Bullhead Fishing

[Jack Hunter]

Looking forward to doing some bullhead fishing when the time comes.  Not a lot of takers for some reason.  Any takers in the southern Erie area?  Also willing to swap some hotspots through PM.

jack

[pikekiller]

I had talked about bullheading up by the St. Lawrence, but I heard alot of them have parasites in that area.  anyone  heard the same thing?

[bigdave1018]

it seems to run in different years just like it does around the fair haven area sad but true . last year the worms werent found but the year before , they were in the heads.

[Rangerclay]

Too early for that!!!!   I still have another month of perch fishing on the St. Lawrence River

Ranger

[fishryc]

Too early for that!!!!   I still have another month of perch fishing on the St. Lawrence River

Ranger

Perch are my #1, however I manage to do both:  Perch do not feed at night; bullhead feed fierce at night!

[Reel Wet Ride]

Bullheads? Are you catching them to eat or just to catch? If its to eat you must know some cleaning secrets that i don't know about...not a fan. Especially when there are fish that are easier to catch, easier to clean, and taste better.

[pikekiller]

I haven't cleaned them in years, but I recall it wan't that bad.  there was a way of peeling the skin off that was quick.  maybe someone can refresh my memory.  I know they taste great in my book!

[esox slayer]

I haven't cleaned them in years, but I recall it wan't that bad.  there was a way of peeling the skin off that was quick.  maybe someone can refresh my memory.  I know they taste great in my book!

I've still got the "bullhead pliers" that my dad used when he cleaned them...they look like a set of wire nippers..get hold of the skin up hear the head and yank...worked like a charm....and yes,,there are ""grubby" bullheads up in some of the lakes up this way, but I'm under the impression that if you get them out of the St Lawrence they're clean.

There is a woman up here that "fillets" the bullhead instead of hog dressing them....gonna have to try that method sometime this spring.  I like them a couple times a year but if they're grubby then I'll pass......Esox

[bigdaddyc9]

Bullheads are only second fidle in the eating dept. by crappies and walleyes.I used to own a camp at Greene Point Marina on sandy Pond and it would be common for us to fill several coolers full of filets.Pound a good size nail into a tree-impale the head on the nail and peel the skin off with a small pair of pliers.Beer batter and munch down.It is true about the bullheads being full of grubs.My opinion is that the more geese that swim in the water that you fish.The better the chance of that fish being loaded with grubs.Its just they seem to corallate.It would be almost bullhead time now if it wasnt for the curve ball mom nature has thrown as of late-Peace be with ya'all-BigD-moving to sherburne ny home of 30 dollars a month electricity!

[redshanty]

I just cut a circle around just behind the head.  Don't cut through the bone.  Grab the skin with plyers, I prefer those wide fishing ones, and then pull the skin toward the tail.  It should just pull off.  I hold the head while doing this which is why I don't cut it off at first.  After skinning, cut the head off and pull it toward the tail.  That should take the guts with it.  Theres a white diaphram that you have to get out. Just cut it.  If you get good, you should do one a minute or so.  I usually make all the circle cuts then do all the skinning then do the heads.  Seems to work for me.  and bullheads are best tasting if caught in the spring....still firm.  My dad always used apple blossoms as the key.  When the trees bud, the b/head bite is on.      

[esox slayer]

People do love to fish for them but the couple times I tried to eat one I thought it was about the WORST tasting thing I've eaten next to the carp or a Lake Ontario smallmouth bass I tried a few years back.  It's something I'll never understand but lots of guys target them and actually eat them too. 

I tried them smoked once and they were horrible...and as far as carp....I read an article years ago in a fishing magazine..they steamed the fish after dressing it out, then flaked off the meat and said it tasted great....big white flakes of meat....might try it sometime if I ever hook one by mistake....won't target them....I'll stick with pike and perch, etc....maybe if you turned the carp meat into fish patties or something along that line they might be ok, as long as you had some spices , onion and the like mixed in...

[redshanty]

SIMPLE RECIPE...everyone knows it: Egg, italian bread crumbs, dip fish in, fry in  butter and hot oil, cast iron frying pan. Very simple, very tasty.  As I said earlier, b/heads are best when caught in cold water/springtime.  After June, forget about them.   

[JeffreyKrow]

Bullhead, like any kind of catfish type, is best when caught right after ice out and during the cold water time. After it gets too warm, Like the post above said June, they start to taste like dirt. If you catch and clean them as stated above, and cook them with the simple recipe above, they are tasty. You can also sell them. I think people are already selling them in Chaumont.
      Bullhead are best with a lot of friends and a cooler of beer, sitting around telling stories and eating them like a picnic style. They are tastey though and if you follow the steps that were already given earlier in this thread, you will enjoy them too.
                                               JK

[adkRoy]

My first memory of fishing was catching a bullhead at night by a bonefire with a bunch of friends and neighbors. We caught a lot of bullheads throught the ice this year on tip-up and jigging.

[HomerJay]

I love going bullheading up in plattsburgh. If you want to meet some crazy people go bullheading at ausable park. It is usually about 20-40 locals who are there to fish and drink, its like a big redneck party.  I usually drink and never keep them(they dont tast good, plus dec doesnt recamend eating ANY from champlain) i just give them to the people who do.

[billybono]

i love eating them, love catching them, but over the years hate cleaning them more and more.......my nights of 50 plus cleaning festivies have been over for a while now. unless i have a bad winter where i need to get some fish in the freezer....but I'm pretty much set this year in that department. a few times for some fresh dinner works for me

   FYI....i always nail the bullhead to the rail on the porch through the head, and tear through em with some skinning pliers and a knife....beer helps catching and cleaning em too 


      billybono

[AugustWest]

It depends on the water they come from.......and definately the colder water the better.
Ever try a Skaneateles Lake "Head".......unbelievable

[jdjyoung]

 Tried smoking em once.....  Really hard to get lit!


