Flathead on my ultralight

bluebasser86 · 04-05-12, 07:05 PM

Went down to a little creek today to play around with my ultralight. The creek is about 15 feet across and 6inches to 3 feet deep in the area I was fishing. It's not far from where it runs out of the lake and eventually runs into the Kansas River. Since it runs into the river it gets a fair amount of fish that you wouldn't expect to see in such a tiny creek. I was catching sunfish and bluegills on one of my homemade trout jigs in an olive color and a 1/80 ounce when I stumbled across a flathead that was laying out of the current in some rocks. I couldn't get the tiny jig down to him because the current kept pushing it right past him. I switched to a bigger one of my jigs, a pink and white one that was 1/8oz. I was tossing it on a 6' Avid ultralight rated 1-6lb test on a 750 Shimano Sedona with 3.5lb D.A.M. Techtan line. I dropped that jig right on the flatheads nose and just shook it a little bit. I know the hair had to be touching his lip and the shaking must have done the trick because he tipped down a little and very gently sucked the jig in. I set the hook on it and new right away that it was going to be lucky if I ever got to touch that fish. After about 20 minutes of playing tug of war in the current and doing everything I could to keep it out of the rocks and laydowns and after a few missed attempts to get a hold of him, I finally got my thumb in his mouth.
I didn't have my camera or my scale but I wasn't far from home so I filled up a rubbermaid tote with water and hurried home to weigh him and get a couple pictures. He registered 9lbs 12ozs and to my surprise, was blind in both eyes. I got a couple pictures of him and drove back to a deeper portion of the creek, closer to the river where he'll be less likely to be caught by someone who would love to have some deep fried flathead nuggets.

rrw4258 · 04-07-12, 07:37 AM

Holy cow, I bet that was an awesome fight on an ultralight rod. Very nice fish!

Ryan

keithdog · 04-07-12, 10:44 AM

That must have been a BLAST! Can't imagine fighting a fish like that on an ultra light. You done good man.

66KingFisher · 04-07-12, 02:50 PM

Yeah, I bet that was a fun battle on ultralite equipment.

nofearengineer · 04-07-12, 03:16 PM

A big ol' cat on UL tackle is beyond fun. It's white knuckle terror hahaha. Nice work, man.

keithdog · 04-08-12, 12:10 AM

By the way, I see your boat in the back ground. Looks pretty much exactly like what I'd like to get. Is that a Lowe boat?

bluebasser86 · 04-08-12, 08:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by keithdog

By the way, I see your boat in the back ground. Looks pretty much exactly like what I'd like to get. Is that a Lowe boat?

Yes it is, a 16' Lowe Roughneck with a 60HP 4 stroke Mercury to be exact. Been a good boat for me for about 5 years now. I'd be willing to bet there's been more fish pulled into it than there is into a lot of expensive fiberglass boats

Bassboss · 04-08-12, 10:50 PM

Man, I bet that was fun! Big fish I light tackle are a blast!

islandbass · 04-09-12, 03:29 AM

On a ul rig? That is totally awesome. The fight must have been incredible. Thanks for sharing.

04-05-12, 07:05 PM	#1
bluebasser86 BassFishin.Com Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Gardner, KS Posts: 605	Flathead on my ultralight Went down to a little creek today to play around with my ultralight. The creek is about 15 feet across and 6inches to 3 feet deep in the area I was fishing. It's not far from where it runs out of the lake and eventually runs into the Kansas River. Since it runs into the river it gets a fair amount of fish that you wouldn't expect to see in such a tiny creek. I was catching sunfish and bluegills on one of my homemade trout jigs in an olive color and a 1/80 ounce when I stumbled across a flathead that was laying out of the current in some rocks. I couldn't get the tiny jig down to him because the current kept pushing it right past him. I switched to a bigger one of my jigs, a pink and white one that was 1/8oz. I was tossing it on a 6' Avid ultralight rated 1-6lb test on a 750 Shimano Sedona with 3.5lb D.A.M. Techtan line. I dropped that jig right on the flatheads nose and just shook it a little bit. I know the hair had to be touching his lip and the shaking must have done the trick because he tipped down a little and very gently sucked the jig in. I set the hook on it and new right away that it was going to be lucky if I ever got to touch that fish. After about 20 minutes of playing tug of war in the current and doing everything I could to keep it out of the rocks and laydowns and after a few missed attempts to get a hold of him, I finally got my thumb in his mouth. I didn't have my camera or my scale but I wasn't far from home so I filled up a rubbermaid tote with water and hurried home to weigh him and get a couple pictures. He registered 9lbs 12ozs and to my surprise, was blind in both eyes. I got a couple pictures of him and drove back to a deeper portion of the creek, closer to the river where he'll be less likely to be caught by someone who would love to have some deep fried flathead nuggets.

04-07-12, 07:37 AM	#2
rrw4258 BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Bellevue, Ohio Posts: 2,338	Holy cow, I bet that was an awesome fight on an ultralight rod. Very nice fish! Ryan __________________ Never Give Up!

04-07-12, 10:44 AM	#3
keithdog BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: IN Posts: 8,308	That must have been a BLAST! Can't imagine fighting a fish like that on an ultra light. You done good man. __________________ Just one more cast, and then some!

04-07-12, 02:50 PM	#4
66KingFisher BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Mena,Arkansas Posts: 1,327	Yeah, I bet that was a fun battle on ultralite equipment. __________________ In memory of lost fishin buddy's, Ricky Shealy, Keith Hale, Zooker Dickerson.

04-07-12, 03:16 PM	#5
nofearengineer BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Southwest IN Posts: 5,630	A big ol' cat on UL tackle is beyond fun. It's white knuckle terror hahaha. Nice work, man. __________________ Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing it is not fish they are after.

04-08-12, 12:10 AM	#6
keithdog BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: IN Posts: 8,308	By the way, I see your boat in the back ground. Looks pretty much exactly like what I'd like to get. Is that a Lowe boat? __________________ Just one more cast, and then some!

04-08-12, 10:50 PM	#8
Bassboss BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Shawano, WI Posts: 7,761	Man, I bet that was fun! Big fish I light tackle are a blast! __________________ If you can't fix it with heavy squats or fish oil, you're probably going to die.

04-09-12, 03:29 AM	#9
islandbass BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: WA State Posts: 1,783	On a ul rig? That is totally awesome. The fight must have been incredible. Thanks for sharing. __________________ ARX "If people concentrated on the really important things in life, there'd be a shortage of fishing poles." Doug Larson (Shimano 2005 Reel Catalog)

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)