Flatheads at taylorsville

I'm looking to target flathead cats at taylorsville. Any info on bait or locations to try would be greatly appreciated. They will all be CPR

Live blue gill for the flat heads. I fish mostly Cumberland though so can't help on the locations.

[QUOTE=luvtohunt;569549]Live blue gill for the flat heads. I fish mostly Cumberland though so can't help on the locations.[/QUOTE]

Actually ... live Green Sunfish are the preferred bait for Flathead Catfish. They can be easily caught by casting a small jig or Road Runner (1/32oz-1/16oz) along the bank (within the first 2-3ft off the shoreline).

I catch them all the time, casting jigs/RR's for Crappie. But, I don't fish specifically for Catfish, so I wouldn't have any idea of any favorable area for Flatheads. Most accidental Catfish catches of mine are Channels or Blues. I can't say that I've ever caught a Flathead at Taylorsville, even though I've used Minnows & Shad in past years fishing for Crappie or Hybrids.

i've had success with cut frozen bluegill and chicken livers soaked with with cherry kool-aid, strawberry extract, salt, and anise oil. bait thread works well to keep chicken livers on.

[QUOTE=JBake502;569553]i've had success with cut frozen bluegill and chicken livers soaked with with cherry kool-aid, strawberry extract, salt, and anise oil. bait thread works well to keep chicken livers on.[/QUOTE]

Chicken Livers are the reason why there's not as many keeper Hybrids in Taylorsville as there should be ..... LOL !! Catfish anglers using Chicken Livers started catching the Hybrids more often than Catfish, and the word got out. I used to see half a dozen or more boats just floating around on the flats (around the corner from Settler's, going towards the Dam) ... all using Chicken Livers fishing for Hybrids. Don't see that so much, anymore, but then I'm not at Taylorsville as often as I was back then (and definitely not on Summer weekends).

[QUOTE=crappiepappy;569554]Chicken Livers are the reason why there's not as many keeper Hybrids in Taylorsville as there should be ..... LOL !! Catfish anglers using Chicken Livers started catching the Hybrids more often than Catfish, and the word got out. I used to see half a dozen or more boats just floating around on the flats (around the corner from Settler's, going towards the Dam) ... all using Chicken Livers fishing for Hybrids. Don't see that so much, anymore, but then I'm not at Taylorsville as often as I was back then (and definitely not on Summer weekends).[/QUOTE]

Interesting, I have used livers 4-5 times and never caught a hybrid on them. I have only caught hybrids on lipless cranks before down by the tailwaters spillway.

[QUOTE=JBake502;569559]Interesting, I have used livers 4-5 times and never caught a hybrid on them. I have only caught hybrids on lipless cranks before down by the tailwaters spillway.[/QUOTE]


LOL .... maybe the current generation of Hybrids is smarter than that. And I do admit, it was decades ago when the CL's were catching a lot of the bigger Hybrids.

About the only thing you're likely to catch in the spillway nowadays is an Asian Carp (when there's a good amount of water being released). Couple of years ago I fished down there, casting a Road Runner, and all I was doing was temporarily snagging into Asian Carp & rolling them over. Friend of mine went back and actually snagged & landed one about 15lbs. She didn't know what it was & turned it loose. I'd have had her cut the gills out before throwing it back, had I been there.

[QUOTE=crappiepappy;569554]Chicken Livers are the reason why there's not as many keeper Hybrids in Taylorsville as there should be ..... LOL !! Catfish anglers using Chicken Livers started catching the Hybrids more often than Catfish, and the word got out. I used to see half a dozen or more boats just floating around on the flats (around the corner from Settler's, going towards the Dam) ... all using Chicken Livers fishing for Hybrids. Don't see that so much, anymore, but then I'm not at Taylorsville as often as I was back then (and definitely not on Summer weekends).[/QUOTE]


Interesting thing about hybrids and chicken livers...hybrids are a cross breed between a white bass and a striper. They are cross bred in a fish hatchery and stocked into lakes. They have a very small natural reproduction so they must be constantly stocked to ensure the population does not go extinct. While at the fish hatchery the fingerlings are feed pellets. These pellets are primarily made of liver...hence the reason they have an acquired taste for chicken liver.

[QUOTE=crappiepappy;569551]Actually ... live Green Sunfish are the preferred bait for Flathead Catfish. They can be easily caught by casting a small jig or Road Runner (1/32oz

I do prefer to use sun grannies but not because I think they are better bait, it is because they live longer on a hook. I have caught just as many flatheads on bluegill as sun grannies. Just my experience. For me, cut bait always ends up in a channel or blues mouth, rarely a flathead.

At the hatchery in Frankfort they said the same thing about the pellet feed. Anything raised in the hatchery would eat liver.
The regs have changed on live bait, greens were always fair game, and now you can use gills under a certain size. I have seen guys noodling for them over there, but my experience with flathead is live bait, including crawlers further up the lake. There are always channels mixed in anywhere on the lake, but the flathead won't take hot dogs and that's what we use for numbers.

Thanks for the replys guys. Ima give blue gills a shot and see what happens