Bullhead being commercially caught? Where do they go?

[1sfer]

"Bullhead are important to commercial fishermen, who harvest about 1 million pounds a year." I was reading Minnesota DNR HSOforum and found this. I'm a bit surprised to see this because MN folks are known for picky on what they eat, unlike people from the south - me one of them.

[bobbymalone]

Bullheads are supposed to be quite tasty, although I can't speak from experience.

Don't fool yourself, if you go 30 minutes outside of the Twin Cities metro you might as well be in the south... just with more snow.

BTW - I spent the first 25 years of my life in a little town south of the Mason-Dixon line and am not diggin on the south or those outside the TC metro. Just saying people living out in the great north woods have a lot more in common with Ozarkian hill folks than they do with uptown yuppies.

[rbs]

lol...your funny!

[SunneyeDay]

Sarcasm isn't well expressed in the typed word, but I am guessing by your Morton location that you don't enjoy being grouped in with Southerners?

Nothing wrong with eating oily fish and enjoying the company of your cousins...is there?

[DTro]

You might be surprised what goes into making frozen fish sticks

[harvey lee]

I know one person that smokes them. They are pretty darn good.

[tsewdim]

I grew up in Omaha, NE. We used to eat 'em down there along with a whole lot of other people. My folks also used to take us to Joe Tess Place in Omaha. They are known for serving carp. It's been awhile since I've been there though.

I think people in different regions put different kinds of emphasis on their fish species. I think way down south they eat flatheads don't they?

[Carp-fisher]

I'm from Iowa. Bullheads are yummy. I use 'em exclusively for bait now, but I can't say I'm not tempted to get a few from my bucket and have a fry daddy session.

[winniewalleye777]

Bullheads are fantastic!! Around SW MN, many small towns hold bullhead feeds where they fry up hundreds of em and they are great. A good recipe is to skin and gut them and cut off their heads. clean it well but leave the fins and tail attached. Make a beer batter with bisquick. Fry. Enjoy. Very tasty

[UdeLakeTom]

I talked with a gentlemen that grills bullheads and coats them with barbecue sauce.

[Slowhand]

Theres are so many niche markets out there for certain game. Maybe it gets trucked to some amish community thats loves bullhead flesh, then makes body combs out of their dorsal/pectoral spines.... then again prolly just fish patty filler.

[Scott K]

Bullheads are good eaten when taken from cool waters and cooked right. They are also really good smoked.

[Slowhand]

Not going out tonight Scott?

[Scott K]

I didn't have any bait, so I chose to stay home. I will be out tomorrow night though.

[Slowhand]

Shoulda said something last night....I got bullheads in my tank that are just dying to go fishing . Only reason why asked I thought I saw where you an HKK maybe were hittn it tonight.

[2hounds]

One of the better tasting fish from what I remember--yes beer batter Bullhead taste great..

[hanson]

You might be surprised what goes into making frozen fish sticks

LOL! Agreed!

I can think of a few very well known rough fish harvests in this state and God only knows where that meat ends up. St Croix River has a big one in the Prescott area, Lake Byllesby has one in the winter, and I'm sure there are many others. Thousands and thousands and thousands of pounds of rough fish going somewhere and it ain't for fertilizer.

I've never had bullhead but I do hear it is good, especially when caught from cool water. We've learned gar is good this week and my dad spent his college years eating sheephead and swore you couldn't tell the difference between the sheephead and blugills when cooked together.

Guess I've never been that hungry or that bad of a fisherman to resort to deep frying sheephead to fill the stomach, but it you want to eat it, go right ahead. Not my cup of tea however. I'm sticking to my blugills, crappies, perch, walleyes, pike and cats. I'm not even that big a fan of our coldwater species (trout & salmon) which many folks love.

[mplspug]

Bullhead is excellent. Just don't use the ones that have been in your bait tank for a month.

[Brownie77]

I know carp are sent to the east coast as many jewish folks out there eat them, and also the bullheads are used for large feeds, there used ot be a bullhead farm by Waterville, MN but I am not sure if it is there any longer.

[CFHunter]

rbs, we all know you and your sister eat bullhead on sundays after church. it's okay, i am kidding. Do you even have a sister?

Anyways, I have heard a lot of friends saying their grandparents used to eat them all of the time. Just another fish I would pass up in a meal but not knocking those that eat it. What really sounds bad is a smelt feed. They have one every year in a town nearby. Can't say that I would ever try that either.

[rbs]

ok you caught me...no not really. the only thing I use a bullie for is bait. I do like smelt tho...as long as they are small ones

[TChard]

Bullheads are supposed to be quite tasty, although I can't speak from experience.

Don't fool yourself, if you go 30 minutes outside of the Twin Cities metro you might as well be in the south... just with more snow.

BTW - I spent the first 25 years of my life in a little town south of the Mason-Dixon line and am not diggin on the south or those outside the TC metro. Just saying people living out in the great north woods have a lot more in common with Ozarkian hill folks than they do with uptown yuppies.

Hey now you ought to come on down to us southerners place and we can have us a fine fish fry. Mystery stew and road kill on a stick GOOD EATEN

Union hill bar in New Prauge has a bullhead feed once every spring. I was quite leary on eaten them at first but D@mn are they good.

[Slowhand]

I'd be game...when do they throw that feed Tommy?

[kg2]

Gorton's fish sticks is made from pollock, per their ingredients listing.

[kg2]

Van de Kamp fish sticks are also pollock.