Thanks for bringing up this old post.

The jug lines I'm using are weighted, I'm fishing specific places that would lead from deep brush piles to shallow water for night time feeding.

I'm picking locations based on side imaging. I have crappie fished the same lake for 12 years and felt at times that a flathead would either eat or make the crappie leave a brushpile that I had built & that had been a good producer. Then one day you would go to the brushpile & catch 2 or 3 crappie, even thou the weather was stable, and the lake was unchanged. The crappie would avoid it for a month but would eventually return.

As you can see, experience or consistant research pays off. Long term use of a specific area on a lake or river is a big super Plus. If not doing it yet, be sure & keep a log of conditions & catches- anything that helps or will help in review. Main thing is to jot & preserve these notes, either on 3x5 cards, then as soon as getting back, transfer data into a notebook. Or if you can keep notebook protected & dry, you can take it & jot it down after each run or catch (not leaving out specific details). And nowadays, it does not hurt to type info over onto your computer so you will have a second copy (and perhaps a more legible one) to preserve this precious data. Not many people understand how the mind & brain operate, but to write it down, creates a mental image that is stored in the subconscious. Even if you never reread your data, it is still locked in the subconscious.

I did a search in my email program, as U-6 (my 2006 Dell Tower) has data & pics going back to June 2006. I found a link, but when I pulled it up, it was this thread & noting April 2011. Opus noted that someone had previously posted it prior to this thread. I got on TFF in May 2009, so my guess it was from 5-2009 to April 2011 as to the window we are looking for. I forget exactly if the pic was a graph chart or illustration. Opus noted it was a scan pic (SI). It is possible that the TFF search engine might be able to sift it out of the archives. If I find spare time, I will try to find it. I glanced thru some possible saved pics in U-6 but did not find it (a copy).

good info lynn
thanks for sharing

Not a problem. Still hoping to dig back to find the scan or pic that was shared earlier than this thread.

Timely info thread, thank you Lynn for bringing up this thread and sharing your knowledge on the forum. Teach on sir, yours is one of the most informed threads in a while...

On a side note, are you gonna post 2016 calendar, soon? The reason I am curious about your calendar being the change in lake Tawakoni which I fish almost exclusively. Since the big flood Twok always has currents and I don't have much lucks from the bank. I am thinking about either getting a kayak or an aluminum boat to test your river catfish theories. Heck, I think the shad and blue catfish are behaving as if lake Tawakoni is just a big river, shad are everywhere, winds don't seem to matter to them...

BankAngler50,

My apologies, as I logged on to TFF, it just dawned on me that I had not posted the January 2016 Calendar, as well as the 2016 Calendar thread. Actually it was 13ankin_It who pulled it out of archives in October, which made it easy for me to retrieve for Spiderman.

OK, be a few minutes since I am up, I'll go ahead & start the 2016 thread, along with January calendar.

I trust aluminum flat bottoms. I had a friend who had one of the old Ted Williams (Sears) fiberglass flat bottom. It was much heavier & with too much weight in front, he & two others went (dove down) just like a submarine in Lake Somerville during the floods of Spring 1979. He also had another spare motor clipped by a rinky dink chain (he lost that one). We went diving for it the following week, but no luck finding it.

I don't think I could trust a kayak after seeing two on the Guadalupe ridings some stairway rapids flip. After that, the bottoms were top side & their paddles kept going. Somehow, they finally flipped back over Or got out. I'll never forget that. I like the stability of a flat bottom. My sister's V-style vinyl 12' Porta-Bote is great, holds a lot of weight, and with a 3.5 HP Johnson with only one person will run fairly fast (unless loaded down with gear & weights. But the bottom being flexible can be your worst nightmare. I know because I made a stupid error on Turkey Day 2011. I knew better, but obviously was not paying attention. I had just dropped two sets of juglines (4 or 5 set out in a row) in the center of the Running Branch fork. I set the ones just outside the fork, then the set just inside the fork. Normally ranges 24' to 28', lake was 10' low after the summer2011 drought & heat, so 14' & 18'. I stood up straight & rigid (not flexing) facing sideways. Big Mistake! The gear buckets shifted (including two with weights) due to the flexible bottom & slid causing the boat to rock or tilt hard & fast. I could not flex to adjust & finally fell backwards over the side with legs hanging inside. Always, but always remain flexible & aware, and facing forward or backwards, never sideways. The problem with only one person in a Porta-Bote, it is too flexible or awkward to be able to get back in it out on the water. With two people you can do it, but one alone just can't get back in.

