10-26-2008, 11:50 AM
"Do you think Flatheads would thrive in Utah Lake?"
[cool] [#0000ff]YES. As you have also "seen on TV", flatheads live in some waters of the upper midwest that get colder...longer...than our Utah ponds. And, while they do appreciate underwater jungles to use for cover and ambush, they do not absolutely have to have it. They do just fine in many shallow ponds and lakes that have nothing but a lot of food for them...like Utah Lake.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I also lived in Arizona and fished flatheads in Patagonia, Roosevelt, Saguaro, Apache, Canyon, Horseshoe, Bartlett...and, of course, along the Colorado River. I LOVE THEM. They feed almost exclusively on live food...anything smaller than themselves...and are very aggressive. Lots of bass chasers get them on big bass lures and think they have the next world record bass on their lines. And, in my opinion, they are some of the best eating of all fish species...even when they get BIG. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Who knows how big they would get in Utah Lake? Flatheads do prefer warmer waters and are active only when the temps are above about 60 degrees. Once the water gets cold they seek out a deep hole and just go dormant on the bottom...unlike channel cats that feed all year, even under the ice. Flatheads feed voraciously in warmer water but would probably have only about 5 or 6 months of that in Utah Lake. But, that ain't much different than Minnesota...where they have 9 months of winter and 3 months of poor ice fishing.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Here are a couple of old Arizona flathead tubing pics.[/#0000ff]
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[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=10090;"]![[Image: gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=10090;]](http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=10090;)
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24# flathead cat, taken on a small crappie jig and 6# line.
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=10091;"]![[Image: gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=10091;]](http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=10091;)
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An even larger 30# flathead taken on light gear. The battle began at dusk and lasted after the sun went down.
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[cool] [#0000ff]YES. As you have also "seen on TV", flatheads live in some waters of the upper midwest that get colder...longer...than our Utah ponds. And, while they do appreciate underwater jungles to use for cover and ambush, they do not absolutely have to have it. They do just fine in many shallow ponds and lakes that have nothing but a lot of food for them...like Utah Lake.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I also lived in Arizona and fished flatheads in Patagonia, Roosevelt, Saguaro, Apache, Canyon, Horseshoe, Bartlett...and, of course, along the Colorado River. I LOVE THEM. They feed almost exclusively on live food...anything smaller than themselves...and are very aggressive. Lots of bass chasers get them on big bass lures and think they have the next world record bass on their lines. And, in my opinion, they are some of the best eating of all fish species...even when they get BIG. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Who knows how big they would get in Utah Lake? Flatheads do prefer warmer waters and are active only when the temps are above about 60 degrees. Once the water gets cold they seek out a deep hole and just go dormant on the bottom...unlike channel cats that feed all year, even under the ice. Flatheads feed voraciously in warmer water but would probably have only about 5 or 6 months of that in Utah Lake. But, that ain't much different than Minnesota...where they have 9 months of winter and 3 months of poor ice fishing.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Here are a couple of old Arizona flathead tubing pics.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=10090;"]
24# flathead cat, taken on a small crappie jig and 6# line.
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=10091;"]
An even larger 30# flathead taken on light gear. The battle began at dusk and lasted after the sun went down.
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