bullheads in their bellys?

[fetchwillie]

four weeks ago I netted a fish for a buddy up on Poinsett. I said you have a catfish and handed the net to him. He said look again, it was an extremely large Bullhead. !!!

I got to lookin and Poinsett and Big Sone have the record bullheads in the state. !!

[eyewinder]

Several years ago I ran into fishermen from a state that shall remain nameless who traveled to South Dakota's glacial lakes specifically to catch "big bullheads."

[MrStarnes1]

Originally Posted by DakotaKayak

I was reading sum stuff some biologist did on Lake Thompson here in SD. he was having black bullheads as the highest percentile of forage in walleye stomachs examined... Now in your experience is this just a one time of year (young of the year) or have you found this year around or anythoughts on this?

you being from around the area here, may take this information and use it if you would like, but it is a thing one of the local guys taught me on the lakes. he would throw dark colored jigs into/around those little swarms of baby bullheads and about every few casts, would come up with a walleye. i'm not going to say he didnt tip his jig now and then with some of the local forage either.

i cleaned a 17 inch walleye a few years back that came out of lake brandt. it had a giant belly on it. inside the fish belly, i found a 6 inch smallmouth bass, and in the mouth of that bass, was some kind of a small fish that looked to be a bluegill or a perch maybe. that just goes to show you that if a walleye is hungry, they will eat what is in front of them

[bigbear40]

Willow cats or madtoms are a great bait on the Mississippi. If you can find them in a bait shop they go for $7.00 a dozen or more. They have spines and the sting is far worse than a bullhead or catfish. Don't know how a walleye eats them and does not have a problem with the stingers but they sure do.

[suntracker]

when we were kids we had guys from iowa that would come and take bullheads that we caught all day long from the big sioux right in watertown sd at riverside park. they thought we were crazy cathing them and throwing them back

[black white face]

Originally Posted by suntracker

when we were kids we had guys from iowa that would come and take bullheads that we caught all day long from the big sioux right in watertown sd at riverside park. they thought we were crazy cathing them and throwing them back

They eat them tho!

[DakotaKayak]

That was basically the premise of the question... Does any one change to dark jigs for this reason.. Im thinkin next spring if i see those schools of baby bullheads swarming the shallows im gonna only use bullheadish like jigs or swimbaits.... See what happens...