Coming up on Bullhead time .Here are some fuzzy pics of the Bullhead/Channel cat box . Bell, and Egg Sinkers ,Split shot,Hook sharpener , Pliers ,Hooks, three way swivels, bells (Eagle Claw and homemade) wire ties.
That looks like a fatty, for sure!
My only experience with bullheads before moving to South Carolina, was from many years ago in MN, too. Back then, I was catching dark skinned little "squealers" that were not really much of an angling challenge. They were climbing over each other, it seemed, and you hardly got your line settled before they hooked up. None of them looked anything as big as that.
Since coming South, I have caught one South Carolina bullhead, a large black with mottled coloration reminiscent of the military's new digital camo. I was brim fishing and was occupied with some trivial task at shore side. When I looked up, my float was gone and the line was headed to the other end of the pond. When I set the hook, I knew it was something… and it wasn’t a bluegill!
I finally beached the thing and knew right off that it wasn’t a catfish, because of the black fins, barbells and squared-off tail. Just EXACTLY what it WAS, however, was beyond my crude field identification skills. I knew there are just four species of catfish here – and this wasn’t one of those. Those are sleek, shiny specimens out of the water while mine was blocky with that wild “urban chic” coloration. It was only after digging for information that I found out it was a black bullhead.
I have seen only one other bullhead from around here and it was also a large black. My guess is that was even larger than the one I caught. I have not caught another bullhead since, which saddens me. I mean if they are gonna get that big around here, I’d like to catch more! I got a couple of pics of each at the time, but now I cannot find them. SO this just turns out to be a hopefully interesting story.
Heck of a nice bullhead, Bullworm!
hello bull head folks, ive been catching several yellow belly lately as the blue gill seem to have slowed down so now im on the hunt for bull head. got a few pics of some in my photos. have not got a real big one yet nothing more than 15 pounds. but im trying tonight if the weather stays decent.
Mark .I believe what you are catching is not a Bullhead but some other type of Catfish !Got pics? Here are some world record Bullies: Brown Bullhead: current IGFA world's record of 7 lb 6oz,Yellow Bullhead :6.6 or 4.4 http://www.fieldandstream.com/pages/world-record-bullhead-missouri-... Black Bullhead 7.7
The yellow Bullheads and Brown Bullheads I've caught were never bigger than 2 lbs. I am really curious what you are catching and maybe in your area you call them Bullheads and in my area we make a different distinction .At any rate the best of luck fishing and I hope to see some pics of your fine fish you are catching ,whatever they are !
they may be another type of catfish, but they not channel or blue cats. the area i fish is mainly what we call yellow belly bull heads and blue gill/ green sunfish. my photo album on big blue gill has a pic or two of one i think. i will try to snap some more when i catch another. on average most are under 3 pounds but ive got a couple im pretty certain were in the ten pound range. i get a few channel cats but they are not really native where im fishing they are stocked about once every ten years.
Nice Brown Bullhead Jason ! I've only caught three that size that I can recall ; three different New Jersey lakes .Never caught one on a plastic Lizard though !
Got this small but surprising bullhead a few nights ago in the Catawba River where it flows into Lake Hickory. I was fishing for large cats but this was a pleasant surprise.
Nice Fish! That looks like a small Snail Bullhead. I've read a few articles saying Snail Bullhead, Flat Bullhead and Spotted Bullhead are disappearing because of the introduction of Flathead and Blue Catfish. They're only found in a few southeast states. They ought to introduce them to other area's of the country to make sure they don't wind up on the endangered list. The Carolina's are very unique in having every Bullhead species except the Spotted Bullhead. The Black, Brown, & Yellow Bullhead have been widely introduced in the U.S. and abroad.
Flatheads I think are more voracious predators. The flows around my parts are experiencing more and more declining numbers for these little guys. Most folks blame the flathead especially in the rivers. I can honestly attest to this. I have no way of knowing if it's the flathead specifically but it makes sense. I've caught less and less numbers on a personal level the last several outings.
