Fishing deeper holes (flatheads)

[blakeb]

I have found that the river (sippi) has had its way with a few of my go to snag spots that provided much of my action last year, With these spots no longer holding fish i have began to wonder, where next?

I have done some research and have known that some guys like to fish holes as compared to snags.

I am interested in stating to fish holes but the last two trips out holes have given up no action so i am a little discouraged.

I have read that most flats will rest the day away in a deep hole not to far from there night feeding locations,

Are most of the fish going to be out of the hole in the nighttime,? is deep hole fishing a better suited daytime tactic.

I have a few areas that are off of the main channel that are the deepest water in there respective stretch of water.

Do i want to focus on the farthest downstream "tail" side of a deep hole or the upstream side where the hole starts, or anywhere in the middle.

[Scott K]

I rarely fish deep holes, I may fish around them though. I like to fish off of points, and find the current seam where the water slows from the point. I will fish snags mostly when the water is low. I guess, the one thing I look for is bait fish. If you see bait fish around, flats wont be to far away.

[blakeb]

i have heard that is you see baitfish the fish will be around.

In all my days fishing i never "see" baitfish are you talking about at the surface, or on the fishfinder?

[Scott K]

Towards evening, in the slack water, the bait fish will surface, and be jumping out of the water. To a flathead, almost anything is bait, so if fish are jumping out of the water, it is bait.

[SteveD]

i have heard that is you see baitfish the fish will be around.

In all my days fishing i never "see" baitfish are you talking about at the surface, or on the fishfinder?

I don't fish deep holes that much either. Deep holes with timber in them are good spots for holding water or resting areas but they have to come out of that water to eat. I try to figure out how they will come out of that water to hunt so I look for bait also - flats are eating machines when they are hunting so to me bait is the key. Think like a flathead. What is bait for a flathead? Anything that is easy to find and catch without a lot of effort. That can be anything from 4" to 15" - on the river that is usually carp, suckers, rock bass, sunfish, bullheads, sheepshead, etc., etc.

If you never "see" baitfish then you aren't looking. In the evening when the water is flat just watch across the top of the water upstream and down. You will see fish surfacing or minnows darting out of the water. Those are usually the first signs of fish activity. That activity means there are fish there - any kind of fish - and a flat doesn't care what kind just so he can get his mouth around it. So I don't bother drowning a bullhead in a deep hole - I try to get MY bait in the path that a flathead may take to cruise through those areas of bait activity. Sometimes I am fishing in 4 to 5 feet of water - sometimes 10 to 12 feet. I don't worry to much about depth - I want to know there are other fish in the area I am fishing because those fish will help attract cats.

[DTro]

If it's any conciliation, the baitfish haven't been around. Only the past few days have the baitfish been showing up.

A theory is that they have been in the backwaters and with that now warming up and oxygen levels going down they are heading back into the river now.

Last night the water was 'alive' all around us. Just a matter of waiting for the fish to find your bait.

oh and as far as the holes go, you can find some monster fish in the deepest darkest holes, but these are the fish you are going to need to not only find, but then also trigger to bite as they are most likely hanging out until dusk. I've got lucky a few times by tossing a piece of cutbait on their head randomly and catching a big fish out of a hole, but I find that its much easier to target the more aggressive fish that are on the prowl.