The Hole Truth About Flatheads In Rivers Right Now

TERRY HANSEN'S METHOD

Terry Hansen, owner of Apex Tackle in South Sioux City, Nebraska, has for years been making spectacular catches of big flatheads during the coldest times of the year. He fishes the lower ends of major Missouri River tributaries. Runs on these rivers average 4 to 8 feet deep, and most sharp bend holes are about 20 feet deep. Most of these holes are 100 to 200 feet long and drop and rise gradually at the head and tailout sections. Most also contain little wood or rock cover.

Hansen says most of the bend holes he fishes hold at least a few flatheads, but he prefers to pinpoint their location with a flasher. "You can pass right over the tops of these fish without seeing them on a liquid crystal graph," Hansen says, "but a properly tuned flasher will separate fish from the bottom. After spotting a fish, I use my electric motor to hover over the fish, holding my bait right in front of its nose until it decides to eat."

We've long recommended flashers for precision tasks like reading through dense vegetation or vertically jigging through the ice. Before you trade in your LCG for a flasher, though, realize that spotting fish holding tight to the bottom isn't always easy. "I know how to tune and interpret my flasher through years of experience," Hansen adds. "Most importantly, though, I know what I'm looking for. That flickering bottom signal may look like a stump to the untrained eye, but I usually can pick out the fish."

Like Lehto, Hansen also has found that large numbers of flatheads tend to congregate in prime wintering holes. "If I catch a fish or even see a fish on my flasher," Hansen says, "I'm confident that at least 10 or 15 other flatheads are present in the hole. Most of the fish I catch in late winter are covered with sores, scrapes, and have chunks of their dorsal fins chewed off. One fishery manager I fish with speculates that the fish are taking pieces out of each other, due either from hunger or territorial battles in tight quarters."

Hansen also finds walleyes, sauger, and saugeyes sharing real estate with flatheads. During the first six weeks of 1999, he caught more than 1,500 saugeyes in the 2- to 5-pound range and dozens of flatheads to 50 pounds. With the balance of his catch so clearly on the walleye side of the ledger, he continues to use walleye tackle and tactics throughout winter. "I use medium-power spinning gear spooled with 4- or 6-pound line," Hansen says. "My bait is a 1/8- or 1/4-ounce Apex Crystal Ball Jig tipped with a 4- to 6-inch shiner.

"Most hardcore flathead fishermen can't believe I'm able to land big fish on such light line," Hansen adds, "and I admit that I probably couldn't do it in warm water. In the winter, though, the current is almost imperceptible, and the cold water really saps the strength of a big flathead. I'd guess that Lehto's estimate of one minute per three pounds is about right for me too, but I use much lighter line.

"These fish just don't fight like they do during summer," Hansen adds. "I was bringing in a fish last season when my line frayed and broke on a cracked guide. I reached over the gunnel and grabbed the terminal end of the line that was still floating on the surface and brought the fish in hand over hand. The fish weighed almost 50 pounds but felt like dead weight on the line."