The reason I say the one pictured surprised me is due to the water it was caught in. Many many many large cats.
used to not be able to keep them off the line here.hardly ever catch one these days.used to get em around a pound.were easy to cook whole.no one seems to know what happened to them
Some folks also try to contribute the lower numbers to habitat changes and other things. These factors certainly would make some impact but it seems that when the flathead became established that the little cats took a serious blow to their populations.
Flathead Catfish are considered invasive in New Jersey .As are Snakeheads .
Here's a quote from the NJDFG site: "FLATHEAD CATFISH - Pylodictis olivaris
The flathead catfish is considered an invasive species capable of causing ecological damage by out-competing other recreationally important species for food and habitat. Although not a native species, channel catfish are stocked by Fish and Wildlife in select locations as it is a desirable recreational and food species. They do not reproduce in most waters, and in the few where they do, populations do not reach problematic proportions.
Flatheads have been confirmed in the middle section of the Delaware River."
But in reality, it a combination of both. Some waters were stocked with flatheads by private parties, while some are stocked by the governmental agencies, to support the remedial ecosystem, supporting wildlife. Uncontained and uncontrolled, you got issues.
Here is a great example of just that ... a probable illegal release of a fish that was caught in and native to the adjacent st Josephs river and released into a nearby lake
Michigan man nets 52-pound catfish, a new state record
Here in Texas Flatheads are native, and are in all the lakes and rivers. When they are present most of the smaller cats disappear. In all honestly you're going to have less of everything. Just throw a couple of big Flatheads in a 2 or 3 acre pond, and see how fast all the fish disappear.
A friend of my did this with a 2 acre pond and within 1 year they ate most the fish in the pond. He couldn't believe it! I couldn't believe it! I read some where that they don't spawn in ponds. These did because we started catching smaller ones. There were some really decent size fish in that pond that became prey. Incredible! It took a while, but we finally got all of them of out of the pond? Anything that moves, or swims through the water is on a Flatheads menu. They are eating machines.
There needs to be more public awareness, and education about them and their impacts to other fisheries. I think Maryland has begun a good campaign to educate people. Hopefully that will continue? Lord willing other states will watch and learn something from their efforts?
This is a quote from a biologist in one of the articles I read.
Biologists speculate that anglers who wanted to increase fishing opportunities for a large and hard-fighting fish in their areas, to slip them in local waters. He said that while it might seem like a good idea to replace a population of small bullheads the result will be less fishing opportunities.
“As a general rule, only 10 percent of the weight of a prey item is converted into body weight of the predator that eats it,” continued Hodges. “If a stretch of river now contains a single Flathead catfish weighing 50 pounds and ate bullheads exclusively, up to 500 pounds of bullheads could have been eaten by that Flathead to grow that big.”
“Taking that scenario one step further, if you assume an average bullhead weighs about half a pound it means that for each 500 pounds of bullheads that are eaten, anglers fishing the Yadkin River are losing opportunities to catch 1,000 half-pound bullheads and replacing them with a chance to catch one trophy-sized Flathead catfish.”
Maybe it's just me? But I would rather have a lot nonstop action for smaller scrappy fish like Redbreast, Bluegills, and Bullheads. Instead of fishing all day for one, or maybe a few big fish. Just saying.....
Yea, it's hard to unring a bell, or put the genie back into the bottle so to speak. A lot of the ole timers say that the Flat, Snail, and Spotted Bullheads are the best eating Cats. Apparently the Flatheads think so. I go to church with a fella who is originally from the Florida panhandle. He claims those Spotted Bullheads from the blackwater creeks and rivers down there are the very best eating catfish. He often describes them as Butter Cats!
I know the Black Bullheads I catch from a spring fed pond are really good. Tasty rascals! Soaked in buttermilk & rolled in cajun mix they are delicious.
All good size cats (2 to 15lbs) are great to eat, depending on the waters they're coming out of. We have genetically mutated channel cats from the California aqueducts ranging between 5lbs to monstrous 52lbs, and flathead supersized in the farmland's slurry of dangerous chemicals and manure between 25lbs to 68lbs. These are definitely not good eating, but surely abundant.
However, although our lakes are not the cleanest, the cats between 1lb to 10lbs are truly yummy. We love catching them and make gourmet meals out of them. Anything more than 15lbs, we either give away, or offer to the animals of the land.
