Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations What kind of fish are these?

Walking around the pond yesterday. Discovered a few fish after seeing several fish eaters around the pond. It finally clicked.

Are these what I think they are?








Secondly, what is this fish?

Top fish are little baby bullheads, most likely black bullheads.

The bottom fish is a baby LMB.

I think baby bullheads are darn cute too... Especially when their billies look like they're about the pop with all the pellets they are eating!

So not cute when it's your pond

All depends on your goals... If managed correctly they really don't cause a problem and they taste better than CC to me.

I don't think they are large enough to eat pellets yet. I think the BG and CC are feasting on them as there are fewer and fewer and fewer at the feeder. I know the fish eaters were feasting on them.

They can't swallow the pellets whole, but they will "gnaw" on them...

So far, I have noticed in the shallows along the banks in the thousands.

Your CC and LMB should thin them out substantially... If you have a standard minnow trap, set it. The traps are very effective on the smaller ones.

Bullheads are darned tasty. YUMMY!
Dan

How is the best way to prepare Bullheads? I have tried them a few times and thought they tasted dirty, muddy, weedy, etc.

Now I am not saying they are nasty fish, just want to know what to do next time to prevent this. As if they are tasty fish why could one not manage for them and feed them out.

I would think they would be good if all they ate was GFC or AM.

Plus their flesh seems mushy to me, is there something to prevent this as well or is this just the way they are and no getting around that?

Thanks

Prepare them the same way as CC. The off taste usually has to do with their diet or water they live in. I see mushiness in both bullheads and CC when they're harvested from warmer water and they aren't put on ice quickly after harvest.

We always treated them like CC also. Either put em' on ice, or fillet quickly during hot weather. Remove the dark brown, red, or yellow streaks in the flesh. Soak in 7-up or Sprite for 4-6 hours, then deep fry. Very tasty.

Soak in lime soda, that is new. What does this do?

Do you use this method on all fish or just Catfish?

Do you roll them in cornmeal or anything after the soak?

Bullheads also seem to have more of a darker flesh then the rest is this normal or just due to the water they are from?

I like to ice down all fish right when caught if I have the ability to do so. The last trip we went on this was not an option so I hope they fish taste ok, we will have to see.

It removes a lot of the strong taste. I think it works great on rough fish. The first time I tried it on a big CC, I let the fillets marinate overnight in the soda. That was a mistake, as they had very little taste at all, and I like to be able to tell that I'm eating fish. Since then I just marinate for a few hours, not overnight.

Yes, just pat them dry, then bread and fry as usual.

I will try this out for sure.
Thanks for the tip.

One of my grandfathers, who died in the early 1960s, was never happier than when he was sitting out in front of his house with a pair of pliers and a sharp knife, skinning and gutting a gunnysack full of bullheads. He loved to catch and eat those things. I know I tried them, but I can't remember how they tasted.