Introduction - Brittan Battles

For many of us fishing for trophy catfish isn't only just a hobby. It a passion and can honestly, mold a way of life if you let it. It teaches one to be patient, resilient and always observing. All three of these qualities are key concepts to having any success when chasing these giants. These qualities also translate into everyday life and are great things to possess when looking for success outside of catfishing. My name is Brittan Battles and I am completely obsessed with chasing huge Flathead, Blue and Channel catfish.

 I grew up on a farm and in a small community in rural northwest Ohio. I fished as a kid, maybe not as much as some, but I enjoyed fishing for bass, bluegill and crappie in small local ponds and lakes. I wasn't introduced to the world of catfishing until late May of 2007 by my future (now) father-in-law. I started off spending every weekend at local reservoirs and stocked ponds owned by the many fish and game clubs in the area, just for the first few years. Now residing in the northeastern part of Ohio and I spend most of my time traveling to the best fisheries in the state for whatever species I am targeting, usually Flatheads.

Enough about me, I would like to mention a few of the things that I have implemented that have been keys to my success. When looking for trophy fish, don't be afraid to travel to the best fisheries in the area. It can make a huge difference in setting a personal best every season or going home with no action trip after trip. On average I drive about 70 miles each way to the body of water that I want to fish on that given trip, be a river or a lake. Modern day catfisherman have an edge,and its called the internet. Read, network with other fisherman and plan for success. Through the internet and networking I have met many other catfisherman that strive for success just as I do. Why waste your time? You can actively fish for these beasts. Too many guys just toss out baits in a convenient spot for them or a spot that has produced in the past and expect results every trip. That's not how it works. More on that in the future.

Until next time guys! I am excited to be a part of The Quest For Monster Catfish and I look forward to hearing from some of you. Tight Lines!

Spring Transition Flatheads

Intercepting Spring Transition Flatheads

            With any form of flathead fishing, success depends on piecing together parts of the puzzle that is a successful pattern.  Considering all of the variables that play into fish location and movement, it can seem like a daunting task.  This is accentuated even more in large reservoirs, where fish can travel through a wide open expanse of water from one destination to the next.  Flathead fishing success in  reservoirs relies in large part on defining exactly what pieces of the puzzle are important when, and how to put the most pieces together at any given time to give yourself a shot at success.  In this post I’d like to take a look at the transition period from late winter to spring, and go over some of the variables or “puzzle pieces” that have proven successful in large reservoirs across the U.S.

            It is widely known that flathead catfish become relatively dormant when water temperatures fall below a certain level.  In the Midwest, most anglers experience greatly diminished success when surface temperatures drop below 45 degrees.  Up until this point, the more successful anglers have been locating feeding fish en-route to water in which they can spend the winter.  Once in a wintering area, flatheads seem to feed (with increasingly sluggish behavior) in that area until a point when they finally turn it off for the winter. Winter flathead fishing is possible, and in some circumstances (under the right conditions) I believe flatheads will take a bait.  More popular this time of year, though, is a controversial method of jigging large soft baits on heavy lead directly over suspected wintering holes. In order to avoid an ethical debate here, we will fast forward to  early spring.

            So, what’s the earliest you’ve landed a flathead during the spring? Better yet, what’s the earliest you’ve had success while actually targeting the species?  The general consensus across the board is that most flathead anglers in the Midwest begin to dust off their gear in late April and begin experiencing consistent success into May (subtract a month further into the south, give or take). But we’ve all seen it. Every year several flathead pictures make their way around the internet of large fish caught long before anyone’s thinking about fishing for them, by someone fishing for another species.  This is certainly no coincidence.

Piece #1: Timing

            The reservoir flathead has to be considered differently than flatheads in rivers.  They are normally not governed by current, and relate much more to certain solitary “home” areas than do river fish.  This also means that if a large flathead doesn't like something about a particular day (whether its temperature, barometric pressure, water influx, etc.) he can sit still on his happy butt and wait to move until conditions are more to his liking.  This brings us to the first spring time puzzle piece: Timing.  Over the years we’ve noticed that a flathead really can show up at any time, but good days (the days producing more than one fish) seem to be good days across the board.  With several large lakes in my home state exhibiting fishable flathead populations, we can compare reports across the state and take note of trends.  What we’ve come to realize is that a good portion of the time, if we have a good multiple fish trip, it’s not the only one in the area and normally one of several.  But what triggered this onslaught of feeding behavior?  Let’s think.  Early in the season, most anglers flock to their favorite lake or reservoir on the warmest, sunny days.  Spring warm up begins to lift water temperatures, and fish like saugeye, crappie, and largemouth bass begin to leave deep water in search of warmer habitat.  It comes as no surprise then that most early season, accidental flathead catches seem to occur on warm, sunny days.  Usually at the peak of the warmest part of the day, too.  Early in the season, this warm sunny weather is a flathead's alarm clock. Just like in the fall, they will feed sluggishly and probably not go far. But you better believe they’re hungry.  A mistake many anglers make is the belief that flathead are solely nocturnal predators.  During most of the season, this is the case.  We have outlined, however, that flathead catfish activity is largely governed by water temperature.  Anglers itching to target flathead in early spring would be wise to note warming trends, and to pick warm days that come after a string of other warm sunny days.  Fish in unfavorable conditions this early in the season and 9 times out of 10 you will find you’re just out for a boat ride.

