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Jan 10th, 2023
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Joined: Sep 2023
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OP
Joined: Sep 2023
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I am new to the Forum but have followed it for some time. I am new to Texas and I have a one acre pond that I stocked with fathead minnows and bluegills last November. I stocked more minnows and bluegill this June along with 100 2" Florida bass. This is my first time at doing this and I have found that the pond was already full of Bullheads. My question is should I remove as many Bullheads as I can and will the newly stocked bass eat the Bullhead young? Are the Bullheads okay in the pond if i want to grow some good sized Bluegill and Largemouth Bass. I am feeding the fish Purina Aqua Max MVP now and the Bluegill are eating it but so are the Bullheads. What are your suggestions?
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Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 13,750 Likes: 295
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame 2014  Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame 2014 Lunker
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 13,750 Likes: 295 |
Welcome to active posting, Bill!
I would remove all bullheads caught via fishing and/or trapping.
Once LMB get big, they eat small to medium sized bullheads, but the largest bullheads will usually survive.
Bullhead fry and YOY generally get eaten by various predators.
Excerpt from Robert Crais' "The Monkey's Raincoat:"
"She took another microscopic bite of her sandwich, then pushed it away. Maybe she absorbed nutrients from her surroundings."
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1 member likes this:
FishinRod |
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Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 15,151 Likes: 491
Moderator
Ambassador
Field Correspondent Lunker
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Moderator
Ambassador
Field Correspondent Lunker
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 15,151 Likes: 491 |
For best success in a BG-LMB pond that has bullheads(BH) focus your fish management to always have a wide range of sizes of bass to prey on the various sizes of bullheads. More numbers of smaller bass 8"-14" should keep the BH at a minimum. With feeding pellets the BH that survive should grow to sizes of 10"-14". BH are pretty good guests at the dinner table. Clean them as you would small catfish.
aka Pond Doctor & Dr. Perca Read Pond Boss Magazine -
America's Journal of Pond Management
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Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 3,387 Likes: 607
Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 3,387 Likes: 607 |
Bill (and others),
Does identifying which version of bullheads are in the pond make any significant difference on their behaviors, spawning, catchability, etc.?
Or are brown bullheads, black bullheads, and yellow bullheads (and the other four types of bullheads) essentially interchangeable at the level of Pond Boss discussions?
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Joined: Aug 2021
Posts: 22 Likes: 7
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Joined: Aug 2021
Posts: 22 Likes: 7 |
Eat the bullheads. Fry them, smoke them or cut and use for catfish bait. Have caught many bass on cut pieces of bullheads over the years. When I was younger my mother would ask me to go get a batch of them. She dearly loved fried bullheads.
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Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 28,537 Likes: 844
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 28,537 Likes: 844 |
Bill (and others),
Does identifying which version of bullheads are in the pond make any significant difference on their behaviors, spawning, catchability, etc.?
Or are brown bullheads, black bullheads, and yellow bullheads (and the other four types of bullheads) essentially interchangeable at the level of Pond Boss discussions? Brown, Black, Yellow are interchangeable. The others? No hands on experience in catching them.
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1 member likes this:
FishinRod |
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