Tag Archives: catfish

Yesterday I hooked a 4′ flathead on a panfish gold hook LOL I was not expecting anything THAT large and was awestruck when what I thought was a tight drag setting was simply not tight enough to keep this monster from pulling out to the left and back around a stump and to the right before I tightened my drag. At that point my gear shot out of the creek back at me and I recovered all of my gear, but I want to go back and try again and would like to know if I should just let it go loose on drag and keep it loose to maneuver my line over the stump as it travels or keep it tight to not let the fish do what it obviously wants to do. If you have experience working in backwater creeks like this from a raised position and opportunity to make it to the bank after the fish is tired, as to land it, please give me some of your fishing guru wisdom here. I will trial and error based on some good technique ideas. I can’t buy any other reels or poles so what I am looking for is technique and experience in an answer, not equipment upgrades or boat usage. By raised position I mean that I would start out on the road/flow through pipes and maneuver down rocky embankment to the shore to drag him in.
BQ: Am I living a fantasy thinking I might be able to land a 50# flathead in this manner? I am not looking to be ridiculed here peeps. I love fishing and that thing just gave me the most exciting 12 seconds of my fishing experiences and I am just hoping I might be able to learn some ideas to be more prepared from you.