Small bullheads for bait?

[Kingfisher]

Does anyone know if it is legal to use minnow size bullheads for bait?

[minneman]

the way it looks in the book is, IF they (bullheads) are considered a "gamefish", then no.
Ive often had one in a minow bucket and have used them, w/out luck. maybe the wrong time of year...?

[LocalGuide]

Actually it is legal to use bullheads for bait. They can be really good for fishing in Rivers for catfish or eyes.
The maximum size you can use is 7". A bullhead over 7" makes it a gamefish.

Look it up in the regs to make sure. Im 100% positive you can use them, just couldnt remember if the max size was 7" or not.

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And keep those hooks sharp!

[mnrstrider]

Local guide is correct.

[Jeff S]

I've cleaned many a walleye that had bullheads in them. I'm sure they would be easy to keep alive if you can get them. Probably real lively too.

Jeff S

[The Grebe]

I've cleaned Wally's with small bullheads in them to, but I figured the fish was probably goofy anyways, for hitting the bait I presented!

Have you ever been stung by one of them little buggers? I'm telling you, the little ones seem to be worse then the bigger ones!

Probably some kind of immunity thing, but I would think that there are alot more easily digested meals then a bullhead?

They don't have any fat on them, that I can remember from cleaning them in my younger days? I thought the predatory fish liked the more fatty prey? But if they are there, they are eating them! I'll stick to standard minnows.

[buzbunni]

Bullheads can be fabulous bait...of course it depends on what you're fishing for. I would imagine that many gamefish consider these as a primary food source. Excellent bait for flathead catfish...or so I've heard .

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SERIOUSLY! It was THIS big!

[Kingfisher]

I heard recently that some guys have used them with success on walleye. May have to try them sometime. Thanks

[JP Z]

A lot of Good Catfishers use them as they are extremely lively and as stated above quite easy to keep alive. But yes, if stung by one of the little buggers it is pretty much like a wasp sting. Also MAdtoms are a good bait as well. I think you can find them in the southern part of the state.

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Tight Lines,
JP Z
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[Borch]

They are a primary food source for all game fish were they are prevalent. Even with waters without high populations I find them in the stomachs of fish. In fact just last week of Cass Lake.

Borch

[HC Eye Hunter]

How would you hook a bullhead? Would you go through the lips or tail hook it?

HC

[Big G]

THROUGH THE TAIL!!! AND DON'T CUT OFF THE STINGERS!!!!!!!!!!! THEY CAN ACTUALLY HELP IN "HOOKING" THE FISH.........

[The Grebe]

Maybe the fish eat those Bullheads to get a buzz on? Maybe those poisonous little Bullheads act like Peyote for the predator?

Some people cut their lines, some break out the tool box, I still grab the Bullheads and let them go, using a little trick, but making sure every part of my hand goes around and not over those stingers!

I've been skewered on many occassions, when I have let my guard down, the hole gets a purple/blue color and stings like crazy for awhile. It is usually tender for awhile after.

I've got this little trick for releasing Bullheads, that an old gent taught me when I was about 12 years old...I was using it one time and the adult Bullhead flew up in the air and landed spine first right in the meaty part of my upper thumb.

The poison must have went into a nerve because it deadend my arm all the way to the shoulder and it lasted about a half hour....had me a tad worried!

How a fish could eat one of those things and not get stung on the inside is pretty amazing...if one did get stung, I bet it would be like a bolt of lightening hit em?

[menomax]

I use bullheads for catfishing, however I talked with a DNR official and asked him if I could use them. He said yes, however you must catch them from the same lake or river that you are using them in because ruff live fish cannot be transported and introduced live into another body of water. So that is the official answer I guess.

[Kingfisher]

menomax, If the officer is correct it would be illegal to use sucker minnows from a bait dealer, unless you know what body of water they came from.

[The Grebe]

If a fish has a limit on how many you can take, it is'nt a rough fish.....is it? Are'nt Bullheads limited to a hundred? Hav'nt read the laws lately.

[Lynn Ching]

Heck with bait! I love to eat them!

