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flathead catfishing on the schuylkill river

13K views 20 replies 10 participants last post by  BigBass33 
#1 ·
hey guys me and my friend are looking to do some serious flathead catty fishing on the schuylkill river can someone give us a rundown on when and what time to go also what kind of line setups are good for using when fishing for them all information is appreciated and feel free to go fishing with us Thanks !
 
#2 ·
Stout rods, saltwater reels, 8/0 circle hooks, at least 30lb mono or 40lb braid with leader, 3-6 ounce weights depending on current, live gamefish on one rod and cut on another, sunnys, chubs, crappie, rock bass, trout, lm or sm bass ect. Fish near structure from dusk into night in the non tidal section.
 
#3 ·
Stout rods, saltwater reels, 8/0 circle hooks, at least 30lb mono or 40lb braid with leader, 3-6 ounce weights depending on current, live gamefish on one rod and cut on another, sunnys, chubs, crappie, rock bass, trout, lm or sm bass ect. Fish near structure from dusk into night in the non tidal section.
Hey man thanks for the advice do you know of any areas that are good for getting them ? Iheard flat rock dam is good but I havent tried it yet thanks
 
#14 ·
Tried my luck

Went Saturday afternoon to try for Flattys. Bought my $52 out of state license :mad: and tried it. Fished from about 3PM to 8PM down by the dam. Got a couple small bites, no catches. I guess you need to fish for them at night, but i figured I might catch a few channels :huh:. Lotsa boaters runnin around for awhile, but it settled down and still no action. Any advise? Gonna try it again real soon after dark. Thanks.
 
#18 ·
Low Drag or Bail Open

Assuming your reel is not a baitrunner, what is the best way to leave your reel when waiting for a Flathead to take a live offering. I've caught tons of channel catfish, and for them I usually just make the drag as loose as possible so that I can hear the line running out when they take the bait. Then I pick up the reel and tighten it enough to set the hook. However, more often then not for Channel Catfish I'm not using a baitfish...

Thanks in advance for advice -

Pat
 
#20 ·
Good to know. I thought the resistance might stop the fish from engulfing the whole baitfish, but will take your advice and let them hook themselves essentially.

Also, you had mentioned crayfish being a great carp bait. Wouldn't have thought of that on my own, but definitely will try it. I've caught them on Senkos before, so they're clearly opportunistic. Safe to assume it has to be a pretty damn small crayfish to fit into that mouth of theirs? What size hook to you use with those crayfish when fishing in the river? Nice thing about using the crayfish in the river is it leaves the possibility of catching anything. Where as using a specific corn bait you greatly reduce chance of catching any catfish. The dilemma is not wanting to get caught with your pants down when a big channel or flathead takes that crayfish on a size 8 carp hook....

Thanks again for the help -

Pat
 
#21 ·
I use size 1 or 1/0 gammy hooks octopus style. These are versatile and can be used for crayfish, worms, small baitfish, etc. They're strong enough to not get straightened by a big flathead either.

I do prefer using crayfish that aren't the biggest but not tiny either, maybe 1.5" to 2" long, but carp can take a bait larger than you would think. If you get a bunch of really small ones thread them all on a hook. If you get some really big ones take the meat out of a few tails and thread that on.

I hook the crayfish once through the body and let the whole hook be exposed, the carp don't seem to mind.

The biggest thing is to make sure they are half dead so they don't crawl under a rock. I squeeze them a bit before I cast them out that way they aren't totally crushed but can't move too well.

You can also try using 1/0 gammy circle hooks. I like using them as well.
 
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