# Flathead Catfish Report



## CatHunter

i took the lady up to the river last night for some flathead action and she had a blast, we got some really nice fish and even landed a good bluecat, we lost a really bigcat right up to the boat.


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## skiff89_jr

Good job as always cathunter!


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## ycanti

Sweet flatties where ya fishing at?


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## skiff89_jr

Must be nice to take your lady fishing.......your pants are unzipped


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## RiverGulfFshr

Thats some fishing, great job. What river were you on and what time were the fish most active?


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## CatHunter

lol my zipper is always down i cant keep it up, we was fishing ol Escambia river, with the new moon approaching the fish was pretty much active all night the bite was fast and steady


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## KPTN

Nice, a couple of those look like they would go 25 to 28 lbs.


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## swampthang1974

wow makes me want to move to pensacola just so i can bribe you to take me fishing, we got cats here but i cant seem to catch any thing like that on rod and reel iv gotten a few good ones on bush hooks and trot lines.


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## CatHunter

I went out last night 7/29/2011 i got to the first hole landed 2 flats and lost 2 then moved on after about 30 minutes of no bites before i could get to the second hole i ran a submerged log right through the hull of my boat came a half in from sinking miles up the river from civilization, i was barley cursing at 4knots it was very misty and hard to see, unfortunately we had to cut our trip very short and move every body to one side of the boat to distribute the weight to keep from water coming in on the port side, we limped all the way back to the boat ramp, now i have a 5 in hole in the boat to fix but we got back safe and didn't have to spend the night on the river..Maybe i should have stayed home and slept.


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## ycanti

Dang hunter, sorry to hear about that. But glad you made back safely


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## RiverGulfFshr

Sorry to hear about your luck Cathunter. Hope its a fixable hole. My boat is ready when u get to ichn.


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## CatHunter

heres the two we got before we had to end our trip the first guy was about 8lbs followed by a 10lber i think it was going to turn out to be a great trip, heres a few pictures of the gaping hole in the boat as well..


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## Bbagwell

damn that sucks. One of the risks we take fishing the river. but like you said, could have been alot worse. glad u made it home.


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## FishWalton

Cathunter that little encounter sure could have been a more defining monent that it was. Thanks to your quick thinking of moving the crew to the opposite side you did not sink. A "good save" well done. Have wondered what something like that would do to my aluminum Jon, but on the other hand I hope I don't have to find out.


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## CatHunter

You should be good walt them ol aluminum boats can take what ever you throw at it, these fiberglass boat are very dangerous in treturous low waters with submerged timber, iam thinking about selling this boat and upgrading to a nice 17-18" aluminum boat my self, not just for my safety but for others on the boat with me, if your on the rive enough you will have some close encounters and iam not one for spending the night in the woods with no tent.:thumbdown:


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## FishWalton

Cathunter, you may be right. My old 40 year old alum Duracraft had a good sized dent in the bow from hitting a tree trying to get into a lake off the river when the current was really fast. . My late Father-in-law at the helm and forgot you must have power to control a boat in current. Darn near put me in the woods since I was in the front seat. I think he paniced when he saw we were headed for the lake 8 to 10 ft. opening too fast and at the wrong angle. 
Have hit a number of snags just under ther surface that lifted the boat up in a tilt (scared this s... out of me a few times) but did not cause any damage. Havent' had any encounters in my newer Jon.


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## JoeyWelch

Sucks about the boat but glad everyone is safe. I've bumped into a couple myself before. Get's the ole adrenaline pumping. Don't know if you have checked on fixing the boat yet but there are a ton of video's on youtube under fiberglass repair. I was watching em the other day. Looks easy enough. Probably something you can do yourself.

Pretty fish too. Way to kill some cats. Congratulations.


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## Trafficman

*Ready*

I got a boat Cathunter.. You ready to go?

