Josh7388
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big flatheads
I've never caught a big flat head And i Have always wanted too. Don't want specific spots but would like an idea of where to try for them this year, what time if year and such.
Thanks for any help
Josh
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FishinGuy
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Re:big flatheads
2013/05/02 16:43:57
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They're all through the 3 rivers. Things should really start to heat up in the next couple weeks. All the typical river structure will hold fish at times. Near dams, current breaks, of the edge of a shallow flat, or on the flat itself at night, creek mouths. I've had my best luck this time of year (early, pre spawn) on cut bait. Half a blue gill or a big piece of trout or fresh Shad. Just be sure and have big hooks and heavy line, or you'll never land one in heavy spring flows. The bite slows down somewhat mid summer when they're spawning but I still pick up a few.
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Josh7388
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Re:big flatheads
2013/05/02 18:52:10
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Thanks for the advice. I was told to try lock 3 or maybe lock 9. I would be shore fishing also
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KingKool
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Re:big flatheads
2013/05/02 22:40:34
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I don't fish for flatheads - but from what I've heard...........
The Aquatorium in Monongahela is a good spot and they also catch them on Pittsburgh's North Shore on the Allegheny.
Live bait is what I hear catches the most - bluegills, large chubs (locally caught) and trout.
Good Luck!
4 out of 3 people don't understand fractions.
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fishink
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Re:big flatheads
2013/05/03 02:56:32
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Fish the usual structure: outside bends, flats, drop offs, and below locks. If you're going for big fish, use big live bait. The largest flatheads much prefer hunting to scavenging. Rig up with 40 - 70 pound line using a sliding sinker rig, a strong swivel (I like SPRO, cheap stuff can break before your line does), and a circle hook. Suckers and small carp are great bait. Bluegills and bullheads are good.
post edited by fishink - 2013/05/03 12:22:38
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fishink
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Re:big flatheads
2013/05/03 03:38:26
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And don't forget to bring a big net. Pretty hard to land a large flathead without one. For perspective, this one is 36 inches across. 
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Snag_826
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Re:big flatheads
2013/05/03 08:21:46
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Fish pretty much any structure on the river and youll find flatheads...They arent hard to find by any means...but having the right gear and landing the beasts can be difficult at times. Im heading out tonight for em after i catch some bait. Water temps are just about right and the bite should be picking up. Ive had my best luck around deep holes with structure. Find a spot where the river drops 10-15 feet of depth abruptly and youll find a flatty at the bottom of it. and dont be afraid to FISH BIG. Dont bother with stink baits or livers they wont touch em...Its gotta be cut bait or live. Lock 3 is a good spot...i would suggest wading out to the islands though for better access to the deeper water. Chunks of trout preferably the head are the best baits ive used soo far, just hate fishing for em...once you land a big 25-30 lber your hooker for life. have fun and post a report. also check out catfish1.com...lots of good info on the pa message boards over there...
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D-nymph
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Re:big flatheads
2013/05/03 12:20:43
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fishink
And don't forget to bring a big net. Pretty hard to land a large flathead without one. For perspective, this one is 36 inches across.
Stellar fish, man. No battle scars on that one.
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D-nymph
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Re:big flatheads
2013/05/03 12:35:19
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Josh, you will need rods that can launch 1-4 ounces of weight + a large bait like a 7" bluegill or 8-10" sucker very far. 8-10 foot rods I like best. The cheap fiberglass "catfish" rods sold at the big box stores are fine. If you have the money, the bait runner styles of reels are great. 5/0-7/0 hooks.
I have friends & have seen people try to cast a 2 ounce sinker & bluegill on their medium action walleye rods with 12 pound test & it just doesn't work. At all. Then they get all frustrated wondering what's wrong. Why they can't cast more than 12 feet from shore.
