A Flathead Army

Flathead fishing is something that gets in your blood and stays there, period.  For some, its a long road of trial and error that finally combine properly to add up to consistent success.  For others, the start of a flathead fishing career is marked by one defining moment; some monumental experience or accidental catch that stays in the back of their mind every time they're on the water.  For me, it was a combination of both.

My father got me started fishing from a very young age, and its grown into a passion that I'll always carry with me.  Along with flathead fishing hard from April to November, I'm an active tournament bass fisherman and a steelhead fanatic.  I'm blessed to have the company of my father in all of these ventures, along with a group of friends I confidently claim as some of most hardcore anglers I've come across.

Growing up in northern Ohio, my exposure to flathead catfish was minimal at first.  With limited media coverage and several hours of travel between me and the nearest population, I gathered what I could from bits and pieces of outdoor articles and T.V. specials.  My father had been a catfisherman for years, but focused more on channel catfish in the beginning.  He always told me about the huge flathead catfish residing in some of our waters, but our knowledge of how to target them was limited.  As I got older, our trips began to become more elaborate, often frequenting rivers and lakes that were home to flathead catfish.  Using our old techniques never produced, but bait shop photos of huge fish kept us coming back.  One day, I stumbled across a website created by Robby Robinson, somewhat of a legendary flathead angler from southeastern Ohio.  Among the stories and pictures on this site were bits and pieces of information about how to rig for and target flatheads in reservoirs within the state. Noticing a trend between some of this information and that gleaned from other outdoor articles, we headed back to the lakes with a new game plan.

Then, it happened.  After several more fishless years and a night that began dismally as far as location and bait went, the unfamiliar sound of a slow and steady clicker roll was heard from down the bank.  Picking up the rod, I slipped the clicker off and felt the spool slowly turning under my thumb.  After setting the hook on what felt like a pile of angry bricks and a fight that seemed to take forever, my first flathead catfish was on the bank. A long male of 34 pounds, it was much more fish than I'd ever seen in person at the age of 12.  From this point on, the addiction was irreversibly set in my system. But how do we make this happen again?  After so many fishless trips, it seemed like an anomaly.  Careful attention to detail put another two fish on the bank on our very next trip, a 30 pound female and a juvenile fish; my Dad's first two flats.

From then on, every spring that rolled around marked the beginning of a new learning experience for us.  We fished whenever we had the chance, and learned what we could from our experiences.  New friends were made along the way, most of whom still regularly join us on the bank every season. Along with each passing season, more and bigger fish also came our way, with personal bests toppling year by year.  With online forums and social networking exploding within the fishing community, even more new connections and friendships are made constantly.  We can now regularly talk with some of the best anglers from around the state, and even around the country, sharing gear and techniques successful on our own home waters at the click of a button.  The information necessary to start off on the right track is easier than ever to access, and waiting for anyone wanting to begin their journey down the road to successful flathead fishing. All it takes is time, passion, and maybe a little bit of crazy.

We are the flathead army.

My name is Joe Shaw. I was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and now currently live in the southeastern part of the state.  I graduated from the Ohio State University with a bachelor of science in fisheries science and management, and currently work as an environmental inspector for gas and oil construction. For this blog I'll be contributing my knowledge of reservoir flathead fishing, along with the tactics and ideas of other successful flathead fisherman in my group of friends. I hope you guys are enjoying the tail end of the fall bite, and until next time, good luck!