Maryland currently has an invasive specie classification on flatheads where as 10 years ago there wasn't likely a single flathead in the state.
The Upper Chesapeake region , Susquehanna River, NorthEast River, Elk and the non-tidal Potomac above Washington DC have fishable populations...even world class in the Susky on up into PA where it is believed they were transplanted by anglers 10-15 years ago. 30 lbers are quite common and I have seen many pics of 40's and at least one below Conowingo Dam at 54 lbs.
Catch and Kill ethics are encouraged by the MD DNR to assist continuation of native species population. There are tons of RB Sunfish in the Potomac, but numbers may dwindle if the flatheads take a bigger hold of the waterway. Recent electro-shock surveys in the upper Potomac by MD DNR shows an increase in flathead populations, so there is some concern.
"The flathead catfish is an introduced species to South Carolina. Its native range is in the Ohio, Mississippi and Missouri river basins. Since its introduction into the Santee-Cooper Reservoir, flatheads have become established in nearly every reservoir or river system in the state. The spread of this non-native fish has negatively affected several native species, most notably redbreast sunfish. Although the flathead catfish provides a great sportfishing opportunity, the highly predacious flathead has negatively impacted native species such as bullheads and redbreast sunfish creating ecosystem imbalance. The flathead catfish maintain a solitary existence, usually inhabiting the same site on a daily basis. Like most catfish, the flathead catfish is a nocturnal feeder, becoming more active as light intensity declines. This fish makes excellent table fare. Unlike other catfish species, flatheads are reluctant to take decaying bait and prefer live bait. "
Regulations -
Possession Limit: No statewide limits
In NJ we only have Yellow, Brown and Black Bullheads .Never caught a Black Bullhead that I know of. Yellows are more prolific in the waters I fish but the few Brown BHeads I've caught were good sized (about 1.5 #) There are two lakes nearby where I've caught Channel Cats up to 12 # ,still haven't caught a White Catfish which are around these parts somewhere .
I sure hope those Flatheads don't find their way into the Shenandoah River in VA .That river has the most beautifully colored Red Breasted Sunfish /Yellow Breasted Sunfish ,I've ever caught and I would hate to see them eliminated by Flatheads .Same goes for the RBS I catch in the Wanaque River minutes away .
Piney Run Lake, a county owned dayuse facility of 300 acres, has lots of big brown bull heads in the 15 inch, 2 pound class and used to have the Maryland state record. I caught a 19 inch bullhead there many years ago that I never weighed, but believe the chubby fish may have gone 4 pounds.
Highlights there now center on tremendous largemouth bass fishing, slab crappies, numerous channels cats and a peaking striper fishery that recently yielded a new lake record of 36 pounds, 6 ounces to my good friend 84 yr old Richard Neuwiller on Oct 8, 2014, from shore!
jim thats awesome,dont know what happened to local BH populations.they were the most common fish to catch in my local ponds and lakes.i have not caught i in a few yaers now.it was a blast when one took fly from time to time.we put some flatheads in my club to control the gills a bit but they haven't made a dent.
Liberty Reservoir, a Baltimore City water supply lake of 3100 acres, was a boyhood place for night time fishing for bullheads from shore with my dad and brother. Mid to late 1960's...what a memory!
Maybe I ought not say this, but the problem isn't the Flathead. It's ignorant people. A Flathead is a great fish in it's own right. I can see why people enjoy the thrill of catching them, and they are very good eating. But it's kind of like a loaded gun. A gun is not good or bad. It's how it's used or abused. Flatheads are no different.
When you add a top end APEX PREDATOR to a food chain something or many things have to give. The southeast has three of them now. The Flathead, the Blue Catfish, and the Snakehead. Because of ignorance it sounds like all three of them are well on their way to the northeast as well.
This is Flat Albert. He has lived in one of our ponds for over two decades now, the undisputed king of the pond. For the past four years, in the spring, he has come to this concrete pad surrounding an overflow pipe and staked out a nesting spot. Unfortunately for Albert, he is the only one of his kind in residence. He remains hopeful however, and continues to do his best to attract a companion.