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wayne c
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Re:big flatheads
2013/05/03 18:10:51
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Fish pretty much any structure on the river and youll find flatheads...They arent hard to find by any means... The guy said big flatheads. And they arent exactly a "dime a dozen" by any stretch of the imagination. Catch rates and studies of pa rivers have shown that they are a very low density proposition. As with anything, some flukes happen and a guy can get lucky and catch one when they dont have a clue what they are doing, but they dont catch many. To catch them usually takes a fair amount of time and effort. Most caught are by guys that specifically go after them, know where they can be found and put the time in.. I know, because that is the species I mainly fish for 90% of the time, and am an admitted flathead fanatic. It takes alot of effort to regularly get, and maintain large baitfish. It also helps alot to know the water youre fishing intimately. The more experienced flathead guys catch rates on decent or better fish are similar to the catch rates of the experienced hard core musky guys around htere. Hardly a very high numbers proposition for a year, and hardly a push-over. Especially compared to fish that are as easy to catch as fishing in a barrel (bass, trout, and other baitfish etc..) 
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just_wanna_fish
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Re:big flatheads
2013/05/03 18:56:56
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thats just one more reason to fillet them pellet heads in my freezer 
Never argue with an idiot, they drag you down to their level and beat you with experience!
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Snag_826
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Re:big flatheads
2013/05/05 15:06:35
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wayne c
Fish pretty much any structure on the river and youll find flatheads...They arent hard to find by any means...
The guy said big flatheads. And they arent exactly a "dime a dozen" by any stretch of the imagination. Catch rates and studies of pa rivers have shown that they are a very low density proposition. As with anything, some flukes happen and a guy can get lucky and catch one when they dont have a clue what they are doing, but they dont catch many. To catch them usually takes a fair amount of time and effort. Most caught are by guys that specifically go after them, know where they can be found and put the time in.. I know, because that is the species I mainly fish for 90% of the time, and am an admitted flathead fanatic.
It takes alot of effort to regularly get, and maintain large baitfish. It also helps alot to know the water youre fishing intimately.
The more experienced flathead guys catch rates on decent or better fish are similar to the catch rates of the experienced hard core musky guys around htere. Hardly a very high numbers proposition for a year, and hardly a push-over. Especially compared to fish that are as easy to catch as fishing in a barrel (bass, trout, and other baitfish etc..)
Did you really just compare catch rates of musky and flatheads? Musky and flatheads are pretty much all I fish for during the warmer months and I can assure you that the catch rates for large musky and flatheads arent even remotly close. Find structure, fish it hard and often with big bait and you will eventually catch a monster flat. It really is that simple.
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wayne c
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Re:big flatheads
2013/05/06 01:32:48
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Not sure what you were confused by when I said BIG flathead and compared success rates of better similarly skilled anglers of both. As for the rest; How many musky per year does "musky maniac" Dave catch per year on the mon?... How many big flathead do YOU catch on the Mon? Would you care to compare his 38"...40" or bigger...whatever...musky to anyone you knows number of 38"+ or 40+" flathead on the Mon? And its hardly as if the Mon is on par with pymatuning or most other known musky destinations when it comes to number of them... Gas up the boat, learn the basics and troll "hard and often" and you should be just as sucessful, just as often on the skis. if not moreso than you are on big flats. Go in totally clueless and you will have similar success rate as the guy who just goes to the easiest spot he can find to get on the river bank, throws out "chicken liver" on his medium action lightning rod and waits for a 50 lber to bend his rod every hour or so. lol. Maybe you were just referring to dinks like 5 or 10 lb flats as "big" and that is where the confusion is coming from. ***Added in edit; Ok...from another post... this explains alot... " Ive been hunting musky for over 2 years now" Nuff said. I think i mentioned comparing EXPERIENCED/better anglers of both species...
