vweeks
Advanced Poster
Posts:234
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| 22 May 2010 10:18 AM |
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I'm new to the bullhead experience so if any body out there could give me some tips and pointers on where to look and what to use to catch them would be great. |
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| Fishing.. one of the few things in life that keep me sane. |
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tattoodfreek2000
New Poster
Posts:7
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| 22 May 2010 11:41 AM |
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Bullheads will hit most anything. Nightcrawlers,stinkbait,shrimp,liver,even cut bait.I've seen people use hot dogs & soap as well. Good luck! |
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slipperybob
Veteran Poster
Posts:1240
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| 22 May 2010 01:39 PM |
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Fish ponds or lakes. I've fished some streams or creeks that have a lot of them in the slack waters. Just make sure it's good water so you don't transport invasive aquatics to another body of water. |
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tstanberg
New Poster
Posts:2
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| 27 May 2010 03:02 AM |
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for just learning i would start off making shure there is bullheads in the water that you are planning on fishing and then id recomend using nightcrawlers under a bobber and dont let them have it too long or you will be retriving hooks out of the guts of the fisty eaters, a side note watch the barbs on the sides and the dorsal of the bullheads they hurt for hours if you get poked by them!! good luck |
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fishmaster2100
New Poster
Posts:4
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| 27 Jul 2010 10:33 AM |
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use chicken liver on a size 4 bait holder hook. The easiest and one of the most effective rig for these guys would be the slip weight rig with an egg sinker and snap swivel. Make sure to set the hook immediatly and hard on these guys because they will swallow the hook by the second bite |
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UncleTomJigs
Advanced Poster
Posts:449
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| 27 Jul 2010 11:31 AM |
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I've been trying to figure out what a bullhead is. Are they what some Southerners call "speckled cat"? Another man told me that in the old days(?) they use to call them Government Cat because when times were hard the Government stocked them all over the country? I looked them up in one of my books from NAFC Library and it appeared to me that they are what you would call a "Brown Bullhead" which rarely gets above six pounds and that they bite best in hot weather and late in the afternoon. Waiting to hear from some of our bull headed experts (that don't seem quite right but what the heck) Uncle Tom  Are they could to eat? |
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| I built my own lure company as a young man--thus the name UncleTomsJigs. It grew so well I decided to give it up and go fishing with family, friends and especially grand children. I became disabled as a United Methodist Pastor IN 2002 and retired here in Coastal Georgia on a 10 acre lake where I continue to fish despite my disabilities. My wonderful wife and I enjoy fishing together. God has blessed us in so many ways and we pray the same for you. I am excited about having so many new friends all over this great country. |
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mr bill
Veteran Poster
Posts:1903
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| 27 Jul 2010 02:31 PM |
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bullheads do belong to the cat family and they do not get very big per say like yer channels or flats. a 6lb bullhead is very big. expect most of them to be between 12 and 18 inches-- for browns er yellows and for blacks 8 to 14 inches is the average.
depending on the waters you are planning on fishing is what rig you might choice to use. in a lake in early spring i use a bell sinker at the bottom of my line with a couple of hooks tied about a foot apart above that. the bell sinker should only be big enough to hold it on the bottom and to get your bait out far enough from shore.
another rig i use is the slip egg sinker about a foot or 2 above a hook, like when i drag a crawler for smallies er eyes.
for bait, a bullhead will eat about anything. crawlers, worms, minnows, hotdogs, baloney, cheese so on and so forth......anything you would use for cats and then some.
