The Flathead lives in deep pools with dense cover and log jams. The Flathead Catfish feeds mostly on other fish, using its sense of smell and ability to detect vibration through its lateral line to hunt. At night it may more actively feed or even forage in shallow waters.
Occasionally a Flathead will grab an artificial lure, but they usually are caught on large live bait fish or night crawlers lowered into deep pools or heavy cover. Flathead generally stay away from the dead baits and "stink baits" so popular for channel cat.
The Flathead Catfish spawns in summer when the water are 72 to 75 degrees. It nests in cavities, such as hollow logs, root wads or log jams in quiet water.
During the winter, Flathead Catfish seeks deep waters, where boulders or logs provide refuge from current. There they remain through the winter, so still that they may be covered by a fine dusting of silt.
The Channel Cat spawns in early summer when the water reaches 75-80 degrees. Like the Flathead, it uses nesting cavities, such as hollow logs, log jams and undercut banks. It requires reliable flows of well-oxygenated water but can tolerate turbid water and temperatures in the high 90s. Murky water, in fact, protects newly hatched Channel Catfish from sight-feeding predators. During the winter, the Channel Cat seeks deep water and protection from the current. In big-river wintering areas, Channel Cat and Flathead may be found side by side.
The Channel Cat is more wide ranging than the Flathead. In spring it may move many miles upstream, often into smaller tributaries. It moves downstream again in late fall. Over the course of several years it may move more than 100 miles, even through locks or over dams.
The Channel Cat feeds on snails, crayfish, aquatic insects, other invertebrates, and small fish. The presence of grasshoppers and other insects in its stomach indicates it occasionally feeds at the surface. Like the Flathead, the Channel Cat can feed in the dark or in murky water, finding food by smell, touch or sensing vibration. It is much more likely than the Flathead to feed on carrion or to take dead bait. On the other hand, it is also far more likely to strike a spinner, plug or jig.
