[Mickey Tick]

What to look for when fishing shallow water at night. The west side of the lower susquehanna near home is very shallow. Some areas when water is low have little to no structure-bare mud flats. Some areas are bedrock but still shallow. I'll eventually try them all anyway but are there any particular situations that I should look for ?

 

[mylz17]

Look for shallows where the current dies down a little. It's usually where the river width increases a bit, but only on one side. It's a bit hard to explain but what happens is the current cuts out a nice deeper area that is just a few feet out from the bank. Catfish sit in this area and wait for prey to swim by or into the area. I've had a lot of luck fishing locations like this. They aren't too hard to spot and if you use a lighter sinker, you can use the current to your advantage to pull the weight into this area. Cast out just into the current, and your bait/lead will float downriver a bit and naturally fall into this area. Of course this only works if the area you are trying to hit is downriver. If you want to fish a spot like this upriver you need to be very precise in your cast.

Of course it's always good to look for downed trees, etc. Any kind of structure produces catfish. Expect to lose some tackle when fishing structure.

see attachment

 

[bw69r]

i fish mud flats and don't let the name fool ya as they are not perfectly flat. until one of the brothers here got me out on a boat and i saw the fish finder did i realize that the bottom looked like rolling hills actually. the flats seem to hold behind these little dunes as it is about a foot deeper behind them and keeps them out of the current and makes a good ambush spot. not much of a depth change at all but enough for them. and the spot is a good producer of fish.

 

[Blacky]

Look for eddies and current breaks, place where baitfish may hide, a place where the predators comes for a meal.

Also, when fishing shallow at night especially form the bank, be quiet as possible. I have experimented many times and know that flatheads are spooky of noise and light. For instance, on many of may flathead excursions, the idiots who I fish with have lit fires, plat MP3 music, drink beer and get loud. On many of those instance, I would move myself about 20 to 50 yards away. I would sit quietly, no headlamp, and just concentrate and have had success.

 

[Romo]

Hey who you callin idiots?

Look for eddies and current breaks, place where baitfish may hide, a place where the predators comes for a meal.

Also, when fishing shallow at night especially form the bank, be quiet as possible. I have experimented many times and know that flatheads are spooky of noise and light. For instance, on many of may flathead excursions, the idiots who I fish with have lit fires, plat MP3 music, drink beer and get loud. On many of those instance, I would move myself about 20 to 50 yards away. I would sit quietly, no headlamp, and just concentrate and have had success.

 

[Guest]

What's wrong weith beer??:struggle:

 

[Blacky]

What's wrong weith beer??:struggle:

Try to explain that to the ones that can't handle their liquor.:handshake:

 

[Guest]

Try to explain that to the ones that can't handle their liquor.:handshake:

So Romo can't handle his booze then? lmao. :smirk:

 

[Guest]

So Romo can't handle his booze then? lmao. :smirk:

Poor lad. I remember my first beer:wink:

 

[Blacky]

So Romo can't handle his booze then? lmao. :smirk:

Nah, not Romo. Others get loud when they pump beer in their blood.

 

[Romo]

So Romo can't handle his booze then? lmao. :smirk:

hey now! I'm not that far removed from college. I can still take down a couple

 

[Guest]

hey now! I'm not that far removed from college. I can still take down a couple

Tan says you scare the fish when ya crack a cold one hoss!:time-out:

 

[jkustan84]

A few beers can make a slooooooooooooow night only a slow night sometimes :smile1: