Cut Bait For Flatheads?

I was alone in the 14 foot jonboat on an overcast, muggy August morning. I had one rod on the front side of a piece of brush on an outside bend of the Minnesota River. The rod sported a rather large, 2 inch by 4 inch piece of sheephead fillet. The current was heavy, but the bait clicker on my Diawa could hold the bait still. Suddenly the rod jumped to life, sounding like a 16" Stihl chainsaw. I grabbed the rod and let the hook find home. A nice 25 lbs flathead...my first on cutbait.

As with any discussion regarding baits for catfish, this one is sure to arouse some controversies. Some die-hard flathead chasers may even consider it heresy. But my goal is to catch more and bigger catfish, not to follow convenstional wisdom. So let's explore the myth and reality of using cut-bait for flatheads.

The scene I've described was the first, but far from the last instance where I've caught decent flatheads on cut bait. Was I fishing for flatties? No. I was fishing for channels, but what a nice bonus. Since then, I have never intentionally set out to specifically catch flatheads on cut bait; but I have probably boated several dozen "accidentally" while fishing for channel cats. So, having spent alot more time targeting channel cats, I may well have caught more flatheads on cut bait than on live bait.

Everything I've read and heard about fishing for flatheads tells me that live bait is the only possible bait. Of course, the first flathead I ever caught was on a #5 mepps spinner...so there goes that wisdom. And, I've seen several decent flatties caught on a gob of nightcrawlers. I do believe that flatheads don't care much for "dead" offerings. So why do they slam cut bait with seeming regularity?

Over all the instances of flatheads on cutbait, there are some common circumstances. If we explore these commonalities, we may be able to discover an overall pattern. Here are some of the things I've noticed.

• It is always daylight when I catch flatheads on cutbait.
• The piece of cutbait is generally quite large, as I'm usually targeting big channel cats.
• The cut bait is generally "twitching fresh".
• It has always been on my favorite rig, with a swivel and a superline leader of 14-30".
• The water has always been relatively deep. In the area of the Minnesota where I usually fish, that means over 10 feet.
• There has always been fairly strong current.
• The majority have come on the top end of outside bends, with brush. The top end of outside bends offer the combination of deep water and strong current.

Let me hypothesize with regards to these parameters. I believe that in strong current, on the rig I've mentioned, the cut bait will often be quite active in the water. I've witnessed this by sometimes getting terribly twisted line when a swivel fails. I've never caught a flathead on cutbait in slack water, although conventional wisdom says that flatheads prefer slack water. I believe that the cutbait is almost acting like an artificial lure, spinning and flipping around. The flathead likely believes that it is a live baitfish.

I further believe that the flatheads spend the daylight hours in deeper water, near current; but in cover. That pretty much nails down the location I've presented...outside bend with cover. To further isolate the location, we move to the top end of the outside bend, where there is enough current to keep the cut bait "alive".

According to true scientific method, I must now test this hypothesis by attempting to reproduce the situation, and observing the results. Although I've never specifically targeted flatheads this way, I will do so in an attempt to prove the hypothesis. (I know, rough work but somebody has to do it :-) I will, of course post the findings of these experiments.