Tony you need to exercise that big fella once in awhile... a medium spin with 20lb braid an a free weight crawler with circle hook. yeah thats the ticket
How funny! I love that name! Flat Albert no doubt would love to find a mate in the springtime, and have many bountiful offspring to eat with. After him, his mate, and their children clean out the pond. He and his queen will gladly devour their offspring.Pictured here is Hannibal The Cannibal.
They are eating machines. I can say however, that his presence has not been detrimental to the pond, even after all these years. Still plenty of young bluegills left,and loads of slender bass.
However......I haven't seen the Walleye fingerlings since I stocked them last year. Could be due to Albert, but could be the nature of the eyes' also.
David, aka, "McScruff"
May 1, 2011
David, aka, "McScruff"
Feelin the bullhead love this season.
Nov 15, 2011
John Sheehan
Checkout Eric Whites page .He's the Bullhead man! Very impressed with his catches of Bheads during the day ! I always waited for dark in the summer months to early December. http://bigbluegill.com/profile/Ericwhite?xg_source=activity
May 9, 2012
John Sheehan
Coming up on Bullhead time .Here are some fuzzy pics of the Bullhead/Channel cat box . Bell, and Egg Sinkers ,Split shot,Hook sharpener , Pliers ,Hooks, three way swivels, bells (Eagle Claw and homemade) wire ties.
May 29, 2013
David, aka, "McScruff"
My only experience with bullheads before moving to South Carolina, was from many years ago in MN, too. Back then, I was catching dark skinned little "squealers" that were not really much of an angling challenge. They were climbing over each other, it seemed, and you hardly got your line settled before they hooked up. None of them looked anything as big as that.
Since coming South, I have caught one South Carolina bullhead, a large black with mottled coloration reminiscent of the military's new digital camo. I was brim fishing and was occupied with some trivial task at shore side. When I looked up, my float was gone and the line was headed to the other end of the pond. When I set the hook, I knew it was something… and it wasn’t a bluegill!
I finally beached the thing and knew right off that it wasn’t a catfish, because of the black fins, barbells and squared-off tail. Just EXACTLY what it WAS, however, was beyond my crude field identification skills. I knew there are just four species of catfish here – and this wasn’t one of those. Those are sleek, shiny specimens out of the water while mine was blocky with that wild “urban chic” coloration. It was only after digging for information that I found out it was a black bullhead.
I have seen only one other bullhead from around here and it was also a large black. My guess is that was even larger than the one I caught. I have not caught another bullhead since, which saddens me. I mean if they are gonna get that big around here, I’d like to catch more! I got a couple of pics of each at the time, but now I cannot find them. SO this just turns out to be a hopefully interesting story.
Heck of a nice bullhead, Bullworm!
Jun 3, 2013
John Sheehan
Caught three last night ;11",11", 10.5. 8:25 ,8:30,10:10.Lost two ...
Jun 6, 2013
John Sheehan
Jul 15, 2013
Dusty Schelbitzki
Wife and I got into some Nice bullheads at Wanahoo Lake. They were averaging about 1 and 3/4lbs. They are waiting to go in the smoke as we speak.
Aug 16, 2013
Bruce Condello
That's awesome! i'm sure they'll be delicious. Wanahoo is good quality water!
Aug 16, 2013
Dusty Schelbitzki
I am sure they will be. The water quality is very good out there and should continue with all the work that was put into the lake.
Aug 16, 2013
Mark
hello bull head folks, ive been catching several yellow belly lately as the blue gill seem to have slowed down so now im on the hunt for bull head. got a few pics of some in my photos. have not got a real big one yet nothing more than 15 pounds. but im trying tonight if the weather stays decent.
Nov 7, 2013
John Sheehan
Mark .I believe what you are catching is not a Bullhead but some other type of Catfish !Got pics? Here are some world record Bullies: Brown Bullhead: current IGFA world's record of 7 lb 6oz,Yellow Bullhead :6.6 or 4.4 http://www.fieldandstream.com/pages/world-record-bullhead-missouri-... Black Bullhead 7.7
The yellow Bullheads and Brown Bullheads I've caught were never bigger than 2 lbs. I am really curious what you are catching and maybe in your area you call them Bullheads and in my area we make a different distinction .At any rate the best of luck fishing and I hope to see some pics of your fine fish you are catching ,whatever they are !