[Mat O]

Yeah, I had a small saltwater catfish jab the doo out of me once. His spine went through the upper part (meatiest) of that kinda worthless finger just outside the middle finger. It poked to the other side of (the inside) of my skin. MAN it hurt. I tried to shake it off, didn't work. That must have pumped the poison up my entire arm. Another shake (with the help of my other, more lively arm), didn't come out! I finally smacked my numb arm onto the sand thinking I'll pull the rascle out of my finger. He slid out when my noodle slapped the ground. The rest of his life was cut short.

[Dennis Steele]

I am fairly certain this is how the bullhead law works.

A bullhead less than 7" is considered a minnow in the MN statutes.Therefore it can be used as bait and transported.
You may use bullheads larger than 7" but they must be used on the body of water that they were caught on and cannot be transported live.

In the MN River where I do a lot of fishing,bullheads are great bait for both cats and walleye.
Larger bullheads are probably the best bait for large flathead cats. I never leave home without them.
The small ones are great for walleye.I like the 3 to 4 incers and I hook them through the upper lip on a jig like you would a regular minnow.When the eyes are aggressive it seems they out produce other baits.

[The Grebe]

You know, with this Bullhead for bait thing, I would think that they would wiggle their slippery little butts under the first snag they came in contact with, if fished on the bottom, with anything other then a pretty heavy sinker to keep them in place?

[Dan Thiem]

What's the difference between a bullhead and a girl from Ia.?

Ones got whiskers and stinks --the other ones a fish.

[fiskyknut]

They do work very well for the Cats and the Walleye on the Red river too. I gots to figure a better way to trap those darn Stonecats/Madtoms.

fiskyknut

[doubleUcubed]

The eye's have been hammering the little bullheads the past 6-7 weeks! Fishing with 2-3 inch bullheads. I've watched the guy's fishing next to each other from shore, same line, same hooks, same everything but the bait. The guy with the little bullheads got all the eye's and the other guy fishing with shiners or fatheads not a thing! All size eye's and smallie's were taking the little guy's. Yup, gotta get yourself a teflon glove if you fish a lot the little bullheads! Another little tip, if you can keep the little buggers alive into the winter they are awesome for ice fishing!

[pikemania]

In bait stores on the Mississippi you will here them called willow cats. I guess that is another name for baby bullhead. They do work very well for some reason. I usually just hook them through the lip on a 1/4 oz jig.

[The Grebe]

Seems to me that if you can use Bullheads for bait, you should also be about to use
Perch for bait?

I used to kick butt using little Perch for Walleyes and bigger Perch for Pike. But alas, that was long ago and far away!

[Nels]

Hello,
Here are some of the Minnesota Statutes that apply.
No, Small perch can't be used for bait.

Nels

97C.341 Certain fish prohibited for bait.

A person may not use live minnows imported from outside of
the state, game fish, goldfish, or carp for bait.

97A.015 Definitions.
Subd. 25. Game fish. "Game fish" means walleye,
sauger, yellow perch, channel catfish, flathead catfish; members
of the pike family, Esocidae, including muskellunge and northern
pike; members of the sunfish family, Centrarchidae, including
largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, sunfish, rock bass, white
crappie, black crappie, members of the temperate bass family,
Percichthyidae, including white bass and yellow bass; members of
the salmon and trout subfamily, Salmoninae, including Atlantic
salmon, chinook salmon, coho salmon, pink salmon, kokanee
salmon, lake trout, brook trout, brown trout, rainbow (steelhead)
trout, and splake; members of the paddlefish family,
Polyodontidae; members of the sturgeon family, Acipenseridae,
including lake sturgeon, and shovelnose sturgeon. "Game fish"
includes hybrids of game fish.

Subd. 29. Minnows. "Minnows" means: (1) members of
the minnow family, Cyprinidae, except carp and goldfish; (2)
members of the mudminnow family, Umbridae; (3) members of the
sucker family, Catostomidae, not over 12 inches in length; (4)
bullheads, ciscoes, lake whitefish, goldeyes, and mooneyes, not
over seven inches long; and (5) leeches.