In the months before moving to MO from IA, I caught the heck out of Black Bullheads and Goldfish on flies. Those were two fish I didn’t expect to readily find after moving, but here we are. I’ve caught Goldfish out of 2 different waters this year so far, and caught some Black Bullheads while flyfishing for about an hour after dinner this evening. That is 14 species on the year so far, and 30th since moving to MO. Most of the 14 aren’t typical flyfishing targets, but I enjoy the variety. Most of these bullheads this evening were pretty gnarly looking.
Ugly looking critters. I’ve never really fished for bullheads or other catfish. My buddies and I are renting a house on a lake in the Poconos in late May. There’s a dock we can fish off of. I plan to bring a Coleman lantern to put on the edge of the dock and see what the light brings in. I know there are catfish in the lake. It would be fun to catch one on a fly.
I’ve seen better looking bullheads, for sure. But like all catfish (and all fish, for that matter), they are well suited for their method of feeding.
It was really fun getting to see them react to the fly. I’ve caught quite a few bullheads and channel catfish on flies, but getting to see the take doesn’t happen very often.
