Pond Boss Forums FISH & FISHING Fly Fishing & Other Fish Species Bullhead Removal

Hey guys I recently discovered that my 3 acre pond unfortunately has brown bullheads in it. I have no idea how many, we just started catching them this spring, only two so far. I know they need to go. Do you guys have any recommendations on how to remove them other than catching them out? The pond is currently stocked with LMB, BG, HSB, RES, and CC. Retenone or starting over is not an option, and may not be waranted based of the unknow population. All other stocked species seem to be flourishing.

When faced with bullheads, you usually end up with bullheads that are larger than what the largest predator fish can eat; usually LMB are the natural predator for bullheads. I suppose some smaller bullheads could be eaten by HSB and CC.

Those larger bullheads need to be caught out. Trapping might work too.

In my 4.5 acre pond, we had a non-desirable bullhead population. Over a weekend, we targeted bullheads for fishing, and had a massive fish fry. We took out between 100-200 if I recall correctly, and that made a very noticeable difference.

Also, electrofishing can bring up a bunch of bullheads, so that may be something to consider also.

I have run a minnow trap in my creek to try and sample all of the various minnow species. Surprisingly, I caught yellow bullheads in the trap a few times.

There are lots of threads on Pond Boss about trapping fish in ponds. (I think they are usually for sampling or culling sunfish?)

I suspect in the right location and with the right bait, you could trap a lot of bullheads. (With a trap for catfish, not a minnow trap.)

As a kid I used to fish farm ponds for bass and BG. Some days we had poor luck. My grandfather would then take us to one of the muddier corners of the pond where the prevailing wind would push items in the pond. We might then catch a bullhead on a bit of worm with every single cast.

I don't know if that is the best spot to try a trap, but that would be my advice. Hopefully, some experts will drop in and give you better advice. I do know that bullheads can become a high percentage of the fish mass in a small pond.

I just electroshocked a pond this morning and netted 3 brown bullheads. Fyke nets or catfish traps can catch them too.

google figure 8 traps. make some and put them out and you can remove a lot of fish,on smaller ponds. But the best way is stock your bass and they will eat them.

This trap was made by a company in texas specifically for bullhead removal. It's a z-trap, and the entry points were cut to be about 2 x 4 inches to allow the fish in. The trap has worked amazing well for bullhead removal. I think this z-trap or any perch trap listed on the site would work great for bullhead as long as the entry points allow them to get in. Best of luck getting them out!

I cant figure out how to make the image show here, lol... but I linked it below for reference. Caught quite a few bullhead in just a couple of hours.

[img]https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RScspzmziRzwoJk8R8w_afxb_e8b5M0R/view?usp=drive_link[/img]

Man I love eating bullhead. At one time a family friend had a great pond for them, then we introduced bass and they all went away. I would take some in my pond.

Just in case anyone is looking for tips on how to remove bullhead catfish from an overpopulated pond. This article may be helpful in gathering ideas.

https://www.reeltexasoutdoors.com/b...lhead-catfish-from-an-overpopulated-pond