I almost forgot. And even though a flat bottom is extremely stable, you do have to stay alert & always ready for a really big fish. I had my Dad's old 1963 Sears Elgin 12' aluminum flat bottom (very deep & sturdy compared to ones nowadays), rated for a 7.5 HP (not just a 5 HP). I had set up some special braces (on the boat (for the stress of the power to weight ratio) & was running a 1982 15 HP Sea King by Chrysler (short, stocky & only 48 pounds). I could run 20 to 25 MPH, and barely have any wake as the boat was only touching water at the back seat. On take off, she would raise up, then plane out & Zoom. And I could do a few stunts too, such as actually run the boat sideways going up or down the river (without flipping it). Once on the Brazos, my brother-in-law wanted to run it. I warned about the power to weight ratio, but his curiosity took over & he did a qwik turn. Luckily, he corrected & backed off the throttle, but we still got wet butts from water that swept in on the side in his turn maneuver. He slowed down & killed it. And said, OK, I'll let you take back over, as I don't want to swim back down to the bridge.

Anyways, I & Jimmy (my first father-in-law) were running lines on the Trinity below TX 21 (about 25 bends down which is about a good 20 to 30 minutes down river at 18 to 25 MPH) in August 1983 which was my first test year for the Catfish Calendar on the Trinity. We came up to a big stump about 8 or 10' from the bank, maybe about 15 to 18' deep. I had a 5 hook throwline. Jimmy was in the middle or front seat & grabbed the line & held it up enough so I could grab it on my left side. It was very foggy that morning. Visibility was bad. I grabbed the line & did not feel any tugs, so I was sitting in the middle & was working along the line very fast. Mistake! Regardless, you should always the unexpected. Then it happened, I woke her up. Sh was off & with me hanging on the line. I slid from the center to the edge & then down. I was caught by surprise. But luckily, I realized I did not need to ride it out. I let go, as my left arm was almost to its shoulder. Had I not let go when I did, I would have been in the water in the next second or two. And thus began the story of Big'Un, a 60+ pound Op. I finally caught her in July 1985. Several times I had her on the line, only to get off just before getting to her. I had guessed it was a big Yellow & used the calendar to target her on the YC days. And finally succeeded. And sure enough, I was correct.

Basically, I do not think I would have stayed out of the water in the first encounter, had I been in a kayak, canoe, a V-hull, semi-V, or even a fiberglass flat bottom. Perhaps not even one of the flimsy 12 foot flat bottoms. But the sturdy 12 foot I was in or a 14' aluminum flat bottom is a very stable boat with even a big cat trying to9 take you for a ride. A 40+ Op has amazing strength & knows how to dive & does it by lightning speed.

I have heard about the trails in lakes, they say they are like beaten cattle trails. When Buchanan went down we found some coming out of a rock bluff that had a big hole. Be careful if you set lines or run jugs out of your kayak. We use them to run trot lines and throw lines in the llano river for yellow cat but it's a lot different on a lake especially in winter. I've seen my buddy flip his yak setting out trot line weights, he let go and flipped him the other way. Be careful and good luck!

Best flathead trail is one that ends at a low water dam.

Thank you so much Lynn for sharing your experiences and insights. Also, thank you lambcotx for advice/warning on kayaking. Y'all are a good examples and the reason why I keep coming back to this forum. After reading your posts, aluminum boat is most likely route I'll take. Thanks again gentlemen.

I sure wish I could find another 12' like my Dad's 1963 Elgin he bought new at Sears. It had a deeper hull than most found today. Plus the 12 foot is easier to maneuver in amongst the stumps. However, out on the main lake I prefer my cousin's MonArk wide 14' flat bottom. Even though nice & sturdy, it is too low. So I built a raised portion up front & on the sides, to be able to handle an extra 6" or so on the sides, but about 6" to 8" or more on the front. But still when the wionds get about 10 to 15 MPH, I have to squat up (crouched so I can spring up when the water rolls in) instead of being directly on the seat to keep from getting my butt wet as waves roll over into the boat running trotlines on Limestone. We even put up an extra corral board section to the right so my Uncle would not get sprayed in at, plus that is where we set up all the electrical switches. But I set it up to detach if not needed. We have lights up overhead for running & lines, two bilge pumps, one bilge pump for 55 gallon fish tub, etc. I have a PVC roof frame (with 1/2" rebar inside to brace the 6 uprights & the two main length rails) on my cousin's 14'.

I bought my daughter & son-in-law a 10' flat bottom (not a deep or sturdy one). They took it to the Navasota River 2nd bridge here on TX 21. Kristina was used to the sturdy & stable 12' Elgin. So before they got to paddle out from the bank, they rolled it sideways, and fell out. That would have never happened in the 12' Elgin.