by Rex Trulove

Created on: September 16, 2008

There is no doubt at all that channel catfish become far larger than bullhead catfish. But is bigger necessarily better? Many people would say absolutely not.

Channel cats and bullheads both hunt by smell, and they are both successful scavengers. They will eat nearly anything that was at least once an animal. They can also be considered as the ultimate in fish vacuum cleaners, since they keep the water fairly clean of decaying flesh.

Neither are particularly difficult to catch. Bait on a hook will often do the trick, especially if it is smelly or rotted. This may not seem appealing to many people, but the point is that they have many of the same habits, and it would be remiss not to recognize this.

What about the differences? Well, channel cats tend to live in generally fast flowing streams, such as the Colorado River. Because of their much larger size, they require a lot more oxygen than bullheads do. Still water isn't great for channel cats, but it is for bullheads.

This means that bullheads are much more available than are channel cats. There are a lot more ponds and lakes than there are free flowing streams and rivers, and bullheads also live well in slow moving water, including the streams and rivers that move sluggishly.

So they are more plentiful, so what? Bullheads are also much easier to bring in than channel cats, and they put up more of a fight. This produces more sport. It goes beyond that, though. Bullheads are a lot easier to clean or fillet, yet the flavor of the meat is better than that of the channel catfish. Being smaller, they are also a lot easier to handle.

An old man, born in 1900 once related a tale, later corroborated, that he went fishing for channel catfish when he was in his youth, with only 5 kids and no income. (The couple ended up having 8 children.) This was in the late 20s, and meat of any kind was a rare commodity. Through the butchering of a rooster, the wife had a meal for the following day, though it wouldn't go very far, with a total of 7 hungry mouths to feed.

When she got up in the morning, though, the chicken was not there. It had been placed in a cupboard where animals couldn't get to it. Around about noon, the man pulled the old pickup up to the front, and the old woman went and told him of the dilemma, asking him if he knew what happened to the chicken. He said simply, "Yup."

When he saw her puzzled face, he explained that he'd taken the chicken and had gone out fishing for channel cats. When she complained to him, he told her to look in the back of the truck. There, was a channel cat of several hundred pounds, caught by using the dead chicken. It was more meat than they'd had, and was much larger than what is commonly caught today. It fed the family for quite some time.

Yet, to the day they both died, both the old woman and the old man said many times they would have much preferred to have a 'washpail' full of bullheads. It wouldn't have lasted as long, but it would have been better tasting.

For many people, it would be the difference between buying a dried out hamburger at a fast food joint, or making a succulent one at home. The cost may be a little greater, but the taste is a lot better.

Pound for pound, bullheads are better to catch. Not only do they supply more sport, and not only are there a lot more of them, but they are better tasting. Why catch fish if you aren't going to eat them?

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