Look good to you?

Discussion in 'Flathead Catfish' started by JAinSC, Feb 21, 2008.

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  1. Feb 21, 2008 #1
    JAinSC

    JAinSC Active Member

    Messages:
    1,517
    State:
    South Carolina
    Name:
    put first name
    This is a spot way up the Edisto River here in SC. Does this spot look fishy to you? You can see the sandbar (right side of pic) drawn down much of the way across the river by last years drought. On the left side, the water deepens down to maybe 5 feet under the cut bank with logs and all.

    Up river is a long straight stretch of broad shallow water.

    Just below this is a little rocky riffle, then a run, and then a couple sharp bends with some pretty deep water (15 feet in places).

    Mostly just wanted to share a picture of some pretty water. It's still too cold to fish it, but at least I can look at the pics!
     

    Attached Files:

    JAinSC, Feb 21, 2008
    JAinSC, Feb 21, 2008
  3. Feb 21, 2008 #2
    The J-Man!

    The J-Man! New Member

    Messages:
    321
    State:
    St.Paul, MN
    Oh yeah! Remember that spot. It is nice to see that all waterways are not frozen everywhere like they are up here.
     
    The J-Man!, Feb 21, 2008
    The J-Man!, Feb 21, 2008

  5. Feb 21, 2008 #3
    joadb

    joadb Member

    Messages:
    286
    State:
    Clinton, Ohio,
    that looks about right.
     
    joadb, Feb 21, 2008
    joadb, Feb 21, 2008
  6. Feb 21, 2008 #4
    Blacky

    Blacky New Member

    Messages:
    10,351
    State:
    Philadelphia, P
    Those are some small rivers down there SC, John!
    And you get all those 40 to 50lbers out of that river?
     
    Blacky, Feb 21, 2008
    Blacky, Feb 21, 2008
  7. Feb 21, 2008 #5
    arkrivercatman

    arkrivercatman New Member

    Messages:
    4,472
    State:
    KS
    Looks like a good flathead hole and a beautiful river to boot.
     
    arkrivercatman, Feb 21, 2008
    arkrivercatman, Feb 21, 2008
  8. Feb 21, 2008 #6
    JAinSC

    JAinSC Active Member

    Messages:
    1,517
    State:
    South Carolina
    Name:
    put first name
    Actually, I generally fish a long ways down river from the area of this picture on the Edisto, and last year I fished the Santee River some, too. I have fished this area of the river some, but have caught very few flatheads, and nothing over 10 pounds. Down where I usually fish is not exactly "big water" though: average depth there is a few feet, with the deeper stretches maybe making it above 10.

    I just happened to have a pretty picture of this spot. I believe there are some good flatheads in this up river area, but I haven't had the patience to work them out yet. I don't get to fish as often as I'd like (does anyone?), so I tend to go to the higher percentage spots. I suspect that up river here, where the river is more split into classic pools, the good flatheads are probably resident in a pool for the warm season, probably only one good fish per pool. Down in a bit bigger water there's room for them to roam without stepping on anyone else's toes ("anyfish else"?) Almost nobody targets the big flatheads way up river, though, and some guys from the state told me they shocked a fish up there that looked bigger than the state record. I suspect that if I figured out the best holes (pools) and had the patience to get that big resident fish, I might find something special.
     
    JAinSC, Feb 21, 2008
    JAinSC, Feb 21, 2008
  9. Feb 21, 2008 #7
    poisonpits

    poisonpits Well-Known Member Supporting Member

    Messages:
    9,935
    State:
    arkansas
    Name:
    johnnie
    i have a place simular to that on a small river i fish here.its got rock where yours has sand but it has the deep hole below it like yours does.the flatheads live in the deeper water where there is a lot of wood but they come up into the shallows to feed at night.good place
     
    poisonpits, Feb 21, 2008
    poisonpits, Feb 21, 2008
  10. Feb 21, 2008 #8
    JAinSC

    JAinSC Active Member

    Messages:
    1,517
    State:
    South Carolina
    Name:
    put first name
    Johnnie/Poison -
    DO the fish come up into the shallows real late generally?
    The shallows below the riffle and above the hole always looked good to me, so I have tried there a couple of times, and had channel cats kill several baits, but no luck with flatheads. Maybe I just need to wait later? Do you think that in small waters the flatheads tend hunt later at night in general? Like maybe after midnight? Or is there something else I'm missing? I know it's a hard call to make based on so little info. Any suggestions would be appreciated, though.
     