oh ya like it was said before.......wait until you can feel them pulling as they are taking off and you will have to dig deep ta get yer hook back during the summer that is. early spring you might have to wait for them to start there run with the bait to set the hook. |
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UncleTomJigs
Advanced Poster
Posts:449
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| 27 Jul 2010 02:48 PM |
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Thanks Mr. Bill, I learned more about bullheads in the last few minutes than I have learned in a lifetime and that is already nearing three score and four. Has anyone ever heard them called "government cats". My Dad who is knocking on the door of four score and four says he thinks they called them that back in the days of the CCC Camps. He is seldom wrong! My Mom use to say there are very few homes that has someone in it that knows everything but one that has three is unbelievable! Good luck and good fishing! My wife says she caught a bullhead more than forty years ago. Happy Anniversary Dear! or was it Happy Birthday! Uncle Tom |
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| I built my own lure company as a young man--thus the name UncleTomsJigs. It grew so well I decided to give it up and go fishing with family, friends and especially grand children. I became disabled as a United Methodist Pastor IN 2002 and retired here in Coastal Georgia on a 10 acre lake where I continue to fish despite my disabilities. My wonderful wife and I enjoy fishing together. God has blessed us in so many ways and we pray the same for you. I am excited about having so many new friends all over this great country. |
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mr bill
Veteran Poster
Posts:1903
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| 27 Jul 2010 09:06 PM |
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lmao tom......so which is it and ya better get it right if ya want ta see her have another........hehehehehehheeee
went to the river to fish for smallies. i caught 6 bullheads to nite on minnows. did get a few bass too.
tom i think yer goverment cats were any small cat or bullheads that feed the family during the depression.
but i did hear a story once about that during the depression that the main fish that was harvested by the market fisherman were cats and the gov. help allot of fish farms get started during that time and cats were the main fish planted in these farm ponds. so maybe we just might need to do more surching and find the answer. |
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fisherfanatic
Veteran Poster
Posts:1494
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| 27 Jul 2010 09:26 PM |
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I usually catch them with hot dogs and dough balls (bread) by accident when fishing for carp. They grow pretty large in the place I fish.
TIGHT LINES! |
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| "I may be physically at my computer right now, but my mind has gone fishing!" --Avid angler from MI and member since 2009-- |
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mr bill
Veteran Poster
Posts:1903
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| 28 Jul 2010 11:55 AM |
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oh tom the big dif between a cat and a bullhead if ya didn't know already is cats have forked tails and bullheads are rounded |
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fisherfanatic
Veteran Poster
Posts:1494
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| 28 Jul 2010 01:02 PM |
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Mr bill, there are other differences. Some bullhead have squared tails and different fin shapes.
TIGHT LINES! |
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| "I may be physically at my computer right now, but my mind has gone fishing!" --Avid angler from MI and member since 2009-- |
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UncleTomJigs
Advanced Poster
Posts:449
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| 28 Jul 2010 03:21 PM |
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| I built my own lure company as a young man--thus the name UncleTomsJigs. It grew so well I decided to give it up and go fishing with family, friends and especially grand children. I became disabled as a United Methodist Pastor IN 2002 and retired here in Coastal Georgia on a 10 acre lake where I continue to fish despite my disabilities. My wonderful wife and I enjoy fishing together. God has blessed us in so many ways and we pray the same for you. I am excited about having so many new friends all over this great country. |
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mr bill
Veteran Poster
Posts:1903
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| 29 Jul 2010 06:36 PM |
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yer right multispecies there are allot more detailed differences, but the forked to rounded or slightly squared tail is the most noticeable.
happy fishing everyone
will thanks tom......i'm just saying what i remember what was said by dad and uncles........i just hope i remember right....on the government cats that is. |
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fisherfanatic
Veteran Poster
Posts:1494
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| 30 Jul 2010 09:21 PM |
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...by the way, vweeks, did you get an avatar?
TIGHT LINES! |
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| "I may be physically at my computer right now, but my mind has gone fishing!" --Avid angler from MI and member since 2009-- |
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vweeks
Advanced Poster
Posts:234
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| 31 Jul 2010 03:51 PM |
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Posted By multispecies101 on 30 Jul 2010 10:21 PM
...by the way, vweeks, did you get an avatar?
TIGHT LINES!
haha yea, one of the many recent pictures from california fishing. I was there for a summer camp but in my free time i was with my brother, his girlfriend and her family and her dad her brother and a guy who works with bass pro shops took me out on a boat. I got to drive it as well. |
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| Fishing.. one of the few things in life that keep me sane. |
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fisherfanatic
Veteran Poster
Posts:1494
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| 03 Aug 2010 09:49 PM |
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Went fishing for Bullhead tonight at my local pond. Caught an 8 in., 12 in., and a 14 or 15 in. monster. I was using wheat bread wrapped around a hook on my baitcasting rod. I got a few pictures, but I took them with my phone and I'm not really sure how to get them off of it at this time. I'll try to post them soon!
