ok guys got a question of what yall think about my flathead rig. ive got a 6'6'' rhino med/heavy action rod. ive got an abu black max baitcaster reel spooled with around 100 yds of 40lb big game line. ive got a 2 oz egg sinker, 12'' 40 lb leader and a 5/0 eagle claw circle hook. should i downsize to 14lb big game to have more line on the reel, or leave it how it is? do i need a bigger hook and weight? please give me some tips, this will be my first actuall year of going after flathead with rod & reel on the river. the river i fish is an avg. of 3 ft. deep. any info would be much apreiciated. thanks
IMO i have an old rhino rod, its strong but not 40# BG strong. i wouldn't use any more than 20# BG. the rest of your rig sounds good if you use smaller baits. if you are a guy that needs large baits you will need bigger hooks to hook efficiently. you don't want a bait swimming around in a log jamb tangling up either so more lead would be a plus. if your river is average 3ft deep be sure to look for deeper holes and fish all cover and structure up and down from them. i wish you luck bro. on some great flathead memories this year.
Donnie, I wouln't downsize on the line , don't know how the current is for that size sinker , hooks depend on the size of your bait, don't go to flimsey a 30 lb flathead will straighten a cheaper hook . Look for deep holes and let your (live) bait drift into them, also log jams . I find night fishing is best . I don't like circle hooks for log jams , I want to set the hook hard before he gets tangled . I like curbed hooks, J or circles .Keep the bait live ,I use mostly suckers , bluegills, bullheads , bullheads stay alive longer . Good Luck ! Jay Jay
the current aint to bad at all unless ur in the deeper parts of the river, theres a bridge with a log pile jammed underneath it on a pillar thats fairly deep. was gonna fish it last year, but never got to it. i plan on using some 6''-8'' carp, 4'' goldfish, and lots of hand sized gills. bought me some 6/0 eagle claw circles and another little box of assorted 2/0 to 5/0 circles. also have some 5/0 kahles. i like to fish at night, and hammered the channel cats at the river last year. bullheads ive got access to tons of them, just never used em for bait. anyway, ill let yall know how my adventures comealong this year. donnie
There is really not one right or wrong rig, lots of room for personal taste and matching the rig to the conditions. Personally, I would drop the line to maybe 20 pound Big Game, but I fish lighter than most. Like Tim said - there's no way you could put 40 pounds of presure on a fish with that rod anyway. Those 5/0 kahles will be great for good size bluegills. I use mostly 3/0 to 5/0 kahles (3/0 for fairly small gills, 5/0 for hand size) and hook the bluegills in the nose (in the mouth and out the top of the nose). Works great for me.
Good Luck catching a flathead. I have getting a lot of good ideas off this site as I prepare for my first season chasing flatties. On to your question. First of all, I have doubts about your reel. The Black Max were good reels, but they were engineered to catch largemouth bass. A 10lb. largemouth is a giant, and they don't fight as hard as a 10lb. catfish. You hook into a 50lb.er, and you may trash your reel. I would want a smaller diameter line on that reel. I'm not worried a fish will pull off all your line, although one might, but even a fairly short run will decrease the diameter of the line+spool. This increases the stress on the drag, and that drag is iffy as it is. I would go with a superline, a braid or a fused line. I haven't used Power Pro, but a lot of guys on the site swear by it. Then use 15 or 20 feet of the Big Game as a leader for the stretch and abrasion resistance. Good luck, and remember, there is a new state record swimming around waiting to be caught, might as well be by you.
well i would go with spider wire then you can use more line on your spool as far as the bridge at the big blue fish towards the rocks near the bank i have caught some flaties there
ok guys took the 40# big game off and put 30# braided line. FINS is the brand and it seems pretty good stuff. left about 10yds of the 40# big game on there and tied the braided line onto it. is that a good thing to do or not? have about 140 yds of braid on there right now and a 3.5 foot 40# bg leader.
Hey if I was you I would keep your set up the way you have it now, sounds like a pretty good set up, I know on my poles I have 30 pound big game line, your line and set up should work and bring you in some catfish, if I was you I beleive I would just keep it the way it is.
Seems most people forget that your supposed to fight the fish in.Where is the thrill fishing with 60 lb braid ? If I were to use braid on my 9 ft rod I am sure it would be like using a winch to bring them in for little fear of the line breaking. Anyhow I have been studying up on different line types and according to real life testing Mono is best for big game fish because it has stretch to absorb the shock of a big fish where as braid doesnt.The Flourocarbon line is meant to be invis and sink fast this could be a plus in ultra clear water. Sounds like your setup should be fine.Just remember sometimes less is more and this applies to fishing as well :cool2:
i never said there was thrill in catching a fish with 60lb braid. i wouldend use any braid over 30lbs on any of my rigs. i use a mono leader though and ive heard thats the way to go. fish lots of log jams thought and that little flimsy line tends to break pretty easy to i figured 30# oughta hold.
look channelcatman just use what makes you comfortable if you fish snags for flaties then go with a heavier line if you are scared of getting broke off i used to use 20lb line untill i lost a nice one 2yrs ago then i switched over to fifty after experimenting with 30 a while let me tell you the people here on this site are not aware of the small river we fish and how many log jams we have here in barton county ks so just go with your gut
alright gus thats what ill do go with my gut feeling. i do wish the arkansas was a little bigger. its still pretty good fishing the way it is though
Fish your rig like it is and it should be fine. Only you can decide if it works for you. I would never fish with the rigs some guys use, and I bet lots of them would hate my rigs. One thing I would watch is that 30 pd braid will break pretty easy if it gets any nicks or frays. Just check your line often and cut off any frayed section and retie.
