The pole barely moves, except for a rare, almost imperceptible twitch. Holding the line by hand lets you feel the occasional bump before you pull back and set the hook. For 30 seconds you swear there’s a rock on the end of your line, except it’s moving.
Then, in the blink of an eye, it’s over and the fish swims free. Yet, the all-too-short tussle is enough to whet your appetite and want to try again for the largest fish that now inhabits the Delaware River.
“Did you feel that? It was big, wasn’t it,” says Eric Fistler of Williams Township, guide for a night of flathead catfish angling that ends too soon as a thunderstorm hits the river.
First discovered in the Delaware about 12 years ago, the flathead catfish has found the river and its food supply much to its liking, with the population growing steadily with each passing year. Not surprising, the big bottom dwellers have developed a small but dedicated following of anglers who like to battle the hard-fighting fish.
“I started catching them striper fishing; that’s how I got into them,” says David Au of Phillipsburg, who has been fishing for flatheads for about a decade.
Native to western Pennsylvania rivers like the Allegheny and Monongahela, flatheads have found their way into a number of other drainages in recent years including the Susquehanna, Schuylkill and now the Delaware. Since they aren’t native to these waters, they have quickly established their populations, moving to the top of the food chain in rapid fashion.
The first official reports of flatheads being caught in the Delaware came in 2008 and 2009 from the N.J. Division of Fish and Wildlife. The fish likely entered the river from the Schuylkill River, where they had been discovered several years earlier.
Early flathead catches by Delaware anglers produced smaller fish in the 7-10 pound range, with the fish growing in size over the years. Today, fishermen regularly catch specimens in the 15- to 30-pound range, with some in the 40-pound range reported.
In May, the Schuylkill River, which empties into the Delaware, produced a new Pennsylvania state record flathead when Jonathan Pierce of Philadelphia landed a massive 56.3-pound specimen. Au and Fistler both feel the Delaware has the potential to produce the next record.
“We’re just a few years away,” Fistler says. “That’s what everyone’s saying.”
Most anglers who target catfish set their sights on night fishing, as the fish are more active after dark and the chances of catching a large specimen increases substantially.
“All the big ones I’ve ever caught have been after dark,” Fistler says.
As far as angling for fish that are measured in pounds rather than inches, the key is using the right bait, rods and reels. Fistler prefers 7- and 8-foot medium/heavy action rods and at least 25-pound test line. Live bait such as sunfish and eels work well, but the fish will also take chunks of cut up fish as well.
“They’re catching them everywhere (right now),” Fistler says. “They’re catching them in shallow water, deep water, fast water and slow water. I personally love the slow flows.”
Both Au and Fistler have landed several flatheads over 15 pounds, with Au’s largest being a pair of 32 pounders, while Fistler has a 17 pounder to his credit. When one thinks of fish of that size, you’d expect they’d grab the bait aggressively, but both men say sometimes you don’t even realize there’s a fish on the line.
“A flathead will just pick it up and move away with it really slow,” Fistler says. “A channel catfish will fly down the river and your drag will scream out. You can pretty much tell the difference.”
Au agrees.
“I’ve had 10 or more fish that when I go to reel my pole in, my pole had not moved,” he says. “I’m fishing with a 7-inch bluegill and when I went to reel it in, I actually had a 20-plus pound fish that swallowed it without even giving me any kind of indication I had a bite.”
For anglers who want to give flathead fishing a try, the nice thing is it’s rather easy to fish for them, as long as you have the proper rod, reel, line and bait. You basically cast out and wait. And, simply being in the right spot at the right time might make all the difference in the world.
“Your chances of catching the state record or a 40-pound flathead are as good as mine if you go on the bank at the boat ramp in Phillipsburg and throw a bluegill out,” Au says. “Many big fish have been caught right there at that boat ramp.”
The Link LonkAugust 04, 2020 at 05:30PM
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Flathead fever: Anglers target a monster fish now inhabiting the Delaware River - lehighvalleylive.com
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