Bartlett results 7/7

[Matthew Cook]

went fishing friday night at bartlett and broke our personal best flathead. didn't get out to the lake till late, like 8:30pm. managed to get some bluegill but not mutch. we were fishing from the shore on the other side of the lake by the dam. we ended up catching 4 flatheads that night, all from 12:00am - 3:00am. the fish went 6#, 15#, 32#, 3# all on green sunfish. the 32# put up an enormous fight and had us thinking we lost him when he got caught up in a rock pile. all the fish were set free after some pics. will post the pictures as soon as i put them on the computer.
take care!

[SilencedMajority]

That sounds like a nice fish, 32# from Bartlett, congrats!

[martinman]

Matt,

Congrats on the catches. I can't wait to see the pics. Keep up the good work. If Bartlett wasn't so far for me to get to, I would be fishing there a lot.

[AZflats]

32lber.
Alright Matt!!!!!

Maybe the same one I got a few weeks back..
* Just kidding..

GREAT JOB!!!:big_smile:

~ I am going out this weekend!:big_smile:

[shorepatrol]

congrats matt , haven't seen you guys since last summers gathering at bartlett , sounds like your doing great , hope to see you and your dad out at bartlett sometime.

[laidbck111]

sounds like an great night of fishing.

[Matthew Cook]

thank you everyone. here are the pics, the first one is the 15#, the second 2 are the 32#.

[AZflats]

Your smile is much bigger in the second and third photo...

Glad you had fun..
See you on the water.

[bluehunter]

Nice job on your flats. That is a good catch.

[anakin]

Thats a lovely monster. Must of been a rush. Im sure you cant wait until you get back to the lake. How long was the fight?

Ive only caught one flathead in my life & it just happend to be a giant. Im now just realizing how hard this species is to catch on a regular basis. Ive been trying to soak up as much info as I possibly can about this whiskered beast that romes our Az waters. If you dont mind me asking, How big was the bluegill you were using? What type/size hook? What made you fish the location you were at? Visible structure? Deep holes? I can see from the pic that the water looks pretty rough with alot of waves & the terrain consist of sandy rock.

pz

[teaysvalleyguy]

Nice fish brother, congrats on the catches. Always nice when you can get a PB.

[Matthew Cook]

thanks everyone for the replys

Anakin,
the fish was caught in about 15 feet of water on a drop off into deeper water. we were fishing right in between some rock piles. we like using the gamakatsu octopus hooks from 8/0 to 10/0 (we snell the knot). i like to use the bigest bluegill u can catch, but not just because i want a big fish. i don't think bluegill size really matters during the summer, i just think a bigger the bluegill is, the easier it is to find. here in AZ it is very important to fish structure, boulders, steep drop offs, with deep water. very rarely do u want to venture out in the open water. flatheads are structure hugging fish. as for the rough looking water it was a little windy. during th monsoon season u pretty mutch get hit every time by a storm, but don't leave! wait it out and u will be in for some of the best fishing in the year. we are planning on making a return trip this weekend so we will see what happens.
later

[AZflats]

I could not have explained it any better than that. But if I could add, Big boulders are the ticket. Cause, big boulders usualy have big holes or hidding places they will cram into during the day. These fish will then hunt in these areas during the night.

~ This area Matt and I fish should be productive all year.

[Tym2Fish]

Matthew, nice looking fish congrats on your PB. I will also be at Bartlett this weekend. Its a family gathering and should prove to be interesting. I am planning on going up Thursday evening or Friday morning and staying untill Monday mid day. Since I am expecting a fairly large group I am going to try and "reserve" the first cove on the left as you go past the no wake bouyies on the river end.
I will undoubetly stay there untill Sunday evening then plan on moving down towards the isalnds across from the marina. If you or anyone else are in the area feel free to stop by and say hello. Looking foward to fishing those islands as the last time I was up there, I did some mapping and found a few interesting areas I would like to try. Congrats again on your PB!!!

[Husker]

Nice catch and congrat's on your best so far. Myself and friend are heading to Bartlett sat. around 4:30pm to catch our bate and get set-up we will be fishing the islands on the main lake. I have a 18' 6" deep-v Spectrum white and teal stripe with a 120 Force, if you see us stop by to share info.

[tdpasser]

Great fish you guys, I've been going to class for my new job and working so I haven't had a chance to fish but you guys are given me that fever. Great catch Matt, hope your pop and bro had some fun too. Can't wait to get out there. Great photos!!

[live22skate]

thats a niccceeee fish, how big of a bluegill were u using?