Its hard to pattern them in the fall because they are all over the place

 

i would be interested to know the same thing as we are going to the muskingum in a few weeks and this would help us to locate a spot or two.

 

Well ive fished them shallow deep current slack slopes i cant find em this fall goodluck with ur trip...we always take some shad and seem to catch real nice channels

 

All of my fish this fall have come in water no deeper than 8 feet. A few have been caught in very shallow near shore; but the majority, including the biggest ones, have come on the edge of a ledge that drops into 18 - 20 feet of water. From this deeper water, fish holding during the day only have to move a few feet to feed on the shad or other baitfish holding in this area.

 

I like the tip on shad, that will make the night a lot more interesting if we can't find the flats.

 

Do flatheads move up in the shallows at night a lot to feed, or is that just mostly during spring? Do they tend to stay deep in these fall months?

Your question is more complex than you may realize

All flathead are not doing the same thing at the same time. Some waterways are colder and flathead have already migrated to winterring spots and are mostly immobile.

Flathead in rivers tend to feed in colder water than flathead in lakes.
Flathead spend most of their time in security cover either shallow or deep unless they are hunting.

As water cools flathead head for deeper water to have sanctuary from abrupt atmospheric pressure changes. In favorable weather they make hunting forays (usually to shallow water where preyfish attempt to hide)

In lakes the water temperature is more stable in deeper water but in rivers the current keeps temperature equal top to bottom.

I guess the best answer to your question is that you should fish where the baitfish are because that is where the flathead must hunt them. After dark most preyfish seek shallow water and submerged cover.

 

thanks for the tip, by your pics I know you have a lot of experience catchin these bruisers.

 

thanks for the tip, by your pics I know you have a lot of experience catchin these bruisers.

In 25 years I have only learned enough to occasionally get a big fish.
Flathead patterns are extremely diificult to predict. Weather seems to factor hugely into trophy flathead feeding but I can't unravel enough of the puzzle to understand it.
Mature flathead spend over 95% of their time in security cover. If you can predict when they will feed you can catch more than if you know where they will feed
Flathead behavior changes constantly and there are so many variables that it makes 3 dimension chess and Chinese arithmetic seem simple. I try to put baits into hunting travelways and hope a hungry flathead comes by. If they do they will eat it. Only 2 reasons flathead aren't in security cover is spawning or feeding.

Flathead react differently in each waterway but you can expect them to eat the most plentiful easiest meal to catch. They are not picky but they are lazy. Flathead in current react differently than flathead in lakes. Rivers often have a high percentage of 5-20 pound flathead which are extremely competitive with each other for meals. Using larger baits does not deter them from taking the baits and it makes catching trophy flathead very difficult.

Lake flathead seem to claim territiories with more aggressive dominant (usually larger) flathead homing in on prime feeding areas. Find those areas and you know where to fish I haven't figured when to fish so I fish these spots as often as possible.

Flathead are strucure orientated in both lakes and rivers. I know they want something over their head when resting in their security cover.

Mother nature throws monkey wrenches in your patterns in the way of floods, droughts, too cold, too hot, and bait populations that fluctuate from boom to bane. Boat traffic can change flathead behavior. Flathead will move locations when an easier more abundant food source becomes available in another area.

When anyone gets it all figured out send me a message

 

Just wanted to throw another wrench in the mess,, I /we have caught several flathead over past 3 or 4 years. some in rivers and some in lakes.. probly have 6 or so in high 30s,, 3 in mid fortys and one in high 50s weight.. i know that is not alot by comparison to alot of you guys that know more about them... but out of all those flathead i have caught only two were on the same pattern or same baits. and alot have been during the day.... so add that to the equation, good luck

 

Just wanted to throw another wrench in the mess,, I /we have caught several flathead over past 3 or 4 years. some in rivers and some in lakes.. probly have 6 or so in high 30s,, 3 in mid fortys and one in high 50s weight.. i know that is not alot by comparison to alot of you guys that know more about them... but out of all those flathead i have caught only two were on the same pattern or same baits. and alot have been during the day.... so add that to the equation, good luck

There is a great flathead bite in april, from 3 to dark, we caught ALOT of flathead in the daylight hours! I made a chart with all the flathead caught last year, and 40% of the ones we caught was before dark or after sunrise. mostly durring april and may but we caught them durring the day in june,july,august,sept and october. if you fish just after sunset and until sunrise you are missing out half the fish you could be catchin!

 

my personal best came at 4:30pm sunny day

sunrise bite is always a good one

 

Just forget the statistics, bottomline is the more you have bait in the water the more fish you will catch. I meant that by the more you fish, not by having 30 rods along the shore with a bluegill on each one

 

I recall reading an article in an In-fisherman magazine about 10 years ago about a guy who was obsessed with catching huge flatheads. His plan was simple, but he put in long hours.

He would motor around rivers searching out the deepest holes with lots of structure. After he marked a couple of prime areas he would then anchor up, throw out the baits, and wait. He said he would often sit over a hole for weeks at a time, fishing all hours of the day and night. Eventually, his efforts would pay off and he would hook into a monster cat. Then he'd have to manage to bring it to the boat and hope that he didn't lose it.

Unfortunately, most of us don't have that sort of free time on our hands lol. As another member said, the more hours on the water, the better your chances of landing a large fish.

 

Just forget the statistics, bottomline is the more you have bait in the water the more fish you will catch. I meant that by the more you fish, not by having 30 rods along the shore with a bluegill on each one

I've heard that people do that a lot at Tappan Lake. Kinda crazy eh?

 

So the answer to your question is there is no concrete answer.

The pattern that works one day on one waterway may not
work again all year. It definately may not work in another area at all.

Flathead are never numerous and catching a trophy flathead will
most likely take lots of patience along with some trial and error.
That is what makes catching a trophy flathead soooo sweet