Jeff


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## OB One

Here's a trick you might want to look into. Get ya two pieces of plywood about 4 to 6 inches square or so. Drill a hole through em and run a bolt with a wing nut on it through the two pieces.  Next time you blow a hole in the boat put the plywood on both sides of the hole and screw on the wing nut. That ought to be good enough to get you home. Might even think of adding a thick rubber pad to seal to it up on uneven surfaces. Good luck. OB


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## CatHunter

OB One said:


> Here's a trick you might want to look into. Get ya two pieces of plywood about 4 to 6 inches square or so. Drill a hole through em and run a bolt with a wing nut on it through the two pieces. Next time you blow a hole in the boat put the plywood on both sides of the hole and screw on the wing nut. That ought to be good enough to get you home. Might even think of adding a thick rubber pad to seal to it up on uneven surfaces. Good luck. OB


that sounds like a really good idea think ill do that:thumbsup:


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## CatHunter

Trafficman said:


> I got a boat Cathunter.. You ready to go?
> 
> Jeff


thanx for the offer jeff ill keep that in mind, iv been off shore fishing for the past week and ill be off shore again next week for a 4-6 day fishing trip so ill be ready for some Flathead Fishing when i get back.


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## nathan70

@catfishhunter How is the catfishing on Escambia in November? Just wondering I would like to go when I get back from Korea.


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## Pinksnappertrapper

Give BigMike a call at BigMikes fiberglass. He is supposed to be the best around.


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## CatHunter

nathan70 said:


> @catfishhunter How is the catfishing on Escambia in November? Just wondering I would like to go when I get back from Korea.


Its really good real nice and cool.that's interesting you say you are in S. Korea my brother is over there right now serving in the army he says hes been cleaning up the streets since the flood has destroyed every thing.


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## nathan70

Yeah it rained about a month non stop it seems. I think it was camp Carroll or Casey that was hit really hard.


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## CatHunter

Pinksnappertrapper said:


> Give BigMike a call at BigMikes fiberglass. He is supposed to be the best around.


you should give him a call and tell him to meet me in wewa on the Apalachicola flathead tournament this month so we can duke it out for the win


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## joe bag o donuts

I see in most of your pictures you are in the trees. Do you tie off to them or is that just where you end up when you're fighting the fish? Thanks and keep the reports coming.


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## CatHunter

joe bag o donuts said:


> I see in most of your pictures you are in the trees. Do you tie off to them or is that just where you end up when you're fighting the fish? Thanks and keep the reports coming.


I tie off too trees a good bitt if there available, its much easier then anchoring and with out the risk of losing the anchor, you also dont get as much of a swing saving your self alot of tackle.


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## joe bag o donuts

Thanks for the info. Looks like I need to round up some willing bluegills and try my hand at catfishing!

P.S. Do the bluegills need to be alive or will they still do the job if they're dead? And if so, would any dead fish work? Thanks


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## nathan70

From what I've seen the flatheads like the live ones and the channels like them cut in half.


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## r_blankjd

Seem to be the place to go for cat questions. With these saltwater cats I'm catchn, how big do they get? Are they any good to eat? I love and am familiar enough with the freshwater types but salt as a whole is a new venture cats included.


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## FishWalton

*sailcat*

blankjd: If you are talking about eating a gaff top sail cat according to this they are good to eat. Filet them and cut out the red lateral line. Personally I have never tried eating one. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gafftopsail_catfish


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## nathan70

I read that also, but when I tried it on about a 3lb sail cat I was not impressed. Not even close to a channel cat. Cutting out the bloodline is a must though.


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## deeracuda

nice flats


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## joe bag o donuts

Thanks for the info!


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## r_blankjd

fishwalton said:


> blankjd: If you are talking about eating a gaff top sail cat according to this they are good to eat. Filet them and cut out the red lateral line. Personally I have never tried eating one.
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gafftopsail_catfish


Yeah tried he sail cats also not impressed. Thanks all the same


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## super satin

call big mike fiberglass was in refereance to fixing your boat. not a catfishing tourney. jackoff!


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## CatHunter

All fiber-glassed up and a fresh-new paint job ready for the Apalachicola catfish tournament this weekend 8/26/2011 thanx peter at anchors-away


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## OB One

Nice lookin rig. Glad you got the hole fixed. Now go get some flatheads.
Good luck
OB


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## skiff89_jr

Looking good cathunter. I'll be on the look out for that nice pretty boat at wewa this weekend and good luck :thumbup:


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## oxbeast1210

nice cathunter if you dont mind telling how mucb did the job run ya?


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## fish slayer

what are you using for bait?


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