Brown Bullhead

How to recognise it

• No scales, a thick head and six whiskers: one long one at each corner of the mouth and four on the chin.
• A square tail, not forked like a channel catfish's.
• Brown bullhead: mottled yellowish-brown sides, dark brown chin whiskers, rough jagged fin spines.
• Black bullhead: dark and unmottled, black or gray chin whiskers, a slightly notched tail, smooth spines.
• Yellow bullhead: yellow to olive, white chin whiskers, a rounded tail, jagged spines.
• Other names: horned pout, mudcat, bullpout, speckled cat.
• Usually 8–10 in, and just under ¾ lb.

Habitat: where it lives

• Warm lakes and slow streams, in quiet backwaters and weedy shallows. Brown bullheads prefer clear water with plenty of plants.
• It tolerates low oxygen and warm water that kills other fish, and can be the only fish in a small, shallow lake.

Habits: behavior, spawning and growth

• Travels along the bottom in large schools.
• Rests in weeds by day and feeds after dark.
• Stops feeding in winter and may bury itself in soft mud.
• Spawns from April to July at 70–77°F, in a saucer-shaped nest near cover. The parents guard the eggs and young.

Where and when

• A shallow bay in the evening is the classic place.
• Warm months, from spring through summer; it stops biting in winter.

Bait and lures

Why these baits work

• It finds food by smell, with taste buds all over its skin, so the smellier the bait the better. Artificial lures are a poor choice.

Rod and reel setups

Grouped by lure fishing (artificial baits) and bait fishing (live or natural bait).

Tips

• Its dorsal and side fins have sharp spines that lock in place and cut, not the whiskers. Work gloves help.
• Bullheads swallow hooks deeply: bring long-nosed pliers, or cut the line and take the hook out when you clean the fish.
• They breed fast and can overrun small ponds, so keeping some is good for the water.

On the table: cleaning and cooking

• Clean and chill it soon after catching. Pull the skin off with pliers, take off the head, then fillet it or cook it whole.
• From muddy or weedy water, soak it overnight in the refrigerator in cold water with 1 tablespoon of salt and 2 of vinegar, then rinse.