by Larry Rahn

Created on: September 12, 2008

Both the bullhead and channel are from the same family. Bullheads do not get as big as the channel. Both of these fish feed off the bottom of lakes, rivers, and creeks. Catfish even burrow holes in the bank and make themselves a hole to hide in. Some people actually wade the water , find a hole and reach in and pull the fish out. There are several different methods of fishing for both, rod and reel, trout lines, hoop nets, bank poles, and nylon mesh trammel nets.

Rod & reels you can bait with worms, shrimp, cut bait, and even hot dogs or corn. Put it on your hook and set to fish deep. On hot days they are always in deep water to stay cool.Trout lines are simply 50 to 100 feet of sting with hooks attached every foot or so. Tie one end off to a tree or any stable object, stretch the line tight and tie off the remaining end. Hoop nets and trammel nets are mostly used by commercial fishermen. These are stretched out across a main channel, when the fish run into it, they become entangled and can't get out because of the fine mono-filament line the nets are made of. Bank poles are willow branches equipped with string, sinker and hook, sharpened on one end for sticking in the bank.
Actually both of these fish are pretty good fighters when caught on rod&reel. The channel puts up a better fight simply because they are bigger.The bullhead are dark green or yellowish in color. the channel are more of a dark green and the blue cat is simply blue colored and gets real large at times. Both types are a lot of fun to catch, bullheads are especially fun for the smaller kids that are just starting out, because of size.
Catfish or the bullhead are cleaned in the same manner and can be cooked whole or in fillet size. Fillets are usually better tasting and you don't have to worry about any bones if they are cleaned and cooked correctly. Believe me there is an art to frying fish. If they aren't fried correctly they are mushy and don't taste very good at all. So, whoever does the cooking, make sure they know what they are doing. Otherwise you may never want catfish again.
Fishing for catfish can be a lot of fun no matter what technique you may use.Nets are normally use by commercial fishermen, but , anyone can buy them in any size from a company in Memphis, Tennessee. Bank poling is a lot of fun with a group of people maybe camping on the river bank for a weekend. You run your bank poles all night, as catfish bite better at night usually. You can do the troutline the same or just leave it overnight, go back first thing in the morning take your catch off the hook and re-bait as you go. Hot dogs are really good to use on the troutlines and cheap too. Whichever technique you use , take a camera with you, you never know what you might catch in some of these waters. I've been fishing for over 50 years and the best tasting fish are actually crappie and bluegill. Good luck and good fishing.

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