# Lake Flatheads



## Jackfish (Apr 15, 2004)

Lake flatheads....

I'm clueless. Read this great post where some guys caught 15 of them last weekend - I went out and fished Buckeye Lake (heard it was a good flathead lake) & you will see attached the flats that I caught - oh wait, I didn't catch any flats. 1st night bank fished with the family - not a single bite. 2nd night my brother showed up with his boat & we fished what I thought should be good water - feeder creeks, shallow island flats off deeper water, weed bed points, points, etc. & caught NOTHING. Fishing was so bad we where heading back in about 2am when we saw alot of shad jumping around so as last ditch effort we stopped & threw out our lines (yup right in the middle of the lake, felt kind of dumb, no structure anywhere close). Ended up getting about a dozen channels in this spot - apparently following the shad school. No flats.

I never landed a monster but have caught a number of nice ones out of the GMR, but don't know where to start when it comes to lakes. Will probably try Salt Fork this weekend. Does anyone have any pointers?

- should we look for shad schools?
- if fishing shad, use a whole one or cut bait?
- should I try to fish rock, mud, or sand?
- stay with the shallows or fish the deeper water?
- fish right on the shoreline or no?
- how long should I give a spot before I try a new one?
- bottom or bobber?
- are feeder creeks worthwhile if there isn't much current coming out of them?

Any help would be appreciated. I'm a C&R guy, so I will not misuse any information.

On a side note, these flatheads are really annoying. I will fish like crazy & not catch much, then about the point where I decide I will cut down on fishing and do something productive (take the wife out, fix the house, study, etc....) I end up catching a decent one & then find myself having to fish more. Never ending cycle, I'm trapped.


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## catking (Apr 5, 2004)

Whole diffrent animal than a river flathead. katfish is probably the lake guru of this site, but I can help  .Fish mud,10-12 feet of water, cover(christmas trees, logs, etc)LARGE live baits,fish the bottom, stay put the whole night. Don't move around . Lake Flats make their rounds and sometimes it takes the whole night to get to where your bait is. Sometimes not at all. I've fished places for a few nights without a bite, then the third night, jackpot. SAME place , same bait. If you jump from spot to spot in a lake , you just might have missed the 50 pounder  ....The two biggest points.....LARGE LIVELY BAITS & BOTTOM FISH  Stay away from the deep water in a lake , flatheads aren't called mud cats for nothin. They love warm water, and mud bottoms.........I hope this somewhat helps. Goldfish & Green sunfish are the best live baits in my opinion. No cut baits for lake flats  .......... CATKING


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## catking (Apr 5, 2004)

While Buckeye does have some flatheads in it, it is not the lake of choice for flathead fishing. Tappan is very good, WillsCreek, really any of the Muskingum watershed lakes are good. Grand Lake ST. Marys has it's share also...............CATKING


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## Jackfish (Apr 15, 2004)

Thanks for the input King -


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## Stampede (Apr 11, 2004)

In the past when bank fishing.i'd cast out like everyone did.Now days when fishing from my boat i cast up close to the bank.I fish eastfork lake mostly.I'm catching more fish in anywhere from 2ft. to 8-9ft. of water.I'll put one pole right up to the shore and the other out a little farther.If i'm up in a cove the points from the runoffs is where i'll sit or around any good looking point that's shallow going out into the lake.What they say about cats roaming the flats seems to hold.Live bait is great but i've had good luck with chicken livers and a wad of good ol crawlers.Hope this helps.


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## Jackfish (Apr 15, 2004)

well I caught my 1st lake flat this past weeked, a 14.25! My brother also managed a 12lb channel. We fished Tappan lake, seems like a nice lake. I also meet "Corey" at cripple creek baitshop. This is the 1st bait shop I have ever seen that was a "catfish" baitshop - pretty cool. Corey - thanks for the pointers & the great bait. If I make my way back up there I'll stop again, I was impressed!


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