post edited by wayne c - 2013/05/06 02:25:31
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Snag_826
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Re:big flatheads
2013/05/06 08:31:35
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Just because im new to musky fishing does not mean Im incappable of knowing what the catch rates/sized are. In, fact MuskyManiac has been the biggest help to me by far over the last year or so and has helped me greatly. Now flathead fishing I do know and have been targeting for years now...5 to 10 lb dinks? we use bait thats not much smaller than the fish your describing. If you would like, I will gladly flood your inbox with pictures of all the fish ive caught over the last 6 or 7 years that I consider BIG. Seems like your taking offense to the fact that I said flathead fishing is not that hard...Sorry to break it to ya man but compared to other species such as musky it really isnt. "Would you care to compare his 38"...40" or bigger...whatever...musky to anyone you knows number of 38"+ or 40+" flathead on the Mon?" To answer that, no i wouldnt...It would be absolutley ridiculous to compare me catching a 38" musky to a 38" flathead soo I really dont know where you are going with that. its easy, Big bait...structure...big gear...if live bait isnt working switch to cut bait...repeat process until successful...Now Things might get a tiny bit tricky once the water warms up and the spawn starts but its pretty obvious when the bite shuts down completley. None of it is brain surgery.
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Snag_826
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Re:big flatheads
2013/05/06 08:39:16
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Im sorry but when I hear someone being overdramatic and comparing flathead fishing to musky fishing in the way that you did really burns my ****. I know how much time those musky guys, including dave, put on the water. The effort they put into finding fish and developing techniques is amazing. I may be knew to targeting musky, but if there is one thing I know so far, it is that fish size and numbers between these two species arent even close and to say otherwise would prove your lack of experience in the matter.
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slabdaddy
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Re:big flatheads
2013/05/06 08:52:15
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I don't know nearly as much as the other guys on here, but I'll add my $0.02. Cut trout is awesome. A whole 8"-10" trout works pretty well. Flathead seem to like a rockier bottom than channel cats. The set-ups described above are perfect. All of this, you've heard already. Here's something new; go to Lock 9 on the Allegheny. Fish the slackwater behind the lock at night. You are allowed 3 rods. Use three. Use cut bait on one, live bait on another, and your choice on the third. The big net is a MUST. Bring lots of terminal tackle because you will probably get snagged often.
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Josh7388
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Re:big flatheads
2013/05/06 09:06:14
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Now with the cut trout, can I have it frozen and just unthaw when ready to use or should it be fresh and not frozen
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Snag_826
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Re:big flatheads
2013/05/06 09:20:24
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+100 on the cut trout. I wasnt sold one night i went out with two buddys. I was fishing with large creek chubs and suckers, my buddy had cut bluegills and another friend had cut trout. Not a single run on the chubs and gills...but trout got hammered all night. Multiple fish landed one just over 30lb. He keept them alive in a bucket as long as he could until he needed them.
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Snag_826
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Re:big flatheads
2013/05/06 09:39:29
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slabdaddy
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Re:big flatheads
2013/05/06 10:05:25
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The fresher ones work best, but the frozen ones will work. If you can get live trout, hook them through the back with a 7/0 circle hook and slit their belly open (not too deep or long) so they will bleed.
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wayne c
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Re:big flatheads
2013/05/06 10:38:57
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The fact you were attempting to compare YOUR OWN success rates DOES matter. lol. You admit your musky success/knowledge is very limited, then you get mad when I pointed it out?? ...and on another note...then you had to post a picture of your dads fish, 2 pics of the same fish, and a 15 lber that were caught over a period of years, to "prove" to me how easy fishing for big flats is...When I spoke of guys who catch 50+ muskies a year??? I guess you win. ...N'at. It would be absolutley ridiculous to compare me catching a 38" musky to a 38" flathead soo I really dont know where you are going with that. Oh I think you know exactly where I was going with that. And it doesnt support your theories. So many more skis are caught that size per year than flats, its not even funny. Therefore my point is easily made. And the point was catch rate, time invested etc... not how many "toys" one owns or needs or which is more like "work" depending on ones definition of "work". Btw, i don't claim to be an expert with either... But have caught my fair share of both and judging by your age in the pics, I have probably been doing it since long before you were a twinkle in daddies eye. I've taken more flats than skis.... But that is only because I fish for them about 4 times as many hours per year. And no, I am not "mad" in the least. Just don't agree is all. Nor should you be, but you admitted that you were. No reason for it. Anyway, I agree to disagree. To each his own. You do apparently like to fish for the two best "trophy" fish in my opinion in Pa, so you can't be all that bad....Just a lil' wet behind the ears is all.. 
