Catfish Solution to Bullheads

[guywhofishes]

Catfish provide natural solution to bullhead problem in North Dakota study​

UND-Game and Fish Department research project offers encouraging results.​

UND graduate student Tyler Bennett scoops bullheads caught in a trap net May 14, 2024, at Sweet Briar Lake in North Dakota's Morton County.
Contributed / Tyler Bennett

By Brad Dokken

https://www.jamestownsun.com/sports..._f7a0NGS0rDtXUTw-bkxi8A&__vfz=medium=sharebar

 

[Shockwave]

Keep scooping! I did notice a little less catfish in Oahe after they took a bunch out and stocked them in Sweet Briar

 

[risingsun]

Sounds like a good way to handle the bullheads till they are about wiped out. But what happens when the cats get bigger, bigger appetites, and the bullheads are gone? Will they then eat fishermen's target fish?

 

[Trip McNeely]

Sounds like a good way to handle the bullheads till they are about wiped out. But what happens when the cats get bigger, bigger appetites, and the bullheads are gone? Will they then eat fishermen's target fish?

I guess we will find out….. if I had to venture a guess since catfish get a bit bigger there’s some value in eating them for a lot of people. Catfish is pretty good eating in my opinion. That may help keep the cat population in check.

 

[Jiffy]

Go to school for fisheries they said, it’s a fun job they said….

 

[Trip McNeely]

Go to school for fisheries they said, it’s a fun job they said….

I went to school for fisheries and wildlife management…. I did not choose that as a career path…..I also suck at fishing relative to any other profession Im aware of true story

 

[svnmag]

1. Bullheads are catfish.

B. I posted about this common sense solution on FBO in the early '00s for the Souris/Mouse/Darling System. The key is elimination of the black fingerling "balls" and harvest for fish-fry's or fertilizer.
I've seen channels herd fingerling bluegill into balls and slash through them like bonito (Teter Lake in the Hills). The Bullhead Derby from the FBO days was both hilarious and logical IMO.

3. Channel cat can be "bass fished" like walleye when perfectly isolated. I've caught them both on "topwater". The hit is not a "pop"; it's a lunge like a saltwater fish. Both aren't pleased when stuck
and run like freakn' tarpon. No shit: Know this true when setting the drag.

That is all.

 

[KDM]

Bullheads are a very popular live bait for folks down south to catch very large blue, channel, and flat head cats on bank poles or trot lines so there is no doubt catfish pound on bullheads. I'm not sure if they will control a bullhead population, but any help on that front is welcome. Dump a couple thousand semi loads of channels in Ashtabula and lets find out. I think folks would prefer to tangle with 1 ten pound channel rather than 20 half pound bullheads, but I could be wrong.

 

[Trip McNeely]

Ive wrestled some pretty good 8-10lb cats at the tailrace and I enjoyed the fight as much as a walleye. Hard to mistake the rhythmic “roll” when you hook into one. Hooked up with a 10 or so pound cat at 90ft while fishing salmon off riggers once . They also like herring

 

[CatDaddy]

I am in favor of putting cats in Ashtabula. There's nothing like wrestling a 15+ lb cat....it seems likely that if introduced we could see a new state record come out of there with all the forage.