Cat tip of the Day: Finding a Better Bullhead Bait

[SteveD]

Many of us have struggled with catching and keeping bullheads by the time late July and August are upon us with their normal high temperatures. It seems like we spend a lot of time at our favorite “Secret” bullhead pond trying to catch a few dozen bullies to restock the bait tank.

I just got back from a few hours at my favorite pond and I was having trouble keeping the small sunfish away from my bait long enough to get a bullhead interested in it. It seems like those small sunnies will pounce on a worm and strip it away before anything else has even a chance to get interested. Today I used a few alternative baits and they were a big success. I tried using the GULP Waxies/Asticots hoping the bullheads would like them and that they were tough enough to keep the sunnies from stripping them off the hook too soon.

My normal bullhead rig is a slip bobber rigged a few feet above a small 1/8 ounce jig. I was baiting the jig with about 3 of the GULP Waxies and I could see the bobber getting jerked around but the sunnies were just not able to pull them all off the hook. The bullheads were all over that jig once they had their turn at them.

I bought the GULP Waxies at Fleet Farm and they were $4 for a small jar that will last a long time. They are really handy to use because the jar doesn’t take up any room at all – fits right in a pocket. They are not like live bait that you have to try to keep out of the sun or it will die. I had great success today and if you are having the same trouble I was this may be your ticket to a bucket full of lively bullheads.

Good luck and Good Fishing

Steve

[rushing]

The Gulp "earthworms" or "nightcrawlers" work well at times too. Sometimes if I am using real crawlers I will take a little nub of the Gulp and put it on to act as a stopper to make it harder for those sunnies to peel the worm off.

[Carp-fisher]

Hey thats a great tip that I'm definitely going to try next time. One thing I've found is that alot of those super shallow stormwater ponds have no sunnies but are loaded with 4 to 8" bullheads. This has been key for me catching alot of bait this year...