post edited by wayne c - 2013/05/06 10:42:32
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wayne c
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Re:big flatheads
2013/05/06 10:41:21
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+1 on the trout... Alive and also dead cut. I used to use circles, and sure they work fine. I like 8/0 gamakatsu octopus.
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Snag_826
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Re:big flatheads
2013/05/06 10:57:57
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Two of the same fish? And my father was using my bait, on my boat, using my rods and rigs that i set him up with so excuse me for taking some of the credit there. proofs in the pictures old timer. And for the record I almost never carry a scale with me and dont need to...I could care les about what the fishes exact weight is and i wont get into a pi$$ing match over it with someone on a message board. Ive proved my points and Im done arguing. Back to the subject... My offer still stands to anyone trying to catch a few of these guys you are more than welcome to join me or PM me if you want any tips or places to start. Ill even supply the bait! Some of the hardcore guys are already reporting some big guns being landed.
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Chris Johnson
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Re:big flatheads
2013/05/06 11:02:04
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Frozen trout packed with powerbait is good. When I cut a frozen cross section and see that glowing green, yellow, etc blue packed in the center, I get a little more optimistic about that bait. 
A gentleman is someone who can play the accordion, but doesn't. ~Tom Waits
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slabdaddy
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Re:big flatheads
2013/05/06 12:10:03
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Chris, that's an interesting idea. I might have to try that.
Wayne, do you have to set the hook with those octopus hooks or do they set themselves, like circle hooks. I looked at the the exact hooks you are talking about and was tempted to buy a pack but I don't know anything about them. How about some pros and cons circle vs octopus?
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Eman89so
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Re:big flatheads
2013/05/06 12:22:55
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catbass
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Re:big flatheads
2013/05/06 13:04:15
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Is there a website that shows the water temps of the rivers? The closest spot is a 45 min drive so I can't get out to check them myself very often
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Chris Johnson
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Re:big flatheads
2013/05/06 13:09:05
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A gentleman is someone who can play the accordion, but doesn't. ~Tom Waits
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Eman89so
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Re:big flatheads
2013/05/06 13:14:01
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wayne c
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Re:big flatheads
2013/05/06 13:41:18
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Two of the same fish? And my father was using my bait, on my boat, using my rods and rigs that i set him up with so excuse me for taking some of the credit there. proofs in the pictures old timer. I just called it like I seen it. Ok lets call them all your "trophies" lmao. How does that disprove ANYTHING that I said? ...Didn't. Old timer? Not yet. But certainly long past the pimple popping stage. lmao. Shouldnt get so emotional kid. Course I had a big mouth and thought I knew it all at your age too. Funny how as you mature, you find out you knew alot less than you thought you did. And for the record I almost never carry a scale with me and dont need to...I could care les about what the fishes exact weight is and i wont get into a pi$$ing match over it with someone on a message board. WHo said anything that would cause a ****in match? It seems to me you are just gettin' your panties in a bunch over nuttin'. Ive proved my points If you were trying to make the point I was right from the first post on, and that you also know very little about musky feesh'un... Yeah... You sure did. Ill even supply the bait! Some of the hardcore guys are already reporting some big guns being landed. Yep. I've taken one "good one" myself so far this year....along with a coupla middlin' sized, and have heard of a few other bigguns on message boards. Just for the sake of back on topic tips, this is one of if not thee best times for flats. My second best time would be early fall.
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