# Crazy night at Salt Fork



## ztmdodge

Well for two years I've been trying to catch a flathead over 40lbs. Last night I anchored up in a bay at salt fork. I felt pretty confident in the spot and before 9pm I hooked a huge flathead. As soon as I set the hook it ran towards me and i made up all the slack and was able to fight it for about a minute and then it ended up coming unhooked..... All the gear held it just came unhooked.I was devastated,I knew it was a trophy fish and after 2 years and thousands of dollars, and thousands of miles, and thousands of hours fishing I finally had my first chance and I blew it. I was sick. So I rigged up a new goldfish and re cast the line and not 15 minutes later I landed a 10lb channel cat. The goldfish was still alive so I cast it back out again and at 5am that same rod had a click then a long pause then a click and a long pause and it kept going. It sounded like when your boat drifts in the wind not the normal steady flathead run. But I looked and the other rod on that side wasnt clicking like it wouldve if the boat was drifting so I turned the clicker off and engaged the reel and just held it for 15-20 seconds. The line slowly tightened up and the rod tip went down and I tomahawked a hookset on it and again the fish made a bee line straight towards my boat. This one though after a long and strenuous battle I was able to get it netted. It felt smaller than the first one and I turn all the lights off when I hook a fish or else you cant see it in the darkness outside of the boat so when I shined a flashlight in the net that was still in the water I couldn't believe how big the fish was! After struggling to get it up in the boat I got it weighed and measured and the fish was 44" and 47lbs. I was so pumped not only at the size of the fish but the fact I got the opportunity at 2 monster flathead in one night. And after I cut the rubber band off and tossed the goldfish in the lake it swam away! After catching a 10lb channel and a 47lb flathead!! But the craziness wasnt over yet. Around 7am I had another rod start clicking and hooked something that felt like a 20 or 30lb flat. When I scooped it up in the net I was surprised to see it was a massive snapping turtle,about 2ft across. So I got it unhooked then wanted to take a pic but my phone was dead so I got my charger out and was plugging it into one of my outlets but as I did it got out of the net and climbed down into the bilge of my boat and I have a battery box with an on board charger on the one side of the bilge and it got back behind there. So at that point I had no idea what to do I didn't want to crawl back under the seat then under the motor well to try pull the turtle out. So after some prodding with an oar i got it to turn around and grab ahold of the oar to where I could crawl back in ther and grab it by the tail and then pull it out and toss it back in the lake. Definitely the most exciting night I've had flathead fishing so far.


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## wallen34

Congrats! that's a nice looking flathead. Those goldfish can last a long time.


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## ztmdodge

wallen34 said:


> Congrats! that's a nice looking flathead. Those goldfish can last a long time.


Yeah goldfish really are the most amazing bait. Multiple times I've used the same goldfish for two 14 hour nights in a row before and it was still flailing all over still when I unhooked it then tossed it in the lake. Those things are tough as nails!!


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## wallen34

ztmdodge said:


> Yeah goldfish really are the most amazing bait. Multiple times I've used the same goldfish for two 14 hour nights in a row before and it was still flailing all over still when I unhooked it then tossed it in the lake. Those things are tough as nails!!



How big was the one that got you that flathead?


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## ztmdodge

wallen34 said:


> How big was the one that got you that flathead?


It really wasn't a super huge goldfish. Only about 5"


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## ztmdodge

Plus I trim like half the tail fin off them, if not they'll tangle up your line something awful...


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## ztmdodge

I also need to say thank you to a couple of the veteran flathead guys that gave me a lot of really awesome advice and knowledge it took them years to learn and it helped me locate a fish like this. Thanks again for all the help along the way. It made all the difference in the world.


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## wallen34

ztmdodge said:


> It really wasn't a super huge goldfish. Only about 5"



Yea that's about the size I end up with too. They make great cut bait too of they do end up dying.


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## ztmdodge

wallen34 said:


> Yea that's about the size I end up with too. They make great cut bait too of they do end up dying.


I buy my goldfish from the bait shop in midvale now the people that run it are a really nice family. In the past I've bought some huge goldfish from salt fork but the problem is the run with your clicker all night.


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## wallen34

ztmdodge said:


> I buy my goldfish from the bait shop in midvale now the people that run it are a really nice family. In the past I've bought some huge goldfish from salt fork but the problem is the run with your clicker all night.



I fish near Columbus primarily and have a couple buddies that work at a bait shop around here so that's where we get them from. I too have bought some big ones in the past, I prefer then more of the 6-8 range though. Never clipped their tails maybe I'll give it a shot.


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## ztmdodge

wallen34 said:


> I fish near Columbus primarily and have a couple buddies that work at a bait shop around here so that's where we get them from. I too have bought some big ones in the past, I prefer then more of the 6-8 range though. Never clipped their tails maybe I'll give it a shot.


Yeah i think that it helps them from getting your lines getting all tangled up. Plus they seem to have a little more action that way I can watch and see my rod tips bouncing from the goldfish trying to pull. I shine a light through the tail fin and you can see where the veins end so that way you don't cut through them. If you cut them too short they bleed like crazy.


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## ducky152000

You have earned that fish Zach, I'm happy to see real dedication in New flathead fishermen. Great job!


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## ztmdodge

Thanks Brock I appreciate it. You're right you can have all the best fishing spots but if you don't put in the time and effort it's much harder to get the big ones. For me it was just a matter of time to find the right spots to focus all my effort on. And I may have found one! Got a 35# tonight!


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## M.Magis

Great job. It takes a lot of dedication, that few people have, to consistently catch trophy flatheads in Ohio. You're over the hump now. Something about that first one is the hardest. Congrats.


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## Fisherman 3234

M.Magis said:


> Great job. It takes a lot of dedication, that few people have, to consistently catch trophy flatheads in Ohio. You're over the hump now. Something about that first one is the hardest. Congrats.


Magis is 100% Correct. There is always something new you can learn about these whiskered critters on every outing, that's what keeps fishing for them interesting.


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## ztmdodge

I totally agree. You have to just keep putting in the effort and always keep striving to learn more. Everyday I just try to learn a little bit more than the day before and keep doing better fishing every month than I did before. It's hard. It was very frustrating for a long long time to put in so much effort and get no results. I just had that desire to learn as much as I could and one day become accomplished in this sport. And when I landed that 47lb fish it made every one of those horrible defeating drives home worth it. I am no where near being proficient as a flathead fisherman yet but I work really hard to do the best I can.


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## katfish

Those are some nice flathead. Exceptional for Salt Fork!


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## catfishcc

Nice fish for sure. I'm glad there is still fish in that lake from the juggers and limb liners taking all they catch. 


Sent from my iPhone using Ohub Campfire


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## ztmdodge

Thanks guys. And I heard that salt fork has mostly smaller flatheads. I got lucky the first 3 I have hooked there have all been good sized fish.


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## tmitchell91

Are we talking about goldfish like you buy at the petsore or something diffrent? I ask cause the bait shops around here i have never seen goldfish for bait so im curious where to get them.


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## ztmdodge

Yeah I mean they're pretty much the same as pet store goldfish just bigger than what most pet stores have. Plus bait shops sell them cheaper. Like at petsmart the closest they have is their big "fancy goldfish" as they're called there but there 30 or 40 bucks a piece. I buy mine for 18.50 a dozen. They're just so tough it's worth spending the money to know your bait is alive all night


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