The Hole Truth About Flatheads In Rivers Right Now

JOHN LEHTO'S METHOD

John Lehto, as we've already established, is not a typical flathead fisherman. He doesn't care much for night fishing, and he claims to lack the patience he assumes is necessary to stillfish with livebait. What's most unusual about Lehto, though, is that his season doesn't begin until his neighbors in Somerset, Wisconsin, are putting their boats in storage and rigging their ice rods.

But he does like to catch big flatheads. Fishing from mid-October through the end of March, Lehto and two partners boated more than 250 flatheads in the Mississippi and St. Croix rivers on the Minnesota-Wisconsin border. Their remarkable catch included 15 fish over 40 pounds and two that topped 60. "My biggest fish was just under 70 pounds," Lehto adds, "which would have eclipsed the current Wisconsin record (65 pounds)."

Most of his fish are caught in main-river holes from 20 to 30 feet deep. "I usually drift through a hole at current speed," Lehto says, "using an electric motor only to correct my drift and keep the bait directly beneath the boat. Several drifts may be needed to find where the cats are holding. Sometimes most of the fish push toward the head of the hole, but at other times, they're lined up along the channel ledge or scattered throughout the core of the hole."

Lehto sometimes uses sonar to locate fish holding on or near the bottom, but they're difficult to discern from the bottom because of the sunken timber, rock, and other cover that litters the hole. "Flatheads usually hold behind large objects like wood and rock that deflect cover," Lehto adds, "but they also line up behind each other. At times, they're packed so tightly into prime holes that jigging without snagging a fish is almost impossible."

Most of the flatheads caught during the Coldwater Period are, as we've said, snagged, usually by anglers targeting walleye or sauger. This has made many anglers skeptical of those claiming to catch numbers of flatheads in water colder than about 50F. "I keep a detailed record of all my catches," Lehto counters, "including notes about how the fish was caught. I estimate that about 25 percent of my fish are snagged, but that's definitely not my intent, and most of the fish definitely are taking the bait."

Lehto's choice of bait may be the most remarkable aspect of his approach. His initial catches were made with the same plastic grub and minnow combinations used by walleye anglers, but he soon learned that soft plastics were enough to trigger strikes from semi-active flatheads. "I've had success with 3- to 5-inch shad imitators like Mister Twister Sassy Shads, Berkley Shimmy Shads, and Banjo Minnows.

"I always add some kind of scent to the bait--usually Berkley's Walleye Power Bait Attractant or Baitmate Catfish Scent--but I'm not sure how important scent is," Lehto continues. "I've also experimented with rattles inserted into the plastic baits, but again, I can't say for sure it produces more strikes. The whole key to this presentation seems to be keeping the bait near the bottom and jigging fairly aggressively to trigger strikes--just like walleye fishing."

Unlike walleye anglers, though, Lehto uses heavy-power muskie bucktail rods and large-capacity casting reels spooled with 40-pound monofilament. "Snags are so common that I've started using a 30-pound mono leader,"Lehto says. "I lose a few more jigs each season, but I'm not shortening my main line every time I break off. Heavy tackle also means more landed fish. Flatheads tend to be much more lethargic in cold water, but I still expect a battle to last about a minute for every three pounds of fish."