    JAinSC, Feb 21, 2008
    JAinSC, Feb 21, 2008
  11. Feb 21, 2008 #9
    prostreetS10

    prostreetS10 New Member

    Messages:
    898
    State:
    ohio
    Looks like a good spot on that far bank in the pic. I would deffinantly give it a try.:wink:
     
    prostreetS10, Feb 21, 2008
    prostreetS10, Feb 21, 2008
  12. Feb 21, 2008 #10
    catfishjohn

    catfishjohn New Member

    Messages:
    10,217
    State:
    Greenup Co. KY
    Looks like a good spot to me. I'd definitely give it a shot! Good Luck!:wink::big_smile:
     
    catfishjohn, Feb 21, 2008
    catfishjohn, Feb 21, 2008
  13. Feb 21, 2008 #11
    bigfish08

    bigfish08 New Member

    Messages:
    375
    State:
    ohio
    big flatheads move into shallow riffles right at dusk, they will move up into the riffle, then back into the hole numerous times over the night, if you heard that they shocked up a possible state record you better at least give it a shot once in a while cause that means that area can grow fish that size, there is probally more of that size... good luck
     
    bigfish08, Feb 21, 2008
    bigfish08, Feb 21, 2008
  14. Feb 29, 2008 #12
    SangamonCatKiller

    SangamonCatKiller New Member

    Messages:
    488
    State:
    central illinois
    Looks like a decent hole, good luck!
     
    SangamonCatKiller, Feb 29, 2008
    SangamonCatKiller, Feb 29, 2008
  15. Feb 29, 2008 #13
    river scum

    river scum New Member

    Messages:
    3,474
    State:
    hooterville indiana
    that pic reminded me of the chipola river i fish in florida.
     
    river scum, Feb 29, 2008
    river scum, Feb 29, 2008
  16. Feb 29, 2008 #14
    yeppa

    yeppa New Member

    Messages:
    636
    State:
    Topeka, Kansas
    Sure is purty. Looks like a great place for fishin'....maybe even catchin'.
     
    yeppa, Feb 29, 2008
    yeppa, Feb 29, 2008
  17. Mar 1, 2008 #15
    poisonpits

    poisonpits Well-Known Member Supporting Member

    Messages:
    9,935
    State:
    arkansas
    Name:
    johnnie
    i have found that the flats start in but 30 min.to 2 hours after dark.the channels generaly feed rite up un till the flats start to move.if the river is up and got some mud in it they seem to bite better during the day.
     
    poisonpits, Mar 1, 2008
    poisonpits, Mar 1, 2008
  18. Mar 1, 2008 #16
    orion_xxvx

    orion_xxvx New Member

    Messages:
    397
    State:
    North Central Missouri
    Im a bit envious. I likkee!!
     
    orion_xxvx, Mar 1, 2008
    orion_xxvx, Mar 1, 2008
  19. Mar 1, 2008 #17
    brother hilljack

    brother hilljack New Member

    Messages:
    7,305
    State:
    Shelbyville, TN
    Looks good to me. There is no way to tell without actually scouting it out however. I have driven many a mile to fish a hole that looked good just to find out it sucked!!
     
    brother hilljack, Mar 1, 2008
    brother hilljack, Mar 1, 2008
  20. Mar 1, 2008 #18
    s_man

    s_man New Member

    Messages:
    3,012
    State:
    south east ohio
    John, This spring when the water gets around 60 degrees, that would be the time to start fishing that spot. Or other wood along the bank down from the bend. Once the water hits 60, you will have all the flatheads moving around looking for spawning sites as they feed up for the spawn. Logs and an under-cut bank are prime spawning spots so you may be able to catch multiple fish from one spot, just cause so many are cruising the banks looking for just a spot like that. If the water is high when you go, fish below the sandbar up aginst the bank on the near side. If they were staking out that under-cut bank/log combo they won't move far from it to get out of the stronger current cause they don't want to have to fight to get it back. They will just relocate to the side with less current and wait a couple days till the water goes back down.
     
    s_man, Mar 1, 2008
    s_man, Mar 1, 2008
  21. Mar 17, 2008 #19
    comanchero

    comanchero New Member

    Messages:
    119
    State:
    Minnesota
    On the left side, the water deepens down to maybe 5 feet under the cut bank with logs and all.


    John - I've got a spot similar to this that I always thought was too shallow to hold fish. During the spring high water period this area has good depth and a nice current flow but once the water stabilizes and falls to normal pool elevation it becomes a shallow backwater - the area does hold a lot of baitfish. I would fish it during high water and then give it up during low water. I passed it by for years during low water periods.

    Last year I went in there one night and caught two nice flats in water 2 to 3 feet deep. I think the flats would tuck up against the bank and in the timber during the day and then cruise that backwater at night to feed. The key seemed to be the baitfish. If there are baitfish around I would suspect there are flats nearby - you just have to break the code as to where they are at. The experience has me rethinking some of my other high water spots that I give up on later in the summer.
     
    comanchero, Mar 17, 2008
    comanchero, Mar 17, 2008
  22. Mar 17, 2008 #20
    CJ21

    CJ21 New Member

    Messages:
    4,303
    State:
    Montgomery, Alabama
    It looks good to be, I think its a good Flathead spot.
     
    CJ21, Mar 17, 2008
    CJ21, Mar 17, 2008
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