# flathead timing?



## ufaquaoiler (Jan 14, 2010)

i have no problem catching channel cats all summer, but when is the best time to go after my first big flathead? i will be fishing the maumee river at the grand rapids dam with creek chubs, bluegill, or suckers, which ever i can net. any thoughts on when i should put my most effort in?


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## pendog66 (Mar 23, 2005)

ufaquaoiler said:


> i have no problem catching channel cats all summer, but when is the best time to go after my first big flathead? i will be fishing the maumee river at the grand rapids dam with creek chubs, bluegill, or suckers, which ever i can net. a*ny thoughts on when i should put my most effort in?*



Whenever you can, its all about experience. Get out there and try a bit of everything, certain things work in one spot that wont in another.


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## ducky152000 (Jul 20, 2005)

just remember it is illeagal to net bluegills so watch out. If i could only fish one week for flatheads a year i would fish the last week of may. Every year that is the week that we usualy catch the most and biggest flatheads of the year, The males are realy putting the feed bag on and swimming around alot They are at there heaviest this time of year and the females are full of eggs and very heavey as well. They are very aggresive too.That is fishing the lake the river it would be a week or two later. So if you are realy wanting a big flathead and going to take some time off work thats when i would. But like penndog said anytime is better than no time at all.


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## katfish (Apr 7, 2004)

The other guys hinted but I will confirm the fact that catching a big flathead may take a while. 

Just imagine if someone asked how and when they could kill a trophy whitetail. You just don't go out and do it you must learn about your quarry and spend time practicing harvesting it.










My pictures are time/date stamped and I kept records for 15 or more years.
I have caught flatheads on every day of the year when water temperature was over 60 degrees.

There is a spike of activity prespawn (particularly males) and another in Fall when water temps fall down below 70. Even the best flathead fishermen may fish many nights between big cats.










I hope you do well.


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## flathunter (Apr 5, 2004)

I like late may early june...But my favorite time is mid september thru mid october.


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## ufaquaoiler (Jan 14, 2010)

sounds good to me and no worries on poaching i always catch my bluegill hook and line, not net. as for "big", id be happy even with a 20-30lb fish, but of course i wouldnt complain about a 50 either  theres a little creek back home with chubs and suckers averaging 6-9" but plenty around 12 as well. what size should i start with for a 15-20lb+ fish?


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## ducky152000 (Jul 20, 2005)

Ive caught flatheads 30lbs plus with bait as small as 3 inches and as big as 1 1/2 lbs. Two nites ago i had a redhorse sucker that was a pound and i caught a 3 lb channel on it, so its hard to use too big of a bait. The channel i caught would strip about 10 feet of line every hour and i thought it was just the sucker when we packed up and reeled our pools in i was very very surprised to see a 3lb channel on. The tail was hangin out of his mouth im guessing the suckers head was almost at the butt hole of the channel because it was so long. I wouldnt believe if someone else told me but it happened to me. I wish i would of takin a pic of the sucker and a pic of the channel with it in his mouth. Too show how big it was.


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## pendog66 (Mar 23, 2005)

ducky152000 said:


> Ive caught flatheads 30lbs plus with bait as small as 3 inches and as big as 1 1/2 lbs. Two nites ago i had a redhorse sucker that was a pound and i caught a 3 lb channel on it, so its hard to use too big of a bait. The channel i caught would strip about 10 feet of line every hour and i thought it was just the sucker when we packed up and reeled our pools in i was very very surprised to see a 3lb channel on. The tail was hangin out of his mouth im guessing the suckers head was almost at the butt hole of the channel because it was so long. I wouldnt believe if someone else told me but it happened to me. I wish i would of takin a pic of the sucker and a pic of the channel with it in his mouth. Too show how big it was.


im kinda surprised about the channel but i have had that happen multiple times with smaller flatheads. Steve and i always get a good laugh out of it when it happens


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## ufaquaoiler (Jan 14, 2010)

ive had bullheads to that to shad while goin after channels! shad was at least half the bullheads length, the exact width of its mouth, and even with a circle hook it STILL swallowed the hook beyond belief! thought it was jsut the wind ringing my fishin bell but guess i was wrong.


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## pendog66 (Mar 23, 2005)

ufaquaoiler said:


> ive had bullheads to that to shad while goin after channels! shad was at least half the bullheads length, the exact width of its mouth, and even with a circle hook it STILL swallowed the hook beyond belief! thought it was jsut the wind ringing my fishin bell but guess i was wrong.


sounds to me like you have a great bait spot


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## Fisherman 3234 (Sep 8, 2008)

Fishing the Maumee for Flatheads can be challenging at times, but it's well worth the effort and you can definitely get into some big fish. The Flatheads in Maumee river are something special too as they are not native to the system (there's a couple stories as to how that happened). Be patient, put in your time and you will catch fish. There is nothing like catching a monster, taking a picture with him and letting him grow to get bigger!


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## ufaquaoiler (Jan 14, 2010)

ha actually the bullhead that swallowed my shad was at findlay reservoir where 95% of my catfish are over 18", but of course where theres big fish theres small fish. i live a bit over an hour from the grand rapids dam, but i WILL be putting in some flathead time! no need to worry i will be donig CPR. right after walleye id have to say catfish are my favorite thing to catch and i would love to come home on leave in a couple years and have the 35 pound fish id put back come back near 50! just how big do they get at that dam anyways? ive seen pictures of them in the mid 30s on the maumee tackle, but seeing as thats a bit of a drive from the dam id have to think people bring in bigger ones.


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## H2O Mellon (Apr 5, 2004)

The best advice that I can give you is just sit back and take in all the advice from the folks on this site. Obviously I think for pure trophy Flatheads Robby and Magis would take back seats to noone. There are lots of good tournament teams on this site such as Doc & Lynn , Bink & Janet, the list can go on and on. Let's also not forget my mentor, Flathunter. Jack will put a 50# Flathead on the bank every year.

I have a personal opinon about good Flathead fishermen. In my opinon a 20# Flathead in our state is a good fish. I think if any certain angler consistentely catches 20# flatheads then that's who I can always learn from. The obvious exception to this is Robby. I think a 20 # fish to Robby is a dissappointment! 

Don't be affraid to ask some of these guys for advice. I've done that and they are all eager to help. Now your not going to get people's "secret spots" but they'll almost always be willing to help. Flathead spots are hard to find, the guys that I'm closest too don't even share their spots with each other. lol 

Be patient and be willing to learn from your mistakes. I have learned more from the fish that I missed than most of the ones that I was able to land. I am fairly certain that I have missed two of the three largest flatheads that I've had hooked. Trust me.... I learned ALOT from each of those!


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## Fisherman 3234 (Sep 8, 2008)

I do believe that the 50 lb mark has been attained on the Maumee, now the 60 lb mark, that may be a different story..... Definitely plenty of forage for them to get big! Lots of adult shad running up the rivers right now (8-17 inches) along with suckers, and as of a week or two ago, white bass. I would also expect to see more and more flatheads in the Sandusky and Portage rivers being as they have already been found in both. Definitely a lot of great information and a lot of GREAT fisherman on this forum with good advice! Good luck!


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## flathunter (Apr 5, 2004)

you have been given good advise...Just spend alot of time on water that holds flatheads and you will catch one, but it might take a while.

If you are fishing a river dont forget about the daytime bite in deep holes.


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