Nov 8, 2013
Mark
they may be another type of catfish, but they not channel or blue cats. the area i fish is mainly what we call yellow belly bull heads and blue gill/ green sunfish. my photo album on big blue gill has a pic or two of one i think. i will try to snap some more when i catch another. on average most are under 3 pounds but ive got a couple im pretty certain were in the ten pound range. i get a few channel cats but they are not really native where im fishing they are stocked about once every ten years.
Nov 8, 2013
John Sheehan
Keep us posted Mark, thanks!
Nov 8, 2013
Jason Preslar
Dec 24, 2013
John Sheehan
Nice Brown Bullhead Jason ! I've only caught three that size that I can recall ; three different New Jersey lakes .Never caught one on a plastic Lizard though !
Dec 24, 2013
Jason Preslar
Got this small but surprising bullhead a few nights ago in the Catawba River where it flows into Lake Hickory. I was fishing for large cats but this was a pleasant surprise.
Nov 11, 2014
Rod Herington
Nice Fish! That looks like a small Snail Bullhead. I've read a few articles saying Snail Bullhead, Flat Bullhead and Spotted Bullhead are disappearing because of the introduction of Flathead and Blue Catfish. They're only found in a few southeast states. They ought to introduce them to other area's of the country to make sure they don't wind up on the endangered list. The Carolina's are very unique in having every Bullhead species except the Spotted Bullhead. The Black, Brown, & Yellow Bullhead have been widely introduced in the U.S. and abroad.
Nov 12, 2014
Jason Preslar
The reason I say the one pictured surprised me is due to the water it was caught in. Many many many large cats.
Nov 12, 2014
jim cosgrove
used to not be able to keep them off the line here.hardly ever catch one these days.used to get em around a pound.were easy to cook whole.no one seems to know what happened to them
Nov 12, 2014
Jason Preslar
Nov 12, 2014
John Sheehan
Flathead Catfish are considered invasive in New Jersey .As are Snakeheads .
Here's a quote from the NJDFG site: "FLATHEAD CATFISH - Pylodictis olivaris
The flathead catfish is considered an invasive species capable of causing ecological damage by out-competing other recreationally important species for food and habitat. Although not a native species, channel catfish are stocked by Fish and Wildlife in select locations as it is a desirable recreational and food species. They do not reproduce in most waters, and in the few where they do, populations do not reach problematic proportions.
Flatheads have been confirmed in the middle section of the Delaware River."
Nov 12, 2014
Jason Preslar
Nov 12, 2014
Leo Nguyen
But in reality, it a combination of both. Some waters were stocked with flatheads by private parties, while some are stocked by the governmental agencies, to support the remedial ecosystem, supporting wildlife. Uncontained and uncontrolled, you got issues.
Nov 12, 2014
Jason Preslar
Nov 12, 2014
Slip Sinker
Here is a great example of just that ... a probable illegal release of a fish that was caught in and native to the adjacent st Josephs river and released into a nearby lake
Michigan man nets 52-pound catfish, a new state record
nice video of the catch also in the article
Nov 12, 2014
Rod Herington
Here in Texas Flatheads are native, and are in all the lakes and rivers. When they are present most of the smaller cats disappear. In all honestly you're going to have less of everything. Just throw a couple of big Flatheads in a 2 or 3 acre pond, and see how fast all the fish disappear.
A friend of my did this with a 2 acre pond and within 1 year they ate most the fish in the pond. He couldn't believe it! I couldn't believe it! I read some where that they don't spawn in ponds. These did because we started catching smaller ones. There were some really decent size fish in that pond that became prey. Incredible! It took a while, but we finally got all of them of out of the pond? Anything that moves, or swims through the water is on a Flatheads menu. They are eating machines.
There needs to be more public awareness, and education about them and their impacts to other fisheries. I think Maryland has begun a good campaign to educate people. Hopefully that will continue? Lord willing other states will watch and learn something from their efforts?
This is a quote from a biologist in one of the articles I read.
Biologists speculate that anglers who wanted to increase fishing opportunities for a large and hard-fighting fish in their areas, to slip them in local waters. He said that while it might seem like a good idea to replace a population of small bullheads the result will be less fishing opportunities.
