The White River is a natural spot for tangling with a large flathead like the one seen here. Bring stout rods, strong line and plenty of moxie. Photo by Keith Sutton

It's always a bit disconcerting when you're fishing at night and see fins the size of your hand cutting through the water. That may have accounted for my fishing companion's anxiety one dark summer night while we were anchored upstream from a sandbar on the Mississippi River.

Clouds obscured the moon, but we had been out long enough for our eyes to adjust to the darkness. Now and then, as we gazed at the river's rippled surface, we'd see an enormous swirl and a gigantic fin slicing through the water.

"I know they're just catfish," my friend said. "But if I accidentally fell in, I think you'd see me walk across the water trying to get back out. Those big things are spooky."

Nevertheless, my buddy and I were intent on catching one of the brutes cruising over the sandbar. Toward that end, we were drifting big goldfish beneath bobbers the size of oranges. The bait dangled just inches below the float, because the flathead cats were in water barely deep enough to cover themselves as they fed on shad that were schooling on the bars.

"Uh-oh," said my friend. "Something's going on. I felt one tap my line."

Suddenly, his bobber shot out of sight, and the fish that had taken his bait surged away, putting a stiff bend in his rod. The catfish spun in the water as my friend grimaced and cranked, but after a brief, exciting tussle, the fish was subdued. It was a nice flathead, 21 pounds of muscle and mouth. And before we left the river, we caught six more of its whiskered brethren.

Bigger specimens eluded us, although from the size of the fins we saw, we were pretty certain there were some exceeding 50 pounds feeding over the bar. That's the way it is with heavyweight flatheads, though: Sometimes you get the best of them; sometimes they get the best of you.

One thing's for sure: If you want to land a big Arkansas flathead, now's the time to try. During the heat of summer, big flatheads move shallow at night to feed, making them much easier to target than during daylight hours when they're likely to be hidden away in heavy timber or other cover in deeper water. If you can handle the spooky nature of fishing for these fascinating catfish, you have a good chance of boating the biggest fish you've ever caught. In Arkansas, only alligator gars grow larger.

Arkansas encompasses scores of lakes and rivers offering excellent fishing for flatheads. Coming up with a list of the best is like trying to pick the state's best restaurants. Lots of excellent establishments are bound to get left out. Nevertheless, the following are short reviews of some top waters renowned for great flathead fishing. Some are best known for their trophy potential. Others have well-deserved reputations for fast action -- lots of cats caught in a day's fishing, with an occasional lunker in the harvest to keep you on your toes. All of them offer excellent fishing for the savvy catter.

ARKANSAS RIVER
The Arkansas River is the undisputed queen of Arkansas flathead waters. No other body of water in the Natural State has produced as many record-book flatheads. Fishing is excellent through the warm months on the entire length of the river from Ft. Smith to its mouth near Yancopin.