with higher percentage of smaller fish that are more aggressive feeders than lake fish. This is probably due to higher competion for available food sources.

In lakes flathead establish a hunting circuit that they travel. It will be an eliptical pattern from security cover and back before morning that is normally 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile.

The telemetry also suggests that flathead spend the vast majority of their time at their security spot. Mostly they are laying under some structure unless they are actively feeding. I compare the feeding patterns with snakes because they gorge on meals and spend lots of time immobile as they digest their meals. The length of time between meals varies but as a general rule larger fish spend more time between meals.

I have found no information from telemetry studies that indicate what factors trigger flathead to feed. I have observed some circumstances that trigger feeding but cannot unravel the entire puzzle.


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## AkronCATS (Nov 5, 2008)

Because flatheads are one of the biggest, baddest fish in most bodies of water, I've always wondered why they spend so much time hiding under a stump. It's not like a 5 lb largemouth is going to come along and eat them.


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## Bluegill_Guru (Mar 10, 2012)

katfish said:


> To clarify the answer I will define movement as normal feeding patterns during summer fishing. These findings are from telemetry studies from several experiments conducted for thesis papers and by fish and game departments.
> 
> Flathead in rivers will vary the amount of movent they travel to feed.
> Most only travel a short distance less than 100 yards from security cover to feeding areas. There seems to be a wider base for population pyramids in rivers with higher percentage of smaller fish that are more aggressive feeders than lake fish. This is probably due to higher competion for available food sources.
> ...


+1

Very good post.


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## katfish (Apr 7, 2004)

> Because flatheads are one of the biggest, baddest fish in most bodies of water, I've always wondered why they spend so much time hiding under a stump. It's not like a 5 lb largemouth is going to come along and eat them.


All flathead start out small and vulnerable. Flathead have no bone in the pectoral and spine fins like other catfish do. Compared to most other fish flathead are slow, so evasion is better than trying to outswim predartors. They are eaten by all predators including other flathead. Only those that are good at hiding survive to grow larger.










Predators come for fish from all directions. Overhead cover helps keep small flathead hidden from birds that snack on fish.

Throughout their entire lives they are dominated by larger or more aggressive flathead. I think that the flathead find that nothing good can happen from moving around and getting noticed. This trait continues even if they become the biggest baddest fish around. This type of survival tactics support my theory that unnatural sound, vibration, and light often frightens trophy fish.

When you flathead fish enough you will find that post spawn mature females distance themselves from all other flathead and find isolated home areas all to themselves.










Flathead catfish have not been as extensively studied as other species.
Often the experts analysis of behaviors are in conflict with each other.
Experimentation when you fish will best serve to teach you what works best where you fish. I use scientific research to attempt to adapt to flathead instincts and traits to find and catch more and bigger fish.

Remember that trophy flathead are the fittest of their population. Some studies indicate that 95% or more of flathead fry do not survive 6 weeks after hatching. Any flathead over 40 pounds may well be one in a million.
These fish deserve to be released to spawn and fight again.


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## cattin15 (May 3, 2010)

Awesome post katfish!

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## AkronCATS (Nov 5, 2008)

Yes, awesome post Katfish and for sure on the catch and release. If I want to eat catfish, I'll catch a couple of 18" channels, or even better, go to giant eagle, its way less messy.


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## jessmr (Aug 15, 2011)

Bravo, Katfish! We got a neighbor on the muskingum, he has a deep freezer FULL of flatheads, and is still out trying for more every night... He killed a 29lb. one full of eggs the other day.. His motto is to butcher any under 30lb... Does he not realize that he is preventing so many from becoming so big, and not helping the population?? Makes me sick... Anyways, where we fish, a lot of the cats seem to feed pretty close to where we find them hiding during the day, maybe 100 feet away or so.


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## Stampede (Apr 11, 2004)

There are some spots i'm pretty sure might hold some flats in them but i can't get my pontoon in .That's why i wanted to know how far one might roam to feed.As for flats i always catch and release.I usually fish for channels but am determined to get after some flats this year and have been studying up reading a lot of katfish's stuff.


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