Piece #2: Bait

Coming off of a fall bite where no piece of bait seemed too big for a hungry flathead to eat, many anglers make the mistake of offering these same baits to fish early in the year. When it comes down to it, flatheads are opportunistic and may take any bait like this presented in the right place.  What one must also keep in mind, though, is that flatheads are top predators and will weigh the energy cost of catching and consuming a bait against the nutritional gain they take from eating it.  When flathead are slow and sluggish, fighting a metabolism that’s been at a creeping pace all winter, they may be more likely to pass up a big, lively bait that could present a challenge to catch and kill.  Instead, try offering smaller live baits and even pieces of cut bait in areas where flatheads will likely be trying to shake off the dust and find an easy meal.  Cut shad can be deadly then, as winter kill settles to the bottom before it begins to bloat and float with the wind to shallow bays (the channel cat café).  Don’t be afraid to mix one or two large baits into your set, as it could pay off big time. Just keep in mind that on average, smaller baits or fresh cut bait are easier to catch and kill to a flathead moving in slow motion.  Remember the guy holding a 40lb bruiser with a saugeye jig stuck in its mouth, or the crappie fisherman who got spooled using minnows.

Piece #3: Location

So you’ve had several warm days in a row, and the forecast is calling for sunny skies and an afternoon temperature in the low 60’s.  Seems like as good a chance as any for an early spring fish.  Location is the next piece of the puzzle to put in place.  Flatheads will start to “wake up” with a string of warm weather and favorable pressure like this, but may not begin to migrate to traditional late spring water until this weather becomes more of a normal thing.  In the mean time, they’ll shake off the cobwebs and begin milling around near winter water.  The key here is to find transition points that offer a good chance at contacting fish waking up from their slumber.  In early spring, bays at the northern ends of large reservoirs typically warm first.  So run to the warmest bay you can find and give it hell? Not yet.  Fish like largemouth bass and crappie that have maintained an active metabolism all winter will begin to chase the warmest water very early on.  Flatheads seem to take their time.  Take a look at a good topographical map and locate what looks like a likely wintering area for flathead catfish in that lake.  Then, look for shallow water within reasonable distance to this wintering water that is likely to warm up first.  Typically bays or fingers of the lake that receive windblown water from the south and have creeks flowing into them will thaw and warm the fastest. Now, take a look at the path from point A (your winter area) to point B (your warm spring bay).  What is the most likely path of travel between these areas that a flathead may take as the water begins to warm?  In many cases, this may be a drop-off edge or creek channel.  Now look more closely.  What details of this structural feature make good areas for flatheads to lazily browse for food as their metabolism starts to ramp back up? A channel bend holding wood or other habitat? The confluence of another channel coming out of a bay to the main channel?  Stick close to likely winter water very early in the year, but begin to follow the path from point A to point B as the warming trend continues.  If you’re contacting fish then suddenly lose contact with them for several straight trips, move on down the line to the next interesting feature in their path. Find active fish on the right days and follow them as they begin to branch out further and further from winter water, and I bet they eventually lead you to prime time, late spring water. You’ll follow them to these areas right about the same time of year that everyone else is just dusting off their gear and thinking about giving it a shot.

During the wait for spring, now is a good time to clean and repair gear, sharpen hooks, stock up on the necessities, and get to studying those maps. Or in my case (or nutcase, if you will), wade around hip deep in the frozen steelhead rivers of the Great Lakes and look jealously at pictures of enormous cold water blue cats.

Until next time, tight lines guys. 

Penn Fathom Review

 

Yes I am talking about catfishing. 

In the late 80's round reels like the Abu 4500's were king of the bass reels and why not. They could cast 3/8 and 1/2 oz lures just fine and they could double as channel cat reels. But. Casting 600 times a day chasing bass (bait fish) would take a tool on levelwinds. Bass fishing got bigger and reel manufactures could smell money. Reels began to evolve a little, levelwinds would disengage and 6.3:1 ratios became more popular. Frames became cast aluminum and then low profile. All this left a new weakness. The 6.3:1 gear ratios were not holding up to deep diving crank baits and they were causing a bit of cranking fatigue. Stainless steel gears would have solved the strength problem but they are noisy and it would not fix the effort needed to reel in crank baits. The answer was to enlarge and lower the main gear. In order to keep the same gear ratio the pinion had to be enlarged as well. All this lowered the reels center of gravity, increased line retrieve speed, and reduced the effort needed at the handle.