“As a general rule, only 10 percent of the weight of a prey item is converted into body weight of the predator that eats it,” continued Hodges. “If a stretch of river now contains a single Flathead catfish weighing 50 pounds and ate bullheads exclusively, up to 500 pounds of bullheads could have been eaten by that Flathead to grow that big.”
“Taking that scenario one step further, if you assume an average bullhead weighs about half a pound it means that for each 500 pounds of bullheads that are eaten, anglers fishing the Yadkin River are losing opportunities to catch 1,000 half-pound bullheads and replacing them with a chance to catch one trophy-sized Flathead catfish.”
Maybe it's just me? But I would rather have a lot nonstop action for smaller scrappy fish like Redbreast, Bluegills, and Bullheads. Instead of fishing all day for one, or maybe a few big fish. Just saying.....
Nov 13, 2014
Jason Preslar
Nov 13, 2014
Rod Herington
Yea, it's hard to unring a bell, or put the genie back into the bottle so to speak. A lot of the ole timers say that the Flat, Snail, and Spotted Bullheads are the best eating Cats. Apparently the Flatheads think so. I go to church with a fella who is originally from the Florida panhandle. He claims those Spotted Bullheads from the blackwater creeks and rivers down there are the very best eating catfish. He often describes them as Butter Cats!
I know the Black Bullheads I catch from a spring fed pond are really good. Tasty rascals! Soaked in buttermilk & rolled in cajun mix they are delicious.
Nov 13, 2014
Leo Nguyen
All good size cats (2 to 15lbs) are great to eat, depending on the waters they're coming out of. We have genetically mutated channel cats from the California aqueducts ranging between 5lbs to monstrous 52lbs, and flathead supersized in the farmland's slurry of dangerous chemicals and manure between 25lbs to 68lbs. These are definitely not good eating, but surely abundant.
However, although our lakes are not the cleanest, the cats between 1lb to 10lbs are truly yummy. We love catching them and make gourmet meals out of them. Anything more than 15lbs, we either give away, or offer to the animals of the land.
Nov 13, 2014
Jim Gronaw
Maryland currently has an invasive specie classification on flatheads where as 10 years ago there wasn't likely a single flathead in the state.
The Upper Chesapeake region , Susquehanna River, NorthEast River, Elk and the non-tidal Potomac above Washington DC have fishable populations...even world class in the Susky on up into PA where it is believed they were transplanted by anglers 10-15 years ago. 30 lbers are quite common and I have seen many pics of 40's and at least one below Conowingo Dam at 54 lbs.
Catch and Kill ethics are encouraged by the MD DNR to assist continuation of native species population. There are tons of RB Sunfish in the Potomac, but numbers may dwindle if the flatheads take a bigger hold of the waterway. Recent electro-shock surveys in the upper Potomac by MD DNR shows an increase in flathead populations, so there is some concern.
Nov 13, 2014
John Sheehan
I'm with you Rod , the flathead sounds like a devastating creature!
Nov 13, 2014
David, aka, "McScruff"
"The flathead catfish is an introduced species to South Carolina. Its native range is in the Ohio, Mississippi and Missouri river basins. Since its introduction into the Santee-Cooper Reservoir, flatheads have become established in nearly every reservoir or river system in the state. The spread of this non-native fish has negatively affected several native species, most notably redbreast sunfish. Although the flathead catfish provides a great sportfishing opportunity, the highly predacious flathead has negatively impacted native species such as bullheads and redbreast sunfish creating ecosystem imbalance. The flathead catfish maintain a solitary existence, usually inhabiting the same site on a daily basis. Like most catfish, the flathead catfish is a nocturnal feeder, becoming more active as light intensity declines. This fish makes excellent table fare. Unlike other catfish species, flatheads are reluctant to take decaying bait and prefer live bait. "
Regulations -
Possession Limit: No statewide limits
Size limit: No statewide length limits
Nov 13, 2014
John Sheehan
In NJ we only have Yellow, Brown and Black Bullheads .Never caught a Black Bullhead that I know of. Yellows are more prolific in the waters I fish but the few Brown BHeads I've caught were good sized (about 1.5 #) There are two lakes nearby where I've caught Channel Cats up to 12 # ,still haven't caught a White Catfish which are around these parts somewhere .
