Originally Posted by nehunter
I do know flatheads like bullheads we use them for bait all the time. The question is, do they eat them before eating anything else?

nehunter,

Read this on controlling BH in small ponds.

Read this where FH were used in control of BG and PKS ... the BH were essentially eliminated.

OK. So the question of the what FH most prefer to prey on hasn't been answered with metrics of capture rates etc. Even so, evidence suggests BBH to be among the first species eliminated by FH in these studies.

I think I suggested that you should concentrate your harvest on fish larger than 15 lbs. But I should mention that it might take a while to get them there depending on FH density and the density of your other predators. Here is a paper on growth of FH in 21 Oklahoma lakes.. Usually, FH are not overly abundant due to fishing harvest pressures. The challenge for state DOWs is have more of them for fishermen. Where you have heard about the horror stories, the FH were stocked at such a high standing weight that the pond wouldn't support them. We could rephrase that to say the pond would have never grown them to that size if they had been stocked much smaller. The Flathead would have stunted well before reaching that size. So keep this in mind. They are not a time bomb and they are among the easier fish to control by fishing due to low reproduction and low density. Kind of like it would be easier to control the numbers of grizzlies than elk.


It isn't what we don't know that gives us trouble, it's what we know that ain't so - Will Rogers