No one knows for sure why high-rise periods in late spring and early summer are so good for flatheads, but there's no doubt they are. Some anglers believe the flatheads are hungry after months on lean rations, and the sudden influx of food washed into the water by warm rain stimulates feeding activity. Others believe the spawning urge draws the fish together, and they feed ravenously to fatten up before the austerity of egg laying and nesting. Whatever the case, this is a boom time for flathead fans. No better situation exists for catching Mississippi flatheads in numbers.

James Patterson also targets flatheads in areas where a steep mudbank, slow current and timber combine to create an attractive area. Catfish visit such areas in spring, looking for spawning sites in protected cavities and undercuts in the woody cover. These fish may remain here or revisit the area season after season to feed on baitfish and crustaceans.

"I look for bluff banks with timber or old stumps sticking up," Patterson stated. "These are excellent fishing spots, particularly those on the downstream side of shallow sandbars where the current is slow and baitfish stack up. These banks often drop off into troughs of water that are more than 20 feet deep just 40 feet from shore. The troughs typically run parallel to the bank, and they're great features for cats. Flatheads run the troughs most of the year, depending on the water level and current speed. And you can catch them by working one of the two basic rigs in and around the cover."

Big flatheads scavenge very little, preferring live food, especially fish and crustaceans. "I use baits such as shad, goldfish, river shrimp, small bighead carp, small grass carp, small buffalo, bream and river minnows," Patterson said. "These are caught with a cast net, hook and bait or with the aid of minnow/shrimp traps.

"Any good live bait that is native to the river will work. I hook the shrimp through the tail and leave the barb sticking out. Live fish are hooked through the lips when in current, because strong current can open the baitfish's gill flaps and kill it if it's hooked behind the dorsal fin. When fishing slack water, however, I hook the baitfish behind the dorsal fin."

Trotlines provide another great means for tackling giant Mississippi flatheads. Most local "liners" set several short lines (10 to 15 hooks) perpendicular to the bank near prominent structure (outside river bends, river-bottom scour holes, logpiles, etc.). Goldfish are the bait of choice, because they remain lively for a long time and are highly attractive to big flats. Large (6-inch-plus) shiner minnows are also common baits.

The trotline staging (short lines to which the hooks are tied) should be attached to the main line with swivels to prevent big cats from rolling the rig and tangling it. It's also imperative to carry a big, sturdy landing net. I helped a fellow trotliner put an 80-pounder in the boat two years ago without a net, and it was only by the grace of God that we managed to get it in.

CHANNEL CATS
If it's channel cats you're after, make your way back into one of the many river-connected oxbows on the Mississippi. You can find them by watching for chutes running back into heavy stands of willows. Most of the lakes cover less than 100 acres, but all of them harbor phenomenal numbers of fat, sassy channel cats that will inhale almost any cat bait thrown their way.

Channel cats are especially common in older oxbows in which lots of hollow trees have toppled to create prime spawning holes. Look for channel cats anywhere there is a combination of cover, structure and food -- around fallen trees, beaver lodges, sunken Christmas tree shelters, weedbeds, shoreline riprap, stumpfields, docks, duck hunting blinds, river channels and the like.