 Actually, bullheads are good eatin if they are caught in the early spring when they are still good and firm

 JD

[HOSS]

Love bullheads, and IMO they are the number one easiest cleaning fish there is.  Three cuts with a sharp knife and about 10 seconds later I have head, skin, guts all together in one hand and batter ready fish in the other, no pliers needed.  If you love bullheads and don't know this cleaning technique I guarantee your jaw will be on the ground if you were to see someone do it...so simple

[bwalleye]

Here bully bully bully.........


Bullheads are good eating.  I prefer to fillet the meat off the larger bullheads as I think they cook more uniformly.  Smaller fish I leave whole.  Sometimes I cook them rolled in breadcrumbs or seasoned flour other times straight into the oil without any coating.  When filleted, they make a great fish sandwich. 

[fishryc]

I'm a perch eater mostly, but I love catching bullies. I release most, give some away, and have a preparation method that makes them more pallatable. First, after skinning and gutting, I always fillet them and take of the bottom meat. Then I soak them overnight in milk or water; milk preferred. You'll see that you've drawn out a lot of blook by the pink liquid. I then flour them, dip in beated eggs, then coat with seasoned bread crumbs or cracker crumbs. I never use tarter sauce on fish, but like it on these.

[hali-man]

Love bullheads, and IMO they are the number one easiest cleaning fish there is.  Three cuts with a sharp knife and about 10 seconds later I have head, skin, guts all together in one hand and batter ready fish in the other, no pliers needed.  If you love bullheads and don't know this cleaning technique I guarantee your jaw will be on the ground if you were to see someone do it...so simple

Can you describe this process?

[panfish lover]

If you want to try the best bullheads you ever had first fillet them then cut off all the dark red meat from the back of the fillet (runs around the lateral line) then soak them in ice water with some 7up soda for a few hours this will help take most if not all the strong river bottom flavor out I have been doing this for years and to me it is the only way to do it!!!  good fishing Joe

[zgoz89]

I do a lot of trout fishing come summer, always catch a lot of nice bullhead up on 13th lake when im nightfishing. Since theres an extended trout season there ill have to start keeping them once the water cools down in the fall. My old mans always telling me how good they were so i guess ill just have to try them.

[Jack Hunter]

I'm with Mac.  I enjoy going out just after ice out with a couple of pops and some friends.  The cleaning methods listed are in line with what I do except I employ 2 pairs of pliers, one in the mouth to clamp down on the head and the other to pull the skin off.  I'm usually a little slow on the uptake fopr the first couple, but after I get in a groove it takes about 30 seconds each.  As for bullheads tasting bad, I don't know what you are doing to them to make that happen.  They taste great if caught at the right time.  Hundreds of sportsmans club bullhead dinners can't be wrong.

jack

[Reel Wet Ride]

Bullheads are a lot of fun to catch, I'll give you that. I've had nights where I've caught more than 50. Top that with about 12'er of cold beer and a fire and a good group of friends and its a pretty good night.

As far as eating them, my cousin convinced me to clean a couple for him that he caught through the ice, I did all the prep work, removed the mud line & the whole nine yards. Everyone who tried a piece agreed......Nasty!

You can keep bottom feeding mud cats.

[fishryc]

It depends on the water they come from.......and definately the colder water the better.
Ever try a Skaneateles Lake "Head".......unbelievable

I agree. Lake Ontario tribs get a heavy run of monsters; but they're not so hot (to me, anyway). They sometimes have fat down their back, and are green / brown on top with yellow bellies.
 I spend a week in the ADK's every year and take some from Raquette lake and they are of another species. Black as night on the back, and snow white on the belly. They are much smaller and absolutely delicious.
 

[kentan]

I too agree with area and time of catch, but I also think size has to do with a nasty tastin 'Head' here in the fingerlakes it's not unusual to catch 12-18" bullheads, and I usually give the larger ones away.
Hoss how about sharin that 10 second cleaning tech. I don't know the time frame but I can't clean 'em consistently with any speed so that would be greatly appreciated.

[billybono]

nailing there heads down is pretty fast. nail em all down through the head to somthing, i use the porch rail, go down the line, cut all the way around em behind the horns in a circle, next run doen the line with the pliers and skin em, then run doen the line and snap the head off the meat....the guts stay with the head. as always beer helps and leaving the heads flyin for a few days keeps unwanted soliciters away


                                     billybono

[HOSS]

OK when you guys get into some heads try this method of cleaning.  first make a perpendicular cut behind the head just past where the bone ends and cut down deep enough to hit bone. next just cut the skin from the first cut around the dorsal fin all the way down to the adipose fin. next cut is from the first cut around the other side of the dorsal fin and connect into the long cut you made down the back just past the fin. now assuming your right handed hold the head in your left hand with thumb and index finger around behind the side fins, grab the body with your right hand and bend that sucker good and hard so the head breaks away from the spine, usally you will pop the air sack when you do this. then while still holding the head reach in with finger in front of the dorsal and get the end of the backbone pulled up out enough to get a hold of. with that done I put my thumb on the end of the backbone with middle finger behind dorsal fin and pull the sucker in opposite directions. Basically its like peeling a latex glove off from your hand. the head, skin, side fins, a little belly meat, will all stay together and the skin will peel all the way down completely to where it end at the tail.  I hope this makes sense its really better to see in person but it does work great and is really fast and quit easy when you get the hang of it.