Pond Boss Forums FISH & FISHING Fly Fishing & Other Fish Species Smallmouth Bass

Got a question about smallmouth. Would they be effective on bullhead fry and small bullheads? Any opinions? Thanks in advance!

Landon, SMB will definitely eat them, but control is unlikely. Even LMB have a tough time taking out bullheads! Often, the best option on BH is to drain and kill everything then start over...or live with them....

Thanks Rainman, thats what I was afraid of. This is almost 3/4 acre relatively shallow pond (7' to 8') that has BG and GSF and GS and CC. With a boatload of bullheads from 2" to 4". Thinking about putting 100 SM 6" to 8" before possibly draining next fall and removing the surviving SM (hopefully fat and sassy)and relocating them to a pond that we are working on now. Hopefully there will be a good number of healthy survivors. If the BH numbers are significantly down in this pond maybe we wont have to drain it. I agree with you, they probably wont control the BH population. Thanks for your reply.

So what is the BEST predator for BH? FHC?

Landon,

So do you know how the BH got in there in the first place? Sure it will not happen again?

I have also read threads here where draining a pond did not necessarily get rid of the BH. They burrowed down in the muck and waited for the water to come back.

Our Nebraska Game and Parks commision actually stocks bullheads in a some public lakes around here due to LMB predation thinning them down so well that there is very little BH recruitment and not a lot opportunities for the public to actually catch BH for a meal. BH do regularly show up in newly stocked public waters here without any help from our G & P commission, they show up on their own via feeder creeks. The first few years new lakes do provide opportunities to catch big BH, but it quickly fades away, usually within a few years. We do have people that have actually complained about not having places they can catch BH for a meal.

IMO the best BH predators are the two legged kind with fishing pole.

Bullhead stockings 2014

"I don't get no respect"

Bill,about 3 years ago we drained and enlarged this pond it had them in there then. i am afraid thats what happend,there was some left in the mud when we refilled it.if i can keep there numbers down i wont have to drain again. just a thought..wonder if hsb might be a good predator to go with the smb?

That's where Hydrated Lime or Rotenone comes into play. Drain and kill. GSF will also survive in teeny tiny puddles if the pond is just drained.

if you use one of those methods-how long before it can be refilled?

If drained and nuked....immediately, as both will be diluted into safe levels as it is refilled. If lowered and left to refill naturally, a couple weeks for hydrated lime and a few days for rotenone. Rotenone often requires application permits, where hydrated lime is readily available at most hardware and big box stores

ok,thank you.hope not to have take such measures but may have to.

Hey Landon,

Question. How big are your CC?

there in the 6to8 #range.stocked 75 10 to 12 inch range. had some trouble with poachers both 2 and 4 leged kind and only have a few left.just before thanksgiveing had a little more work done make it deeper. thats why was wondering about the smb and hsb as maybe an option.

Ahhh. From what I've read here at PBF, both SMB and HSB have small mouth gap compared to say an LMB so they will only help on the smaller BH, especially if there is easier to swallow prey around. Rainman points out even LMB pass if they can. That's why I was asking about the CC. Sounds like that is also a limited predator.

That is a good article Shorty.

Now that I have some LMB in the old refurbished pond, think I'll quit worrying about trapping bullheads out and just catch them as they get big enough. The ones we ate tasted just fine. A little darker meat than our CC, but if I had to taste test side by side without the benefit of looking at it, I'd be hard pressed to tell which was which. Both were good eating.

I agree very good article maybe just add the smb. and hsb and see how things go.

I enjoyed it and it's a small world. If I recall correctly Daryl Bauer, the author, is a former graduate student of Dr. Willis. Also, if I am correct the girls pictured in the article belong to Alex Gonzales, "Alejandro" is pictured here in this Pond Boss thread with a huge RES.

Yup, those are my daughters, they love chasing after bullhead!

Best bullhead predator, flathead catfish. downside, they will eat the bullhead and anything else they can fit into their mouths. They would start off with the easiest and most plentiful prey, and work their way "up" from their.