New to Flathead Fishing

[tjbassmaster]

Me and some friends are going to try to get into some flathead fishing this summer. We will be fishing from shore and have never fished them before. Just wondering what rigs and baits work best. I see that a lot of people use bullheads. What sizes bullheads work best and how do you rig them? When is the best time to target them day or night?

[wastewaterguru]

I believe most of the answers can be found in previous posts on here but I will quickly summarize for you.....

Shore fishing can be productive but it can be tough to keep out of snags. Most guys on here that shore fish regularly aren't going to give up any of their prime spots.

Bullheads of any size work. I don't have much luck when I go smaller than about 5 inches.

Rigging is simple. Main line through a slip sinker (3 to 5 ounce) then to a swivel. Then a leader between 12 and 24 inches to a hook. I prefer a 7/0 kahle for all-purpose live bait rigs or a 5/0 cirle for cut up bait for channel cats.

Heavy spinning or baitcaster reel on a rod of your choice (most guys use a 7 to 9 foot fiberglass "surf-type" rod).

I use 50 to 80 pound braided line for flats.

Lighter line can be used but you'll want all the control you can get from shore.

[mudslinger]

WWG, Hope u got ur battery issue fixed on the Pro. I never knew my cables would be broken out at the boat landing. Thanks for the tips that night too.

[DARK30]

Purdy simple. No leader for me tho.

June is coming (high water I bet)

[Carp-fisher]

I'd say I spent about 200 hours fishing from shore for flats on the MN last year. It can be a real [PoorWordUsage] shoot out there...I went something like 10 trips in a row without getting a take from anything that was probably a flathead (lots of little channel cat and gar action though). Its especially frustrating when a pack of gar move in...you can run through an entire bucket of bait in less than an hour. But its all worth it when you finally get into the big cats. After a whole bunch of (perhaps dumb) persistance, I ended up catching some really nice cats up to 44", with many over 10 lbs. I'd recommend looking through all the older posts on the FM about going after them...you'll get a masters degree in flatcattery. Good luck!