TIGHT LINES! |
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| "I may be physically at my computer right now, but my mind has gone fishing!" --Avid angler from MI and member since 2009-- |
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fisherfanatic
Veteran Poster
Posts:1494
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| 03 Aug 2010 10:27 PM |
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 Here it is! I'm pretty sure this is the twelve incher. The other pictures didn't turn out.  TIGHT LINES! |
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| "I may be physically at my computer right now, but my mind has gone fishing!" --Avid angler from MI and member since 2009-- |
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vweeks
Advanced Poster
Posts:234
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| 14 Sep 2010 03:11 PM |
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Has anyone tried using Berkley Powerbait Catfish Dough Baits? |
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| Fishing.. one of the few things in life that keep me sane. |
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slipperybob
Veteran Poster
Posts:1240
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| 14 Sep 2010 05:00 PM |
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I catch more bullheads off of a Powerbait soft plastics than I would ever catch on any Powerbait Catfish Dough Bait. I went through a whole package of blood doughbait over one summer and didn't get a single thing. |
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fisherfanatic
Veteran Poster
Posts:1494
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| 15 Sep 2010 05:06 AM |
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Heres a few pictures of some bullhead I caught about a month ago. The picture quality is terrible!  14"  9"  The pictures were taken by my cell phone. |
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| "I may be physically at my computer right now, but my mind has gone fishing!" --Avid angler from MI and member since 2009-- |
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fisherfanatic
Veteran Poster
Posts:1494
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| 15 Sep 2010 05:08 AM |
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| "I may be physically at my computer right now, but my mind has gone fishing!" --Avid angler from MI and member since 2009-- |
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JoeB
New Poster
Posts:172
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| 16 Sep 2010 08:42 PM |
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Uncle Tom,
Speckled cats are channel cats, Bullheads are excellent eating if small and the breaded and fried roe is quite a treat. Don't bother to fillet them just fry 'em up whole and strip them like corn on the cob. |
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UncleTomJigs
Advanced Poster
Posts:449
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| 17 Sep 2010 08:25 AM |
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Greenlantern, thanks very much for your help. However, I am still confused? My Dad who is 84 and has hardly ever missed a day fishing. He says these "speckled cats" were once called "government cats" and were released during the days of the great depression--hoping they would grow and people would have something to eat. In the NAFC book entitled Catfishing Strategies on page 8 there is a channel catfish with a few spots but on page 20 there is another picture of the fish I am trying to find out about and it is called a brown bullhead. How about some input from you seasoned fisherman? I started to say
oldtimers but someone might take offense and none was intended, especially since I belong in that group. Uncle Tom
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| I built my own lure company as a young man--thus the name UncleTomsJigs. It grew so well I decided to give it up and go fishing with family, friends and especially grand children. I became disabled as a United Methodist Pastor IN 2002 and retired here in Coastal Georgia on a 10 acre lake where I continue to fish despite my disabilities. My wonderful wife and I enjoy fishing together. God has blessed us in so many ways and we pray the same for you. I am excited about having so many new friends all over this great country. |
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fisherfanatic
Veteran Poster
Posts:1494
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| 17 Sep 2010 02:49 PM |
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Posted By UncleTomJigs on 17 Sep 2010 09:25 AM
Greenlantern, thanks very much for your help. However, I am still confused? My Dad who is 84 and has hardly ever missed a day fishing. He says these "speckled cats" were once called "government cats" and were released during the days of the great depression--hoping they would grow and people would have something to eat. In the NAFC book entitled Catfishing Strategies on page 8 there is a channel catfish with a few spots but on page 20 there is another picture of the fish I am trying to find out about and it is called a brown bullhead. How about some input from you seasoned fisherman? I started to say
oldtimers but someone might take offense and none was intended, especially since I belong in that group. Uncle Tom
I read a book that refered to Brown Bullhead as "government cats". The "speckled cats" term refers to Channel Catfish. |
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| "I may be physically at my computer right now, but my mind has gone fishing!" --Avid angler from MI and member since 2009-- |
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jstratton3
New Poster
Posts:55
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| 17 Sep 2010 04:52 PM |
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Where I fish(,Hoffman park in Lansdowne P. a) Flat head bite after rain storm in murky water. They love bacon but so do the eel and snappinn turtle so you better bring needel nose pliers or your out alot of hooks. what they lack in size they make up in strenth. |
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| John Stratton. |
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fisherfanatic
Veteran Poster
Posts:1494
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| 17 Sep 2010 05:22 PM |
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Here's the Bullhead pictures I tried to post: 14"  12"  I know, the picture quality is terrible! Good luck and good fishing! |
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| "I may be physically at my computer right now, but my mind has gone fishing!" --Avid angler from MI and member since 2009-- |
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mr bill
Veteran Poster
Posts:1903
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| 17 Sep 2010 10:00 PM |
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multi, great pic of a brown bullhead.....even thou the head and body look out of portion to one another.
