Before going into Flathead Catfishing, it is important that we should know what a Flathead Catfish is? A native species of catfish to the United States is Flathead. They are popular because of game fish and food and this is whay flathead catfish is popular. They are found in slow moving waters such as large rivers and streams and sometimes also in lakes and ponds. Originally they came from Mississippi River and the big rivers that drain off of it. Flathead catfish prefer to reside in deep water with objects like fallen logs that provide good hiding places.
Now we comes to the reason why they are name as Flathead Catfish. Its because of their long, distinctly flattened heads. Their eyes are flat and oval shaped, and their lower jaw protrudes past their upper jaw. Their skin colors are shades of mottled browns and yellows. You will find most of times flat head fish of weight around 40 to 45 pounds. They are observed to grow quickly after being hatched. They are mature when they are about fifteen to nineteen inches long, and can live for over twenty-five years. They grow continuously throughout their life time.  Flatheads will eat just about anything they can get in their big mouths, but they prefer fish. Bream are one of their favorite foods.  They also love to eat live perch and sunfish. Flathead catfish can destroy the population of some kinds of sunfish, especially in smaller bodies of water, or water where they are not native.  Some smaller rivers in Georgia have lost almost all their redbreast sunfish after the introduction of flatheads.  Flatheads tend to feed by sight, and will feed at night as well as during the day — even though most catfish tend to be more active at night.  You can lure flatheads with light.  They’ll come to feed on the baitfish that are attracted to the light.

These kind of catfish like deep holes with cover on the outside edges of river bends.  You can find them around large logjams, tree stumps, and rocks where they like to hide. Cast under the edges.  Let your bait drift in, and then hang on.  If the outside bends are too strong to fish, find some inside bends with less current.  In large lakes and reservoirs, look for the big flatheads in areas with lots of cover — like submerged brush piles.  Flatheads often travel in old river and creek channels in these lakes and reservoirs.  At night, they’ll travel these channels and emerge at the edge of shallows to feed.  Position yourself along these areas and wait for them to arrive.

Early evening, early morning and after dark are the best times to catch flathead catfish in the summer season. You can attract them with baits but remember they will no go to far for bait so you have to take care of the distance. Try to keep bati on the river or lake bottom as they feed off in the bottom.