Flatheads: Rigs, Hooks, and Locations

I am very interested in catching flatheads. For fishing over steep drop offs, what are your preferred rigs? Does your prefence change when fishing over heavy cover?


Large circle or traditional type hooks? I really like Octopus hooks, but I’m starting to really like circle hooks. Also, it seems like circles would be a better choice due to reduced snags in cover...

3-way swivel with heavy bank sinker, Carolina rig, or other?


Heavy mono or braid, does it matter?


We all know that the more features the better, but how do you rank features, drop offs (holes), undercut banks, timber, creek channels, etc?



Looking forward to discussion....


Jeff

Appreciate the feedback. That’s the way I rig mine too

I'm no expert on flatheads but I us Carolina rig with a 16-20 inch leader and absolutely no braid I hate that stuff 30lb mono for me and 6/0-9/0 circle hooks as far as where to find them that still a mystery for me as well!!

80lb braid main line, 80 lb mono leader about 24 to 30 inches, no Carolina rig for me. I clip a disc weight to my leader swivel. 4 or 5oz. I use large baits, and casting a slip weight rig can be tough when your bait weighs more than your weight. Then i top it off with a 10/0 offset khale hook.

Mono guy here, 20lb mono main line, 50lb mono leader, 6-8/0 octopus circle hook. I use a 2-3oz weight when I’m fishing with sunfish or smaller 4-6” bullheads as bait, but if I’m fishing with larger bullheads or carp, I beef up the weight to 4-6oz. I usually use a three way rig.

Flathead...

65 lb Braid main line, 100 lb wire leader tipped with a 8 ought double action team catfish hook and finished out with my new custom made Prime 15 inch 6 ounce Carbon Express no get stucky no perchy wrappy Slide weight baby!!!!!














And to the Monster Flathead’s that are out there...

Thanks all.


Optimus..., what am I looking at there?

It’s just a new deepwater live-bait slide weight presentation I’m workin on and honestly I am lovin em in the shallow water too. There is a lot of different ways you can fish for these flatheads and a lot of different environments they can be caught in, so finding that one riggin that will work wherever and however you throw down for em is kinda hard to do. The one thing about flathead fishing is you usually wanna use live-bait. There is times and places cutbait can be effective, but usually you wanna have live-baits suspended and live-baits on the bottom around structure. It’s the live baits that you are fishing on the bottom around structure that present a terrible perch main-line wrapping tangling mess and the deeper you go the worse it gets. Sometimes I’ll throw out 10 rigs and only reel in three wrapped up while other times I’ve reeled in with almost all wrapped up. Whatever the reason for the wrap-ups, they will cost you fish. I have now launched this setup about 55 times with good sized live-bait and only had one that was wrapped up and it wasn’t that bad at all. It took me about 5 seconds to get out versus just cutting the whole rig off like I’ve had to do a pretty good bit in the past. They weigh about 6 ounces so they are holding the bait in an area pretty good, they cast pretty good, retrieve and stow real good and I haven’t even got one snagged in rocks yet. I don’t know. It’s different strokes for different folks but I don’t wanna lose a toad due to a wrap up. They are hard enough to catch as it is. Anyways I’m liking em and they may even prove to be worthy fishing a lot of other different ways too but only time will tell pardner. Just a rig I’m workin with. If I had my big boat up and runnin I’d be out there usin em and chasin them sonzaguns right now.