Flathead Catfish

Flathead catfish is a native fish grouping in the United States. Even though they initially came from the Mississippi River and also the major rivers that drain off of it, flatheads ended up being moved and may now be present in waters across the nation on account of their popularity as being a game fish & food. Flatheads may be present in slow-moving water including big rivers and streams, and also in lakes and ponds. They favor to reside in deep water with objects like fallen brush that supply favourable hiding sites.

Flathead catfish are named for their extended, uniquely flattened heads. Their eyes are flat and oval in appearance, and their lower jaw extends past their upper jaw. They come in colors of dull browns and yellows. Forty to fifty pound flatheads are sometimes caught in rivers and lakes. Flathead cats who are over 100 pounds have been noted.

Soon after hatching, flathead catfish develop fast. They can be mature once they are about 15 to nineteen inches long, and might live for about 25 years. These catfish develop continually in the course of their life time. Flatheads will eat just about every thing they can get in their large mouths, but they prefer other fish. Bream are one among their favored meals. These "cats" additionally enjoy to eat live perch and sunfish. Flathead catfish might annihilate the population of some kinds of sunfish, especially in smaller sized bodies of water, or water where they are not located. A lot of small rivers in Georgia have lost almost all their redbreast sunfish right after the introduction of flatheads. Flatheads usually feed visually and may feed at night and also through the day time -- despite the fact that many "cats" tend to be more active at night time. It is possible to entice flatheads with bright light. Theyll come to feed on the baitfish which can be attracted to the light.

Flathead catfish really like deep holes with cover at the outside edges of river bends. Seek out excessive log jams, tree stumps, and rocks where these "cats" like to hang out. Cast beneath the edges. Allow your bait to drift in, and then hang on. Once the outside bends are too strong to fish, locate some inside bends with much less current. In large lakes and reservoirs, search the big flatheads in spots with plenty of cover -- similiar to submerged brush piles. These catfish sometimes journey in old river and creek channels in these lakes and reservoirs. In the evening, they will also travel these channels and be located at the edge of shallows to feed. Position yourself within these spots and wait around for them to come.

Youll have increased success fishing for flathead "cats" during the early dawn, early dusk, & after dark at the summertime months. Although these unique "cats" may take bait throughout the day, they will not travel very far to do so. You might have to become familiar with the body of water youre fishing in and wherever flatheads are to be able to get the bait close enough to them. Keep your catfish bait towards the river or lake bottom. Flathead catfish feed off the bottom much of the time.