# Need help catching some flat heads!



## ohiogrown (Jul 1, 2018)

Hello everyone! I'm new to this forum. I hope this is the right place to ask this question and if anyone has any info it would be much appreciated! I'm from coshocton ohio but my girlfriend is from st.clairsville. So about every weekend I'm down here in the ohio valley area. I love fishing the ohio river. I fish the river every weekend. I dont know anyone down here so I dont know where any decent fishing spots are. I usually find myself down off the exit in shadyside along the highway there. Also when that spot is taken I go down to Powhatan Point. Those are the only two spots I know about and I'm not complaining because I'm happy catching anything but I'm just not satisfied only catching channel cats. I want to catch some flat heads or blues.( If I'm not mistaken blues are kinda rare In this area.) I dont have a boat, I'm just bank fishing. Catch and release. I use all kinds of bait: worms,goldfish, suckers, shiners, chicken liver, shrimp,hot dogs. I just want to catch something besides channel catfish. I think one of the reasons I'm not catching flat heads is I'm not sure the water is very deep at the spots I know of. So if anyone could lead me in any direction or give some tips it would be much appreciated. I'm located in the st. Clairsville area so any spots that are near here or under a hour would be wonderful! Thanks!


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## slipsinker (May 21, 2012)

ohiogrown said:


> Hello everyone! I'm new to this forum. I hope this is the right place to ask this question and if anyone has any info it would be much appreciated! I'm from coshocton ohio but my girlfriend is from st.clairsville. So about every weekend I'm down here in the ohio valley area. I love fishing the ohio river. I fish the river every weekend. I dont know anyone down here so I dont know where any decent fishing spots are. I usually find myself down off the exit in shadyside along the highway there. Also when that spot is taken I go down to Powhatan Point. Those are the only two spots I know about and I'm not complaining because I'm happy catching anything but I'm just not satisfied only catching channel cats. I want to catch some flat heads or blues.( If I'm not mistaken blues are kinda rare In this area.) I dont have a boat, I'm just bank fishing. Catch and release. I use all kinds of bait: worms,goldfish, suckers, shiners, chicken liver, shrimp,hot dogs. I just want to catch something besides channel catfish. I think one of the reasons I'm not catching flat heads is I'm not sure the water is very deep at the spots I know of. So if anyone could lead me in any direction or give some tips it would be much appreciated. I'm located in the st. Clairsville area so any spots that are near here or under a hour would be wonderful! Thanks!


hey there ! i would put this on ohio river forum,you should get a lot of responses there too !


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## ducky152000 (Jul 20, 2005)

If you just want to catch your first Flathead go to Willscreek. There is a good population of flathead in there. The quality is not good, but I would assume about anyone that would put a night or two in at Willscreek should be able to catch their first Flathead. Use live bait or fresh cut bait around any decent size logjam or sharp bend that should have a deep hole. If you have to fish the Ohio River stick with live bait or fresh cut bait. Forget the liver and hotdog's. I never fished the Ohio but I'm sure it's about the same way. Find a deep hole, or some type of structure. Natural or even man made should have flathead on the ohio.


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## multi species angler (Feb 20, 2006)

Flatheads may spend the majority of the daytime hrs in deeper water resting up for their feeding periods, which is usually in the shallows where a lot of the baitfish that makes up most of their diet usually are. Very early hrs or night time is usually best. Find shallow feeding areas near deep water resting areas. Stick with live baitfish.


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## ohiogrown (Jul 1, 2018)

Thanks for all the great info guys! This is not my first flathead though. 10 years ago, we used to catch them a lot down in Marietta using goldfish as bait. I guess I'm just not finding a good spot to fish. I sat down at pike island dam for 5 hours Sunday and didn't catch anything. I was using goldfish and minos, live and cutbait. I kinda was down on the bank about 1000 yards . When I was leaving I saw people fishing right off the pier part. I figured with all the logs and sticks jammed up in that part that if you caught something you would get hung up for sure. But maybe that's why I didn't have any luck. I dont have very much experience fishing dams. I'm going to look today for a new spot. I been debating buying a castable depth/fish finder so I can find the deep holes.


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## multi species angler (Feb 20, 2006)

On rivers look for deep holes on outside bends.


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## BuckeyeFishinNut (Feb 8, 2005)

I have caught tons of flatheads at Pike Island. A lot of your success will depend on water conditions and what gates they have open at the dam. I have caught 20 lb flatheads 30-40 feet off the bank down there. 

In the summer, you want the gates closest to the pier open. If they have the middle gates cranked open, the fishing usually isn't that good. When the water is low, they will be attracted to the water flow. The further out the current is, the tougher it is to get them. 

Live or fresh cut bait is key. Shad, skipjack, suckers, big creek chubs, bluegills, etc. Chicken liver, shrimp, hit dogs will get you channels but not flatheads. I always used to cast net shad up there, catch small white bass on hair jigs, and occasionally get lucky and catch a couple skipjack. 

I typically fish from right below the dam to within a couple hundred yards of the dam. Thats not saying you couldn't catch them where you were but thats my comfort zone. Fishing has been tough below the dam the last couple years. No long term consistency in water level, water goes down to 13 feet for a couple days, then up to 20+ feet for a week and then back down. That makes for tough fishing.


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## sherman51 (Apr 12, 2011)

blue gill blue gill is great bait for the big cats. catch a few gills then find a log jam and use heavy line and fish close to the log jam. if you fish at night try to find a flat close to deep water. if the fishing is slow we would take a pair or scissors and cut the tail fin off gills to use for bait. the gill will try to swim away but without the fin all he does is put off a lot of vibration with the blunt tail. I cant swear this helps catch fish but its worked for us.
sherman


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## ohiogrown (Jul 1, 2018)

Thanks for all the great info guys!


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## Revan509 (Jul 13, 2021)

I've been looking at the regulations for 2021 and it says nothing about being able to use bluegills, and I've tried searching for it directly online but everything I find is from 08 or 2012 and I'm sure the regulations change since then but I can't find anything specific about it. It mentions it seems like every other fish known to man except for bluegill. Has it changed or is it still legal to use?


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## Southernsaug (May 23, 2019)

You can use blue gills for bait. Actually any fish caught legally can be used for bait, but you can't sell sport fish. In other words, if you catch it with a pole and line you can use it as bait. You can't net seine or snag sportfish. 

I have found flatheads to be most active the last hour of darkness just before dawn and the first hr of light. Way back when I trot lined a lot I'd run lines at midnight and rebait. Rarely did I catch any flatheads before midnight.


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## slimdaddy45 (Aug 27, 2007)

I like to use bullheads for bait big bluegills ,suckers chubs never had much luck with goldfish , creek mouths are good places to try tied up barges is another or find some brush piles all good places to fish close to dams or any structure


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