Rollo's Tips
- Always remember to bring a fishing pole and bait ;)
- We catch flatheads on a variety of baits, but mostly they prefer livebaits in my opinion. However, fresh cutbaits are very effective also in certain situations throughout the year, and esp. during seasons such as spring and fall !
- Most of our big flatheads are caught along the banks at night, often in fairly shallow water.
- My favorite baits are greensunfish, bullheads, creekchubs, big gills, bass, goldfish, carp. etc. LOL. We like to have a variety of baits on each trip, and if its good and lively... The better!
- You dont have to spend a bunch of money to catch big flatheads! You do however have to spend alot of time to catch big flatheads! Can't Catch Em From The Couch!!!!
- Early Spring High water often gets fish moving. First places I target for channels and flatheads are feeder creeks, that often warm alittle quicker than the main river. Also, up in the shallow flooded areas that the daytime sun quickly warms, such as flooded banks, and sandbars. These spots can be dynamite in the afternoon! Fish move up seeking the warmest water, and often it brings insects and worms out of the ground, putting fish on a feeding frenzy after a long cold winter!
- Keep It Natural! You need to blend with the area your fishing for flatheads.They didnt get Big by being dumb! Get in, setup, And be as quiet as possible! If ya get a run, be cautious! Running down the bank to a pole, can often end in bad results!
- Structure is key ! Whether its wood, rock, or another obstruction, find structure.... Find fish!
- Flatheads start moving out of their wintering holes in early spring, often when the first spring rains bring a rise in water levels and temp. change after long cold months. However, my favorite water temps to target early season flatheads are between 65 deg. and 75 degrees !
- Inside river bends can be dynamite during spring highwater. They offer slower current for fish to stage up not only to rest, but ambush! It might be a small eddy, but these are good areas to target, and will often produce numbers of fish!
- Big Fish can feed and will feed day and night! Don't limit yourself to one or the other!
- We prefer monofilament over braided lines when fishing heaving structure such as rock or large woodpiles, or other structure ridden areas for flatheads on the rivers. Mono is more abrasion resistant for these situations. When fighting big fish in or around heavy structure mono. gives you that extra stretch often needed when your line is pulling against this type of rugged structure! Braid casts great! And, thats all we use when lake fishing in most situations. Whether it be running our baits out with the boat many yards, or casting them.. You can set the hook at longer distances and have much more open water to fight fish. However, if I use braid on the river, I always use a leader when fishing heavy structure for big fish with 12-18 inch. of mono to the hook as a shock absorber just in case!
- During early spring and fall, I like to downsize baits, and mainly use smaller slender baits such as creek chubs, suckers, and small bass on the rivers.