i was shown how to clean bullheads by an oldtimer many years ago...and i got to were i could clean a bullhead or a small cat in less then a minute........
grab head of fish....by placing thumb on one side of spine and fore finger behind the other spine, with the dorsel spine against the skin between the thumb and fore finger......
take knife and make a slice from behind dorsel spin all the way back to tail.....just through the skin.....
then make a cut from top of fish, just behind dorsel fin, like yer going to cut off head-- as you make this cut start to lift fish up by head a bit , what this does is parts the spine enough to cut throu-- it may take some practice to get it right.
now lay knife down and grab the fish on both sides of the dorsel spine and snap down ward-- like yer breaking a stick
now reach into opening and stick right hand fore finger into stomach cavetity and pull apart
when done right you will be holding in yer right hand nothing but meat on the back bone and in the left hand the head and skin of the fish
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mr bill
Veteran Poster
Posts:1903
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| 17 Sep 2010 10:04 PM |
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that has been the easies way i found to clean a cat or bullhead instead of filleting and like greenlatern said, roll in milk then flour and just enough oil to cover half of the fish and fry...about 5 minutes on one side, then roll over for another 4. dang good eating there |
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vweeks
Advanced Poster
Posts:234
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| 18 Sep 2010 06:28 AM |
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Okay great, now here comes the fun part. How do you guys cook your bullheads? Is there any secret recipe? Should the skin stay on?  |
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| Fishing.. one of the few things in life that keep me sane. |
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fisherfanatic
Veteran Poster
Posts:1494
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| 18 Sep 2010 11:52 AM |
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Posted By mr bill on 17 Sep 2010 11:00 PM
multi, great pic of a brown bullhead.....even thou the head and body look out of portion to one another.
i was shown how to clean bullheads by an oldtimer many years ago...and i got to were i could clean a bullhead or a small cat in less then a minute........
grab head of fish....by placing thumb on one side of spine and fore finger behind the other spine, with the dorsel spine against the skin between the thumb and fore finger......
take knife and make a slice from behind dorsel spin all the way back to tail.....just through the skin.....
then make a cut from top of fish, just behind dorsel fin, like yer going to cut off head-- as you make this cut start to lift fish up by head a bit , what this does is parts the spine enough to cut throu-- it may take some practice to get it right.
now lay knife down and grab the fish on both sides of the dorsel spine and snap down ward-- like yer breaking a stick
now reach into opening and stick right hand fore finger into stomach cavetity and pull apart
when done right you will be holding in yer right hand nothing but meat on the back bone and in the left hand the head and skin of the fish
I did nothing to distort the pictures. In that particular pond, the bullhead are extremely fat. Their gut area usually has a much larger circumference than around the rest of the fish's flank. Why they're so fat, I don't know. That pond has high numbers of small shiners and Bluegill. That might be the reason. Most of them started to kick while the picture was taken, too. Also remember, I did take these pictures with a cell phone (without a flash) at night. I've got another picture of one I'll try to post soon. Good luck and good fishing, Mr. Bill.  |
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| "I may be physically at my computer right now, but my mind has gone fishing!" --Avid angler from MI and member since 2009-- |
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bassmasterbk
New Poster
Posts:165
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| 18 Sep 2010 05:17 PM |
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Is i better to fish at night of day for them? |
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| "Just a boy from New York" |
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mr bill
Veteran Poster
Posts:1903
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| 18 Sep 2010 05:23 PM |
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night......but you can get them during the day too.......just like cats |
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vweeks
Advanced Poster
Posts:234
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| 18 Sep 2010 08:11 PM |
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Posted By slipperybob on 14 Sep 2010 06:00 PM
I catch more bullheads off of a Powerbait soft plastics than I would ever catch on any Powerbait Catfish Dough Bait. I went through a whole package of blood doughbait over one summer and didn't get a single thing.
