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Need Bullheads for bait? Search no further!


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I was out fishing at Clear Lake today over by Forest Lake and found the bullheads were at it again. There were thousands of them flopping around in the low water culvert area where it drains into Clear Lake off 35. As you can see a fence dam was installed to prevent the Bullheads from getting into the lake and making the population even worse.

I took some pix's from my cell phone: (click on thumbnail to enlarge pix)

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Imagehosting - PicTiger

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Looks like an all you can eat buffet for blue heron and raccoons. grin.gif

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Let those catfisherman know. Nothing better (or legal) for flatheads than a nice bullhead,

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Quote:

Let those catfisherman know. Nothing better (or legal) for flatheads than a nice bullhead,


Actually Powerstroke, you need to get your facts straight.. Bullheads has to be a certain size or smaller for it to be legal to be used as bait.. Please stop breaking the law and using huge bullheads for bait, thinking that it is legal.

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Quote:

Quote:

Let those catfisherman know. Nothing better (or legal) for flatheads than a nice bullhead,


Actually Powerstroke, you need to get your facts straight.. Bullheads has to be a certain size or smaller for it to be legal to be used as bait.. Please stop breaking the law and using huge bullheads for bait, thinking that it is legal.


All the bullheads in those pictures aren't more than 3 to 6 inches long making them perfectly legal. I think the legal size is 7inches or less. And yeap they can be very good catfish bait. State or local county regulations & rules will vary so always check to make sure it's legal.

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Nice post andy, hopefully someone can use some for catting.

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Seriously.....I know the regs and I hope the kittie catchers do too. Rebel, unless you know of a pond that only has 7" and smaller bullheads then everyone is responsible for catching their own bullheads and weeding out the ones that aren't legal. I never broke the law and didn't suggest anyone else do it either.

Thanks fishon, andy and meatwad.

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Bullheads has to be a certain size or smaller for it to be legal to be used as bait.. Please stop breaking the law and using huge bullheads for bait, thinking that it is legal.


Indeed they do. Currently MN law restricts the size at 7" and under. When under 7", bullheads are categorized as a minnow and can be harvested, transported (not from infested water), sold, and legally used for bait.

This law/regulation is currently being looked at by the DNR at the request of hundreds of catfisherman to increase the size restriction. Our fingers are crossed that they will increase it but nothing has happened yet.

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Im going catfishing tonight and could use some of those. How do I get there from Anoka?? Do I need a fishing pole to catch them or can I use a net?

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hwy 10 to 35w, exit Scandia Trl turning right then turn left on the frontage rd which is Eureka. Drive until you see the culvert drain. You should see the fence barrier too. Im pretty sure them bullheads are still there as long as there is low water for them to flop around on. Don't need anything to catch them. You can litterly scoop them up with your hands. Good luck!

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Seriously.....I know the regs and I hope the kittie catchers do too. Rebel, unless you know of a pond that only has 7" and smaller bullheads then everyone is responsible for catching their own bullheads and weeding out the ones that aren't legal. I never broke the law and didn't suggest anyone else do it either.

Thanks fishon, andy and meatwad.


"Let those catfisherman know. Nothing better (or legal) for flatheads than a nice bullhead, "

If you say so...

Boy, I didn't know a "nice" bullhead was 7 inches or less, did you?

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I guess I took "nice" as meaning bait that is irresistible to flatheads.

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Boy, I didn't know a "nice" bullhead was 7 inches or less, did you?


Gotta tell ya... I prefer the small ones- 5"-7".

I've had some pretty good luck this year on small baits.

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Is 7" the max you can use on border waters also?

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My use of the word "NICE" did not refer to the trophy quality of the bullheads. Next time I will refer to nice bait as "tasty" bait. I hope you wouldn't criticize me for eating small bullheads.

Thanks for adding something constructive to the conversation though.

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Wow! Jackpot...I need to get refill my bait supply soon as the only bullies I have left are longer than 7" (not so nice)

Thank for the post Andy!

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7 inch max lenght are minnows, possission limit 12 dozen I believe!Unless a commerical lisence is held then its more but for me 244 minnows is more than enough.

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Andy I'm sure some catters will take stock of your post! I would if I lived closer.I do have my own spot below a dam one scoop with my 18" bait net gets me 30-40.your spot looks bout the same! cool.gifWOW I didnt read through all the posts looks like some chains were yanked crazy.gifsmirk.gifwink.gifcool.gif

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I stopped by last Thursday and the bullies were gone. Looks like racoons or mink got to them because there were only heads laying in the creek bed. BTW the creek wasn't flowing any longer.

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I still am not sure how a post like this could offend anyone.

Actually, they are gone. I shot down right away and filled my coolers to the legal amount to transport a legal minnow with out a licence. I brought my kids and wife and we all got our limit. I am going to start selling them to local bait store for a hefty profit. I cut the tails of the one over 7" to get them legal grin.gif

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The people that should be pi$$ed is DNR Wildlife. They killed off the fish in Mud and Howard lakes a few years ago to improve the water quality for ducks. Looks like that didn't last long.

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i dont know about anyone else but a few thousand less bullhead aint gonna make me angry 2",7",15" it wouldnt matter take em all grin.gif

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