Up North by mid-May and into June, and from April into May farther south, when water temperatures breach 60ºF, flatheads are generally settled into river reaches where they eventually spawn, although “settled” is a relative term compared to the movement activity during the Spring Coldwater Period. They’re still moving, hopscotching among spots like big snags and rockpiles, to feed and scout out spawning areas. But their metabolism is ramped up during this latter part of the Prespawn period, flatheads are feeding heavily, and the fishing is often as good as it gets.

Scouting Small Rivers

For In-Fisherman editors, a typical trip for flatheads to an unfamiliar stretch of river usually begins with a day of fishing for channel cats. The same weather and water conditions that increase flathead metabolism also improve the channel cat’s feeding mood, but being more abundant in most rivers, channel cats are more likely to feed during the day. They also bite willingly during the Prespawn Period, allowing us to cover many spots quickly as we evaluate a long stretch of river.

In most of the small rivers we’ve fished, it’s possible to explore a 10- to 15-mile stretch and catch lots of channel cats during a typical early summer day. The purpose of the excursion, however, isn’t just to catch channel cats, but rather to see and evaluate lots of water. Again, the biggest flatheads in most rivers tend to fall into the largest and deepest holes with the most cover. It’s impossible to make judgments about how good a particular hole might be if you don’t know what lies around the next bend.

Most holes occur along sweeping outside bends, where the river makes a sharp turn. The best bend-holes usually follow a long, relatively straight stretch of river with fairly uniform depth and current. These holes are scoured by the current pushing against the bank and the river bottom. Trees and other debris that fall into the water in the straight stretch also tend to collect along the outside bend, providing overhead cover and protection from current for flatheads and their prey.

Holes also occur behind riffle areas in relatively straight river stretches. Water moves through long, featureless runs at the same speed, creating a channel of fairly uniform depth; but when the current encounters a harder rocky bottom that doesn’t erode, the river becomes shallower and current increases. When the bottom again changes from rock to sand or silt, this faster water shoots over the riffle and scours out a hole. Sediments gradually settle to the bottom as current speed slows and another run begins.

Flatheads and channel cats often prefer different holes. Since most rivers support more channel cats than flatheads, competition for food usually is higher among channels. This forces channel cats into feeding stations that afford the best opportunity to grab edible items drifting in current. In some small rivers, channel cats may feed more often in riffles than in holes. Flatheads, meanwhile, usually are attracted to larger holes with more cover that provide more security and harbor more baitfish. Overhead cover from rock outcrops, downed timber, or manmade structures also seems more important to flatheads than to channel cats.

Selecting the best hole within a long river stretch still requires comparative judgments. If you’re going to spend an entire night at a spot, you can rule out smaller and shallower holes, even though they may contain good cover. But what to do when you identify two or more prime flathead holes that are several miles apart? On a bigger river, you might fish both holes during a single night, but navigating smaller streams after dark can be difficult and dangerous. Wiser to choose the best hole and set up there for the night.

If one of these holes is located in an otherwise desolate stretch of river, it might just contain many flatheads and certainly some of the biggest fish. But a prime hole located in a prime stretch of river usually attracts more flatheads. These stretches are more diverse, support a larger forage base and, in turn, hold more catfish. However, if fishing pressure in this hole is high, it’s probably best to fish the more remote hole.

Primary Presentations

Once you decide on a hole, you should set up an hour or two before dark. Flatheads prefer to feed under the cover of darkness during most of the warmwater season, but there are exceptions. When fish first begin to emerge from their wintering holes, for example, they often take smaller meals during daylight hours. And when their activity level peaks during the height of the Prespawn, they can be caught during the middle of the afternoon on pieces of cutbait intended for channel cats. The hour or two before dusk is prime again during early fall.

Most holes can be fished effectively from a boat anchored near the head of the hole, but you can fish from shore if water levels permit. We typically set up camp on the inside bend, usually the low-bank side of the river on a bend hole. The most obvious feeding stations are the head, and the leading edge of a snag at a cutbank on the opposite shore. The core or center of the hole, the shallow flat on its inside perimeter, and shoreline eddies behind the snag or other current breaks also can be productive, depending on water level.

Slackwater tends to be the home of flatheads that are in a neutral or negative feeding mood, while active cats work closer to the main current, though during high water flatheads don’t hold in the faster flows. Heavy current pushes them into eddies formed behind shoreline obstructions, where they can feed more efficiently. During low water, on the other hand, active fish more often position in the deeper water near the core of the depression.

The biggest problem associated with fast water is that it makes presentations more difficult. A rig cast across fast water at the head of a hole to an eddy on the opposite shore may anchor there for a short time, but eventually, current pushing on the line moves the rig out of the eddy into heavier flows. Fishing at closer range from a boat or from the high bank on the outside bend is necessary for a precise presentation.