Are they that aggressive? I thought catfish relied more on smell and vibrations, unless you're using a curlytail worm?? |
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| Fishing.. one of the few things in life that keep me sane. |
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fisherfanatic
Veteran Poster
Posts:1494
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| 18 Sep 2010 08:25 PM |
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I usually catch the most bullhead at night. |
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| "I may be physically at my computer right now, but my mind has gone fishing!" --Avid angler from MI and member since 2009-- |
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fisherfanatic
Veteran Poster
Posts:1494
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| 18 Sep 2010 08:25 PM |
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I usually catch the most bullhead at night. |
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| "I may be physically at my computer right now, but my mind has gone fishing!" --Avid angler from MI and member since 2009-- |
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slipperybob
Veteran Poster
Posts:1240
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| 18 Sep 2010 09:19 PM |
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Posted By vweeks on 18 Sep 2010 09:11 PM
Posted By slipperybob on 14 Sep 2010 06:00 PM
I catch more bullheads off of a Powerbait soft plastics than I would ever catch on any Powerbait Catfish Dough Bait. I went through a whole package of blood doughbait over one summer and didn't get a single thing.
Are they that aggressive? I thought catfish relied more on smell and vibrations, unless you're using a curlytail worm?? Curly tail grubs, leeches, craw trailers, pulse worms, ....Powerbait soft plastics are well scented. Don't know what it is...it was just one day, the bullheads were just simply chomping down on soft plastics. They were tearing it up so much I had to rebait after a few chomps. |
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slipperybob
Veteran Poster
Posts:1240
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| 18 Sep 2010 09:23 PM |
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Posted By multispecies101 on 18 Sep 2010 09:25 PM
I usually catch the most bullhead at night. I usually catch the bigger bullhead at night too. |
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fisherfanatic
Veteran Poster
Posts:1494
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| 19 Sep 2010 08:02 AM |
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Here's a nice sized bullhead I caught about 2 months ago: 13.5"  Caught it off a dough ball while fishing for carp. My hands are totally covered with dirt and slime. I'd have to say, those are probably the slimiest fish alive!  |
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| "I may be physically at my computer right now, but my mind has gone fishing!" --Avid angler from MI and member since 2009-- |
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vweeks
Advanced Poster
Posts:234
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| 19 Sep 2010 08:07 AM |
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Posted By multispecies101 on 19 Sep 2010 09:02 AM
Here's a nice sized bullhead I caught about 2 months ago:
13.5"
Caught it off a dough ball while fishing for carp.
very nice |
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| Fishing.. one of the few things in life that keep me sane. |
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vweeks
Advanced Poster
Posts:234
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| 19 Sep 2010 08:08 AM |
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Posted By multispecies101 on 19 Sep 2010 09:02 AM
Here's a nice sized bullhead I caught about 2 months ago:
13.5"
Caught it off a dough ball while fishing for carp.
very nice |
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| Fishing.. one of the few things in life that keep me sane. |
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fisherfanatic
Veteran Poster
Posts:1494
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| 19 Sep 2010 09:25 AM |
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Boy are those things slimy. I should take a picture of what my hands look like after handling one of them. |
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| "I may be physically at my computer right now, but my mind has gone fishing!" --Avid angler from MI and member since 2009-- |
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mr bill
Veteran Poster
Posts:1903
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| 19 Sep 2010 01:52 PM |
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looks like a nice 1......multi slipperybob, i've taken them on about every soft bait like rubber worms, salamanders, crawdads and minners also |
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slipperybob
Veteran Poster
Posts:1240
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| 20 Sep 2010 06:11 AM |
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 LOL's |
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vweeks
Advanced Poster
Posts:234
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| 20 Sep 2010 02:41 PM |
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Haha, bullhead slime |
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| Fishing.. one of the few things in life that keep me sane. |
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