Awesome pics. and story. I can totally relate to your story. The river I fish back home has plenty of big flatheads and good size smallies as well. My father grew up fishing on the same river and was always telling me stories about the big flatheads they would catch. It took some research and patience, but finally I was able to consistenly hook into large flathead. 2 years ago in July I had one my most memorable days of fishing ever. Went to the river in the morning and caught a 20" pig of a smallmouth and later that night landed 22, 35 and 45 pound flatheads. I am always amazed at the brute force of those fish! Nothing like hearing the clicker on the reel go off, turning the handle, setting the hook and then almost getting taken off your feet. It's always a fun change from smallmouth fishing. I typically fish at night off the bank and sit back and enjoy all the sounds and night time activity. I always look forward to heading back to Illinois and getting out on my favorite river for June and July. The rest of the year I occupy my time fishing for Giant Snakehead here in Thailand. They don't fight as hard as smallies or flatheads, but the fact they can take off a finger makes it pretty exciting!