Compare the Fathom to an old school reel like the 310 GTi or 209M and you will see the difference between the old school reels and the new technologies. This is not your dads Penn.

When pick you up an Alphamar and a Fathom at the same time you will notice it feels different. It's hard to put you hands on just what the difference is but I decided it was just the Fathoms extra weight. 17.7oz. vs 19.2oz. You will notice the handle, it is more comfortable than the Alphamar's. 

Tear Down and Inspection

The two reels may be quite similar but the Penn is a step up from the Alphamar in several ways. Both reels feathure the same aluminum frame, the primary difference being color. The Alphamar ueses graphite side plates and aluminum rings for reinforcement. The Fahom uses aluminun side plates for it's extra strength and rigidity with no reinforcing rings needed.

Drive shaft is Stainless Steel and supported by a bearing on the bottom as well as being supported by the IAR bearing on the handle end. This gives the reel a smoother feel than the 7000iC3. The spool is supported on the left by the side plate. On the right side the bearing is mounted on the spool shaft and supported by the frame. Contrast this to the 7000's that support their spool shafts outboard on the sideplates. Moving the right bearing inboard and supporting it with the frame along with a heavier spool shaft allows the Fathom to handle much more drag, with out axle flex. You will also notice a complete lack of plastic in the mechanism.

For gearheads the design is simple and is easy to disassemble, without any hidden surprises like springs that fly off to who knows where.

 

Drag

The drag on the Fathom is for lack of a better way to describe it unique. Versa-Drag is what Penn calls it. Unlike most reels the carbon fiber drag washers have ears that tie it to the main gear. On this reel rearanging the drag washer will allow you to lower maximum obtainable drag. It comes set for max drag, so basicaly you can use it like all other star drag reels.

I hooked it to my trusty Shimano spring scale for a drag test, it pulled 27 lbs and was smooth and consistant all the way. At this point I stopped. The way I test drags is to put the scale loosly in a vise, tie the line to it and walk back a few feet. Then I reel in tighten more drag and repeat until I reach my goal. This has always worked until now. After pulling 5, 11 15, 20, 25, and 27 lbs, on the same few ft of line. The braid was digging in a bit, so before I dug it in even more I stopped. I need to do this out side when pulling that much drag, so I can keep walking back with out reeling back in.   

Caution never exceed the factory recommended drag settings on this or any reel.

Gear sets

Both reels share a common stainless steel pinion gear, but the Alphamar uses a brass main gear. While the Fathom uses a bronze alloy main gear. Both materials are copper based. The difference being Brass uses Zinc and Bronze uses Tin to make the alloy, the tin makes for a much stronger alloy. Just for a comparison I set a 7000 main gear beside the Fathom gears, so you can see the difference in size. The gear set on the fathom is larger than most of the common cat reels and with a 4.3:1 ratio should be capable of handling any flathead. 

Anti-Reverse

The Fathom uses two anti-reverse systems. The first is an instant anti-reverse bearing, and as a backup an anti-reverse dog. I believe that all reels should have both systems, so much so that I have added the anti-reverse dog to all my 6000's.

Clickers

The Fathom has the normal line out alarm, mounted high on the left side for easy access. It's loud and easy to turn on and off. It also has a clicker on the star drag and a clicker on the cast adjustment knob. For a total of three. 

Line Capacity and Recovery

Line Capacity on the 15 size is 17/280 for mono and 50/300 for braid. On the fathom 15 that works out to about 65/230 for braid. One nice feature of the spool is it has a mushroom post, so braid users will not have to use a mono backing or wrap the spool with electrical tape. Just tie directly to the post and you are good to go. Line recovery is 24” per handle turn of the handle. The handle is adjustable for length of throw, the short throw is the same as the Alphamar's. Moving the handle to the outer most hole gives you an extra 3/8 inch of handle throw for more leverage. Another feature is line capacity rings, that let you know when you reach or get down to 1/3rd, 2/3rd, or a full spool of line.

Casting

Okay I have to admit I did not take this reel out and cast it. The first reason being its raining and cold. I didn't want to be out in it. The second reason is it's cold and the bearings are lubed with grease, cold grease doesn't spin up as well as warm grease. So it would not be a fair test of the reels ability.

I did test an Alphamar 12 a while back, it is the same size as the Fathom 15. In fact the spools will interchange. The Alphamar 12 beat my 7500iC3 HS CHR by 75 ft. both reels casting 65 lb. braid and 5 oz. Bank sinkers. I have no reason to believe the Fathom will be any different.

Conclusion

There are a lot of great reels being made today, as cat fisherman we have never had so many choices. For the money you will be hard pressed to find a better reel for trophy cat fishing. As much as I liked the Alphamar's with out a doubt, the Penn is a step up in class.