Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose bullhead info

This was about the most comprehensive info I could find on these invaders:

The brown bullhead’s (Ameiurus nebulosus) preferred habitat is sluggish waters with a mud bottom. In large lakes and rivers, the bullhead seeks out sheltered bays and coves. The bullhead is an extremely hardy species that can survive under very poor habitat conditions when most other fishes would perish. It can survive in water temperatures up to 900F and with dissolved oxygen below 1 part per million. The bullhead survives under these stressful conditions by gulping air from the surface through its air bladder which functions like a ‘lung’. It has been documented that bullheads can survive for weeks even when a pond dries-up by borrowing into the mud and lying dormant. In the spring when water temperatures rise above 650F, male and female bullheads prepare for spawning by constructing a nest. The nest is a shallow circular depression located near a submerged structure such as a log or boulder usually in water less than two feet deep. Upon completion of the nest spawning occurs, the female deposits an adhesive egg mass, which is then fertilized by the male. A small female may lay 2,000 eggs while a large fish may have up to 13,000 eggs. Both parents then guard the nest from predators and aerate the eggs through the incubation period. The young hatch in 5-10 days and rise from the nest in about a week. Young bullheads remained in large schools throughout the first summer usually in shallow weedy areas. Bullheads are bottom scavengers feeding primarily at night on a wide variety of foods. The bullhead uses whisker-like barbels, which are equipped with taste buds, to brush along the bottom to locate food items. These omnivores will eat algae, plant material, aquatic insects, crayfish, and fish. In Maine, lakes where bullheads and lake trout are both present, bullheads are known to feed on lake trout eggs. Fifty-one percent of the bullheads examined during the lake trout spawning season in one Maine lake contain lake trout eggs in their stomachs. Whether this predation represents a significant impact on lake trout populations is unknown. BROWN BULLHEAD MANAGEMENT HISTORY The native range of the brown bullhead extends along the east coast of North America from the Canadian Maritimes south to Florida, west to Texas and north to the Province of Saskatchewan. In Maine, this species was indigenous to many of the coastal drainages including the Androscoggin, Kennebec, Penobscot, and St. John River drainages. The species was introduced to the Rangeley’s at the head of the Androscoggin River drainage, about 1900. Early surveys of the waters in the Moosehead Lake area yielded only one specimen, and it is unknown whether they were native to the area or had been introduced. While sought after as fine table fare in some Southern states, the bullhead, locally known as hornpout, is one of two members of the catfish family found in Maine, neither of which are managed intensively as a sportfish. On the contrary, bullheads are often targeted for chemical eradication because they severely compete with brook trout where the two co-inhabit. Two small 9
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ponds included in a study to compare strains of wild brook trout had to be eliminated from the study plan when brook trout failed to survive in any substantial numbers. The high density of bullheads in these ponds contributed to this failure, population estimates of bullheads in these two ponds were 237 and 954 fish per acre. Even though the brown bullhead provide excellent table fare and are easily caught, special regulations were not necessary, because they haven’t been highly sought after by most Maine anglers. BROWN BULLHEAD PAST MANAGEMENT GOALS I. Limit populations to present abundance and distribution. II. Limit populations to present abundance and distribution; increase use. III. Decrease distribution. The above goals, for the most part, were achieved during the past planning period. Although a small number of individual waters were chemically reclaimed to eliminate brown bullheads to provide better coldwater sport fisheries, overall the number of waters with populations of bullheads actually increased statewide during the past planning period. Better inventories and additional waters surveyed is the reason for this increase. BROWN BULLHEAD OPPORTUNITY Brown bullhead are distributed throughout the state occurring 851 lakes and ponds comprising 756,604 acres (Figure 1); these totals represent a 47-water (24,144 acres) increase since the 1985 planning update. Principal fisheries for bullheads are found in four of the Management Regions (Table 1) with a total of 38 waters (Figure 2). Bullhead can be found in a multitude of water types from large oligotrophic lakes to small warmwater ponds and everything in between. Sport fishery opportunities exist for bullhead in most all Maine’s major river systems but evaluations of these populations have not been completed and therefore, will not be discussed. Table 1. Brown Bullhead Occurrence and Principal Fisheries in Lakes by Management Region. TOTAL OCCURENCE PRINCIPAL FISHERIES MANAGEMENT REGION NUMBER OF LAKES ACRES NUMBER OF LAKES ACRES A22487,570162,624 B21596,3561618,159 C115101,75000 D5374,9584297 E66162,34400 F111160,8692135 G6772,75700 STATE851756,60438 21,215 10
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Figure 1. Distribution of Brown Bullhead (Ameiurus nebulosus) in Lakes and Ponds, 2000. 11
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Figure 2. Lakes and Ponds with Brown Bullhead (Ameiurus nebulosus) as principal fisheries, 2000. Regulations for bullheads have not been warranted due to the lack of angling interest. Although, when an artificial lures only regulation was promulgated on the lower Aroostook River, to protect the brook trout population, a number of local anglers protested because it virtually eliminated their night fishing for bullheads. 12
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BROWN BULLHEAD DEMAND The 1999 open water fishing survey indicates a total of 21,373 (+2,654) anglers actively targeted brown bullhead and expended approximately 189,275 (+39,909) days fishing for bullheads (Table 2). Table 2 Estimated angler days and catch rates for brown bullhead listed by Management Region. ESTIMATED ANGLER DAYS FISH PER ANGLER DAY REGION (95% C.I.) CAUGHT KEPT A43,448(23,451)1.930.77B140,806 (32,402)1.000.06CN/A N/AN/AD 1,425 (1,341) 0.93 N/A EN/A N/AN/AF1,330 (2,414)0.360.36GN/A N/AN/ABROWN BULLHEAD FISHING QUALITY This same open water survey indicates a statewide catch rate of 1.76-fish/angler day with the total harvest of 135,363 (0.72 fish/angler day) bullheads (Table 2). The above rates are based on all fishing activity and not just anglers targeting bullheads, it is believed those actively pursuing this species probably have much better fishing. Anecdotal information suggest that fishing at night for bullheads can be much more productive than daytime angling. Statistics for individual waters are unavailable although it is apparent that the Southern Regions provide the best fishing based on catch rates. Very little data are available regarding the average size of bullhead caught by anglers. A handful of fish reported through the voluntary angler program reveals an average size of 10.5 (+0.4) inches with the largest reported at 11.5 inches. Combining all length data collected, primarily from Central Maine, during the past 5 years indicate an average size of 8.1 (+0.3) inches. 13

They are a blast to catch though and are a great meal when i camp at the local creek.

Does anyone have good pictures or info for distinguishing between black and brown bullheads? I'm not sure which lives in my area.

sounds like what I've always called a "polywog" short, stunted looking, fat cat fish.