by Rex Trulove

Created on: September 27, 2009

Bullhead catfish are superb fish for those who want to sit back, relax, and let the fish come to them. Many trout fisherman like to occasionally fish for bullheads, for good reasons. Examining a few of these will also shed some light on keys to how to night fish for them.

The first really doesn't help with knowing how to night fish for bullhead catfish, but it is a reason for fishing for the catfish in the first place. The meat is great to eat. Batter dipped, for instance, it can rival many commonly purchased batter dipped fish, many of which are also primarily scavengers and will eat almost anything.

This not only gives a reason to catch them, it does actually lead to a key in catching them. Bullheads are opportunistic scavengers. That is, they will eat dead flesh and even vegetation if live food isn't available. This doesn't sound very appealing, but crabs and crayfish do the same thing, along with many other fish. Even a trout will devour a dead fish if it can get to it, because it doesn't take a lot of effort to hunt.

Bullhead catfish have an advantage in this regard that trout don't have. A trout hunts mostly by eyesight. Bullheads are nearly blind, but have an exceptionally acute sense of smell. This means they don't need to see a dead fish in order to find it; they can smell it from a great distance and zero in on it. For one who has kept tiny bullheads in a 55-gallon tank until they grew large, their ability to do this is astounding.

This means that the best bait to use is that which has the strongest and has the stinkiest smell. There are those who advocate the use of store bought baits, or homemade ones that have aromas that would knock over a mule, but it really isn't necessary to go to such extremes. Dead and rotting night crawlers are extremely attractive to bullhead catfish. Usually rotting worms are also difficult to put on and keep on a hook however. So how do you use dead night crawlers to catch them? This brings up another key point.

These fish are also not against going after live bait as long as they can smell it, and they usually can. However, it takes a little longer for the catfish to find the bait if it is live bait, normally. The dead worms can act as an attractant, though.

Dredging the live and baited worms through dead smelly ones will help the bullheads zero in on the food, the moment you toss the hook in the water.

How about the part about fishing at night? This can be the most productive time for catching bullhead catfish because

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>