Finding flathead catfish

The pre-spawn is on for flathead catfish and these two locations are red hot this month.

Flathead catfishermen are a different breed. 

In this part of the world, some folks call them yellow cats while others may refer to them as mud cats.  Whatever you call them, the fight of a big flathead is hard to beat and that fight is at the core of why many anglers drop what they’re doing once the month of May rolls in to try their hand at landing a monster flathead. 

Unlike blue catfish, that are notorious for clamming up and being hard to catch once the spawning season arrives, flathead catfish become very territorial in May and will lay stake to a particular area and guard it from all invaders.

At the same time, nature instills in these fish that it’s time to eat now because the call of procreation duty may not allow much time later.

In a well-timed annual ritual, when bream and gizzard shad are also in the shallow spawning or coming off their spawn, flathead catfish become increasingly active and are especially fond of fresh cut or lively whole baits.

Flathead exist in many reservoirs and small lakes across the state of Mississippi, but seem to attain bigger sizes when they live and feed in areas with moving water. It’s for this reason that two of the best flathead catfishing locations in the region having moving water available at all times while associated with larger bodies of water. Two of the best are the Tennessee River behind Pickwick and Wilson dams and sections or locks of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway.

Columbus Lake 

Joey Pounders of Columbus has made a national name for himself in catfishing circles both for the Mississippi Catfish Hunters Tournament Trail he founded and his skill at catching flathead catfish.

Pounders fishes all over the Mid-West, but when May rolls around he’s most likely to be found fishing in his own backyard on Columbus Lake in Northeastern Mississippi.

“Columbus Lake is a great lake to fish,” said Pounders. “If the spring current don’t have the lake blown out, you can get some live bait and you can target flatheads. Some of the best flatheads on the whole Tenn-Tom River system come out of this lake. It’s just getting out there and getting in some of the best holes in the best situations.

“Flatheads are known to be solitary creatures that lurk in the shadows by day and feed on live prey by night,” he said. “That’s why live bait and sometimes fresh cut bait is the best way to fish for them.”

Pounders said flatheads can be found in both lakes and rivers, but the one thing they have in common in both places is they don’t like as much current as blue catfish do.

“Flatheads prefer to stay in places that don’t get much current and they like to lay around in some kind of structure,” he said. “I like to find a spot that’s about 20 to 25-feet-deep and then surround the boat with a lot of live bait.”

Pounders’ typical set up is six heavy action catfish poles fan cast in different directions. His preferences for catfish-holding structure includes wood, rock, and concrete but anything that provides a current break and a buffet of live bait will suffice.

“What I like to do is find a seam behind a big piece of structure, not necessarily trees, but big rocks that create a good current break,” he said. “Flatheads love to lay behind rocks or any current break. You also don’t always have to use live bait, you can take one of the catfish’s preferred baits, a skipjack herring, and get a good piece of filet and hook it so it’ll spin in the current. That puts off a good vibration and puts off a lot of scent, too.”

One of the most recognizable current breaks known to house flatheads are manmade structures, like dams and bridge pilings. Pounders heads to the upper reaches behind an impounded reservoir to fish these because it’s current that draws these fish to the structure.

“Fish anywhere from right up to the main dam and behind any bridges you might find downstream from the dam,” said Pounders. “Behind any large pillars out in the water and around the rocks at the dam are the best spots to find flatheads. They can sit out of the current and let the water bring food to them.” 

The pro also advises that in larger reservoirs flathead catfish like to follow a secondary river channel where it flows through a good stump-studded flat. Anywhere along the run he can catch flathead catfish that are running the edge of the walls looking for live baits.

Another prime flathead catfish spot is a blow down tree where rising and falling water has washed a lot of trees off the bank. Pounders pointed out that most of the blow down trees will be covered by water so he uses his graph to locate the best spots to anchor and fish. 

“You need to approach quietly so you don’t spook the fish, then quietly anchor off the bank and throw your baits up there next to those tree stumps and root balls that are going to be exposed at the undercut bank,” he said. “You also want to drop a couple of lines straight down because, more than likely, the boat will be positioned right on top of good structure too.”

Tennessee River

Mississippi-based B’n’M Poles catfish pro-staffer Ty Konkle operates FV Catfish guide service. Konkle’s home waters are along the Tennessee/Mississippi/Alabama border. He said flatheads in the waters of the Tennessee River are getting shallow this time of year preparing for the spawn.

“Flathead fishing is almost at it’s peak right now. It’s prime time right before the spawn and we’ve really been catching some good ones,” said Konkle. “The first of May in this area these fish will be in 15 – 20 feet of water moving shallow to get ready for the spawn. Once they start spawning, they’ll be in really shallow water, like 4 or 5 feet deep.”

While most catfish tend to get lumped into the category of bottom dwellers, Konkle said the flathead is not only a bottom dweller, but a highly structure-oriented fish as well. During the pre-spawn, flatheads tend to roam a little more because they are feeding up, but during and after the spawn, they’re going to hug tight to cover.

“Blue catfish will roam and even suspend up in the water and so will channel catfish, but it’s very important to find structure and fish tight to it if you’re after flatheads,” he said.

Konkle rigs a B’n’M heavy duty one piece bait casting rod with a standard Carolina rig when he’s fishing before and during the spawn. He pairs the rod with a Team Catfish Gold Baitcast reel spooled with 30-pound monofilament line. 

The rig uses a 4/0 – 6/0 no roll sinker and an 8/0 circle hook on either end of a 3 foot length of 60-pound leader. The heavy weight is needed to keep the bait in place in current. He’ll spread six of these out, fan-casting around the boat so he’s covering multiple depths.

“Technically, I am fishing in the reservoirs, but I’m in the upper ends where there’s good current coming out of which ever lake I’m fishing,” he said. 

Konkle’s bait of choice for pre and spawn flathead catfishing is a toss-up between cut skipjack herring and cut white bass. While flatheads have a well-known reputation for eating whole live baits later in the year, he said cut bait is the best choice now.

“I’m looking for sections of water that have deeper water in the area of secondary structure — blow downs and laydowns and stumps,” said Konkle. “When spawning season arrives, then I’m looking for steep muddy banks with structure I can see. That’s where they’ll back in there and hollow out a nest.”

After the spawn, Konkle will vary his fishing methods for flatheads between suspend drifting, using the same rods and the same set-up he uses for anchored out fishing. Instead of anchoring, he’ll let the boat go with the flow and keep his baits about a turn or two off the bottom.

The guide said suspend drifting works best in areas that have sections of isolated cover. In heavier cover he will bump for flatheads.

“Bumping for flatheads is very similar to the bumping or back bouncing techniques the blue catfish guys use,” he said. “I use the B’n’M Bumping rods and a three-way rig which give me a lot better feel for the bottom because I’m going to be bumping in really heavy cover and need to stay in contact with the bait and the bottom.”