catfish help mexico/pulaski area

[dale4life]

Hello everyone, this is new to me and not looking for a spot burn, But I am going to be fishing the salmon river and out of Mexico at the end of April. I wanted to try something new this year and go for some bullheads. I will be fishing from land and was looking for a spot to go and try to catch some. Any help with locations and techniques would be great! Thank you!

[lrg355]

Always seems to be bullhead fisherman where Little Sandy Creek enters Sandy Pond. This is just a few hundred yards in from the left turn off RT 3 near the Church Mouse. I have never fished here but it seems there are always night fisherman there in late April.

[greenhornet73]

The boat launch at Pine Grove off rte 3 looks like a great spot to me.  I scoped it out last fall when launching my kayak and it looks like a great bullhead spot to me.  I have much closer spots to me so I probably won't be trying it but if you are in the area it is all sand with tall vegetation and shallow water off the bank.

Edited March 30, 2016 by greenhornet73

[mikebarb86]

Use chicken liver and dead minnows. Look for run off or warmer water. If your sitting with no bites for more than 30min move. Usually 30min is enough time for any catfish in the area to catch the scent. Goodluck

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[greenhornet73]

the thread is titled "catfish" but then asked about bullhead locations.  Still not sure at this point what fish we are supposed to be talking about here

[phillybhw]

Bullhead are catfish. Are they not?

[Sk8man]

Separate subspecies

Edited April 2, 2016 by Sk8man

[greenhornet73]

Bullhead and catfish are in the same family but different species.  It would be like fishing for perch and walleye the same way.  It could work but if you are focusing on one then you need to adjust your location/ presentation certain times of year.  Bullhead are spawning now which is why they are so popular this time of year but have never caught a catfish while bullhead fishing except for 1 channel cat a few years ago that took me for a ride.

[Sk8man]

Some types of catfish (e.g. Flathead will mainly if not only feed on live bait Bullheads (brown bullhead and yellow bullhead) on the other hand are true bottom feeders and will eat dead stuff as well. They are sometimes mistaken for one another but they generally live in dfiferent habitats (bullheads in brackish or muddy water and flatheads which grow much larger than bullheads are found in clearer water (e.g. near dams etc.).

[phillybhw]

Yes, flatheads like bullheads. The seem to have an instinctual sense of hatred for bullheads. Some of my largest flatties and insane strikes have come on 6 inch bullheads

[greenhornet73]

I was just watching a fishing show earlier in the week and they were catching flatheads in the Colorado River close to 80 lbs. while trolling crankbaits.  I know we also have channel cats around here but not sure of blue cats.  I have caught them while trolling dixie spinners on oneida lake in the deepest areas while walleye fishing.  You can catch cats with dead bait and"stink baits" like chicken livers and homemade concoctions. I have friends that  fish for them in the Seneca River this way.   None of these techniques would be used to catch a bucket- full of bullheads, at least where I fish.

[phillybhw]

Right, definitely completely different tactics. I get my cats in Michigan. Grand river primarily. St Joseph and Kalamazoo rivers are also good. We don't get the Giants in Michigan but fun nonetheless. That was my best at 32 4. Bigger flats are predators, they won't touch dead bait. I fished for years and never hooked a pig. Tried live bait and heard about bullheads. Sure enough, started hitting pigs regularly.

[dale4life]

Thank you all for all the info! I made an error in the heading and put catfish instead of bullhead. Looking foward to trying for bullhead in a few weeks!

[carhartt123]

Normally fish for all three.

Flatheads like to use live sunfish or rock bass.

Chanel cats only use cut bait.

For bullhead a good old night

crawler.

[Broadhorizons]

Bullheads were $3.50 a pound live at the Syracuse Farmers market today. I was surprised to see them there.

[greenhornet73]

Holy cow I could make a killing this year if I sold them.  My spot hasn't warmed up yet but in a couple weeks I'm gonna have to try to find a buyer

[Broadhorizons]

The buyers I've talked to aren't anywhere close to that price live or cleaned...

[PD Buoy]

As I remember back in the 80's they were catching many Bullheads in Stoney Creek up the the road from Sandy Pond on Rt. 3 FYI...