bullheads for bait?

[south_metro_fish]

I found a pond full of small bullheads, and I was wondering if they are good for walleyes? Some one told me that they were

[Borch]

Bullheads make up a majority of a walleyes diet in some of the lakes and rivers that I fish. Even in lakes like Cass that doesn't seem to have a high bullhead population I frequently find bullheads in their stomachs when I clean them. A lot of the cat guys catch incidental walleyes when fish bullies for flatheads.

So yes they make good bait for walleyes. Although they can be tough on your hands as the small bullies stingers are sharp and harder to avoid.

[Burbot]

Not sure on this; but you may want to look into transporting them for bait, A couple of years ago I was trapping Rusty Crayfish for consumption and thought I came across some restrictions on Bullheads and willow cats. Easy to look up just go to DNR online.

[bobbymalone]

one restriction is that you can only gather bait from waters that are not infested with exotics like milfoil. so make sure your bullhead pond isn't on the list before you start removing, transporting, and dropping bullheads in a different body of water.

[south_metro_fish]

Thanks much. What is the best way to hook a bullhead? Never fished with one before.

[DTro]

The problem I see with using bullheads for walleyes is that they tend to really swallow them deep, and to make matters worse the sharp stiff pectoral fins will lock in place making it even harder to get the hook out.

If you do end up using them I would suggest the 3-4" variety.

Just hook them like a chub or shiner.

[kingfish689]

You will prolly catch and you will prolly have sore fingers the next day.You will just have see if it is worth it to you. My guess is it will not be as they are good bait but for some reason no one uses them.(Those little stingers are hard to avoid in low light) Good luck and let us know if you think it was worth it or not.