Nov 13, 2014
Dwayne Denison
Everyone may find this interesting.
http://www.georgiawildlife.com/node/3471
Nov 13, 2014
John Sheehan
I sure hope those Flatheads don't find their way into the Shenandoah River in VA .That river has the most beautifully colored Red Breasted Sunfish /Yellow Breasted Sunfish ,I've ever caught and I would hate to see them eliminated by Flatheads .Same goes for the RBS I catch in the Wanaque River minutes away .
Nov 13, 2014
Jim Gronaw
Piney Run Lake, a county owned dayuse facility of 300 acres, has lots of big brown bull heads in the 15 inch, 2 pound class and used to have the Maryland state record. I caught a 19 inch bullhead there many years ago that I never weighed, but believe the chubby fish may have gone 4 pounds.
Highlights there now center on tremendous largemouth bass fishing, slab crappies, numerous channels cats and a peaking striper fishery that recently yielded a new lake record of 36 pounds, 6 ounces to my good friend 84 yr old Richard Neuwiller on Oct 8, 2014, from shore!
Nov 13, 2014
John Sheehan
Lets go Jim !
Nov 13, 2014
John Sheehan
10-inch ‘Roosters....sounds fabulous Dwayne!
Nov 13, 2014
jim cosgrove
jim thats awesome,dont know what happened to local BH populations.they were the most common fish to catch in my local ponds and lakes.i have not caught i in a few yaers now.it was a blast when one took fly from time to time.we put some flatheads in my club to control the gills a bit but they haven't made a dent.
Nov 13, 2014
Jim Gronaw
Liberty Reservoir, a Baltimore City water supply lake of 3100 acres, was a boyhood place for night time fishing for bullheads from shore with my dad and brother. Mid to late 1960's...what a memory!
Nov 13, 2014
Rod Herington
Maybe I ought not say this, but the problem isn't the Flathead. It's ignorant people. A Flathead is a great fish in it's own right. I can see why people enjoy the thrill of catching them, and they are very good eating. But it's kind of like a loaded gun. A gun is not good or bad. It's how it's used or abused. Flatheads are no different.
When you add a top end APEX PREDATOR to a food chain something or many things have to give. The southeast has three of them now. The Flathead, the Blue Catfish, and the Snakehead. Because of ignorance it sounds like all three of them are well on their way to the northeast as well.
Nov 14, 2014
Tony Livingston
This is Flat Albert. He has lived in one of our ponds for over two decades now, the undisputed king of the pond. For the past four years, in the spring, he has come to this concrete pad surrounding an overflow pipe and staked out a nesting spot. Unfortunately for Albert, he is the only one of his kind in residence. He remains hopeful however, and continues to do his best to attract a companion.
I estimate his length at around 32-34".
Nov 14, 2014
Slip Sinker
Tony you need to exercise that big fella once in awhile... a medium spin with 20lb braid an a free weight crawler with circle hook. yeah thats the ticket
Nov 14, 2014
Rod Herington
How funny! I love that name! Flat Albert no doubt would love to find a mate in the springtime, and have many bountiful offspring to eat with. After him, his mate, and their children clean out the pond. He and his queen will gladly devour their offspring.
Pictured here is Hannibal The Cannibal.
Nov 14, 2014
Slip Sinker
that is crazy!!
Nov 14, 2014
Tony Livingston
They are eating machines. I can say however, that his presence has not been detrimental to the pond, even after all these years. Still plenty of young bluegills left,and loads of slender bass.
However......I haven't seen the Walleye fingerlings since I stocked them last year. Could be due to Albert, but could be the nature of the eyes' also.
Nov 14, 2014
Slip Sinker
tony..sounds like a well managed combination
Nov 14, 2014
Rod Herington
Undoubtedly when managed properly they can be a welcomed addition. Just becomes more difficult to manage on a larger scale.
Nov 14, 2014
David, aka, "McScruff"
Alive and desolate.
Which is a good thing.... For the pond.
Nov 14, 2014