West Point Lake Record Flathead Catfish

Justin Tomlinson with his flathead catfish

Justin Tomlinson caught this 37-lb., 14.7-oz. lake-record flathead catfish on West Point Lake on July 4, 2012.

Flatheads first start showing up in substantial numbers on West Point Lake around 2002, when hybrid anglers starting catching them up the Chattahoochee River during the spring lineside run.

In a 2008 article detailing how to catch West Point flathead catfish, guide Paul Parsons said, “I think there are some 40 and 50 pounders in there. I had a client hook into one that sat on the bottom for 30 minutes while we did everything we could to get it up. It finally threw the hook, and I went out and got some rods with more backbone.”