Fishing for a Brown Bullhead

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mikefish51
Fishing for a Brown Bullhead
<p style="margin: 0px 10px 2px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(250, 250, 250); line-height: 20px; color: rgb(126, 126, 126); font-family: &quot;Lucida Grande&quot;, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;">Hi, I am looking for people who could answer some questions (posted below) about the fish species- Brown Bullhead. I am currently writing a paper on them for a fishing class and I need to interview people who have caught them before. Feel free to send me a private message if you would rather anwser that way. Thank you for helping me out.&nbsp;</p> <p style="margin: 0px 10px 2px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(250, 250, 250); line-height: 20px; color: rgb(126, 126, 126); font-family: &quot;Lucida Grande&quot;, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;">1) What did you use (as in bait, hook, ect.) to catch a brown bullhead?&nbsp;</p> <p style="margin: 0px 10px 2px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(250, 250, 250); line-height: 20px; color: rgb(126, 126, 126); font-family: &quot;Lucida Grande&quot;, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;">2)Where (location and type of body of water) and When did you catch a brown bullhead?</p> <p style="margin: 0px 10px 2px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(250, 250, 250); line-height: 20px; color: rgb(126, 126, 126); font-family: &quot;Lucida Grande&quot;, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;">3)When is the best time of year to catch brown bullhead?</p> <p style="margin: 0px 10px 2px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(250, 250, 250); line-height: 20px; color: rgb(126, 126, 126); font-family: &quot;Lucida Grande&quot;, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;">4)What type of body of water is best find them in? And where in the body of water are you most likly to find them? (By any certain vegitation, sandy bottoms or rockey bottom, shade or out in the open, ect.)&nbsp;</p> <p style="margin: 0px 10px 2px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(250, 250, 250); line-height: 20px; color: rgb(126, 126, 126); font-family: &quot;Lucida Grande&quot;, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;">5) Are the any predators of brown bullhead? If so what?</p> <p style="margin: 0px 10px 2px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(250, 250, 250); line-height: 20px; color: rgb(126, 126, 126); font-family: &quot;Lucida Grande&quot;, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;">6)What does the brown bullhead eat? Does it prefer certain foods over others?</p> <p style="margin: 0px 10px 2px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(250, 250, 250); line-height: 20px; color: rgb(126, 126, 126); font-family: &quot;Lucida Grande&quot;, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;">7)When, where, and how does this fish reproduce?</p> <p style="margin: 0px 10px 2px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(250, 250, 250); line-height: 20px; color: rgb(126, 126, 126); font-family: &quot;Lucida Grande&quot;, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;">8) What is the best way to tell the differnece between the different bullheads? (black, yellow, brown)</p> <p style="margin: 0px 10px 2px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(250, 250, 250); line-height: 20px; color: rgb(126, 126, 126); font-family: &quot;Lucida Grande&quot;, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;">You don&#39;t have to answer them all, any information helps.Thank you again!</p>
andy
andy's picture
My limited brown bullhead experience

Here's a link to the brown bullhead page on this website - http://roughfish.com/brown-bullhead

 

And a fishing trip report for brown bullheads with my brother - http://roughfish.com/content/brown-bullhead-adventure

 

 

1) What did you use (as in bait, hook, ect.) to catch a brown bullhead? 

Angleworms fished under battery-powered lighted floats.

 

2)Where (location and type of body of water) and When did you catch a brown bullhead?

Northern Minnesota, in an 80 acre shallow lake.

 

3)When is the best time of year to catch brown bullhead? 

I would think Summer.

 

4)What type of body of water is best find them in? And where in the body of water are you most likly to find them? (By any certain vegitation, sandy bottoms or rockey bottom, shade or out in the open, ect.) 

I have caught most in small weedy lakes, but also from the Minnesota and Mississippi rivers.

 

5) Are the any predators of brown bullhead? If so what?

Otters love to eat bullheads.

 

6)What does the brown bullhead eat? Does it prefer certain foods over others? 

I think the brown bullhead is a little more likely to chase a live fish than other species.  They eat a lot of aquatic nymphs, leeches and crayfish.

 

7)When, where, and how does this fish reproduce?  I don't know this offhand.  

 

8) What is the best way to tell the differnece between the different bullheads? (black, yellow, brown)  Brown bullheads generally have chin whiskers with light-colored bases.  They also lack the crescent-moon shape on the tail that the black bullhead shows.  The brown bullhead also has serrated edges on its' pectoral fins.  This doesn't show in photos but is a giveaway in the field.

SomewhereDownstream
SomewhereDownstream's picture
Brown bullheads

1. I have caught brown bullheads on worms, minnows (live and dead), small swimbaits, cutbait, and ice flies tipped with meal worms (that last one was through the ice.)

2. Pennsylvania, in a variety of lakes, ponds, rivers, and small streams. Contrary to popular belief, I've caught most of mine in very clear bodies of water.

3. Year round. Summer is always good, and the mid fall "turnover" period is worst in the ponds, but you can catch bullheads any time of year, including the dead of winter. 

4. All sorts of bodies of water. Ponds and small lakes are generally best, but they also live in rivers and sometimes even little streams that you can jump across in places.

Bullheads also use the habitat somewhat differently than channels and other catfish. In stillwater, they tend to act almost pelagic, roaming the area in small schools. In rivers, they like to hang around the areas above and below dams, and in the tiny little chub creeks you'll find them in the slowest, deepest pools available.

5. All sorts of things will eat bullheads. If it's a fish eating freshwater critter- whether fish, bird, mammal, or turtle- it will probably munch on a bullhead.

6. Various invertebrates, plants, dead things, live fish, you get the idea. They're very opportunistic. 

7. Brown bullheads lay eggs in holes or under rocks and guard them. This takes place sometime in mid-late spring.

8. Yellow bullheads have much lighter chin whiskers and are usually much more heavily built than browns. I have never caught a black bullhead, so there are others here who might be more help with this one.

SomewhereDownstream

Jason E.
Jason E.'s picture
Thanks for helping out

Thanks for helping out everyone!! 

Wisfisher
Wisfisher's picture
Browns.....chin whiskers are

Browns.....chin whiskers are dark towards the tips and grey or white at the base. They have 21-24 full rays in the anal fin. The sides of the fish are usually mottled, and they lack the light cresent at the base of the tail. The tail is shallowly notched.

Black.....The chin whiskers are all black or dark grey. The tail is square, They have 17-21 rays in the anal fin. Have a distinctive lighter-colored bar at the base of the tail.

Yellow....The tail is large and distinctly rounded. The chinwhiskers are light colored(white, buff, yellowish or tan all the way to the tip) notblack brown or grey

Any fish species is worth catching.

fishinnick
fishinnick's picture
6)What does the brown

6)What does the brown bullhead eat? Does it prefer certain foods over others? 

I think the brown bullhead is a little more likely to chase a live fish than other species.  They eat a lot of aquatic nymphs, leeches and crayfish.

 

I've caught browns slow rolling lively streamers along the bottom before. That said, I've caught a yellow or two on the fly before as well.....but more browns, though that may have more to do with the locations I'm fishing. Either way, browns do like like live fish. Dead fish works really well too.

andy
andy's picture
Brown bullhead on lures

I did catch a nice brown bullhead on a 6" rapala one time.  The lake had just Winterkilled and he was likely starving for fresh meat.

SomewhereDownstream
SomewhereDownstream's picture
Bullheads on artificials

I've caught some Brown bullheads on little swimbaits, but I've caught just as many yellows that way.

SomewhereDownstream