Release rigs allow you to fish key spots more precisely and to fish more spots at one time. A downrigger or planer-board release clip tied to a limb extending out over the eddy is the simplest option. You can use a boat to deploy the rigs, dropping them vertically into the spot we intend to fish. The line above the rig is attached to the release clip, which holds the rig in place until a fish begins to move off with the bait. Then put the reel in freespool, moving the boat to the anchor location or to a position on the opposite shore.

The terminal rig usually is a standard slipsinker setup. Slide a 2- or 3-ounce bass-casting sinker on your mainline, followed by a bead and a barrel swivel. Tie a short length of leader material to the other rung of the swivel, then add your hook. A 12-inch leader is about right for most conditions. Longer leaders allow the bait too much movement, especially when positioned near heavy cover. A shorter leader or even none at all—letting the sinker slide right up to the bead—is a good choice near snags or in faster current. This keeps the bait on a short leash and forces it to struggle away from the weight of the sinker.

Bait & Tackle

Big, lively, wild baits are vital. Suckers raised in bait ponds don’t live as long on the hook or react as strongly when a flathead swims close, as do wild, 10- to 15-inch suckers caught by hook and line from the river you’re fishing. Big, green sunfish, creek chubs, and small carp also are effective baits. Perhaps the best baits of all are bullheads. They don’t have to be big—5- to 8-inchers are perfect. Run a 7/0 to 10/0 hook through the thinnest part of the tail muscle, leaving the hook point exposed, to ensure good penetration on the hook-set.

Simple, sturdy hook designs like the Mustad 92671 and Eagle Claw 84 are good options. Sharpen hook points with a file and reduce the barb slightly for easier penetration. Premium hooks with smaller barbs and needle-sharp points are more expensive, but usually worth it. The Owner SSW, Daiichi Heavy Duty Bait Hook, and Gamakatsu Octopus are fine flathead hooks. The VMC 7299 is another good hook—less expensive than other premiums but sharper than standard hooks.

Once baits have been set, place rods in holders on the boat or in ground spikes on the shore, with the freespool on and clicker engaged. Most heavy-power rods with medium to medium-fast action work for flatheads. We’ve caught lots of big fish on muskie rods, saltwater boat rods, and heavier, general-purpose rods like those in the Shakespeare Ugly Stik line. Shakespeare’s Ugly Stik Custom USCC 2270 M is a favorite for flatheads around heavy cover. Their Tiger series rods are another good option. Also check out rods available in St. Croix’s Premier Musky line, Quantum’s Big Cat, and Cabela’s King Kat Pro selections.

Couple these rods with a tough, dependable baitcasting reel with a smooth drag and large line capacity. We’ve used Shakespeare Tidewater reels for years, and now they offer their Arsenal Series. The Arsenal has all the features needed for small-river flathead duty—a powerful gear ratio, a clicker loud enough to wake you up from a light snooze, and a multi-disc drag system. The AR20AL reel is rated for 330 yards of 20-pound mono, but handles all the 50-pound line you need. Penn’s International 975, Abu Garcia’s 6500C3 and 7000C3, and Quantum’s Iron IR430 are other top choices.

Use a good abrasion-resistant mono in 40- to 50-pound test. Berkley Big Game, Stren High Impact, and other premium lines have proven to be tough. Twenty-pound test works for smaller fish and might land you a big one, but chances are when a big one hits you’ll wish you had heavier line.

Hooking, Landing & Releasing

If the hole you’re fishing hasn’t been fished by other anglers recently, the action may start an hour or so before dark, when the sun drops just below the tops of the trees and the light is perfect for a photo. Fish may continue to bite for a few hours after dark, with a lull sometime during the night. Two options here—trailer the boat and check into a motel for a decent night’s sleep, or stick it out and wait for the action to resume a few hours before dawn. We usually wait. Sleep is a fair price to pay for a big flathead.

When a fish takes, wait just long enough to know it has the bait, has turned, and is moving away from you. Don’t wait for it to swallow the bait—it may move into a snag after taking the bait or may be hooked too deeply to release. As it moves away, set hard, rod tip high, and hold on. Don’t give any line unless you have to. Keep the fish’s head pointed toward you and away from the snag. Fights with flatheads on heavy tackle usually don’t last long but are memorable for their intensity.

You can certainly catch a 20-pounder from a small river this summer. And once you break 20, catching a 30 won’t be too difficult. Get a bait in the right place at night and you’ll catch them, maybe even most of the fish in the hole. A few 20s, a 30, and maybe even a 40 from one hole during one night is a dream come true for many anglers. But we can’t in good conscience keep all those fish.

A 20-pound flathead in some small rivers may be 20 years old, and it might take even longer for the river to replace that fish. Flatheads are especially vulnerable during the Prespawn Period when big fish are so focused on eating that they can’t help taking a well-presented bait. Capture the moment with a photograph and slide the fish back into the water. Return next season, when the same fish is a little wiser and definitely bigger.