The ice went out of my favorite bullhead pond about a week ago. I put out 3 bullhead traps yesterday and when I checked them this afternoon I had 9 nice 5″ to 6″ bullheads. I baited the traps with some dry catfood and that seemed to draw them in.
I’ve got the bait tank all set up and I’m going to stock it over the next few days. The water in my bullhead pond is still pretty cold and my trapping output should improve once the weather warms up.
Steve? How can I say this nicely??
I get my boat home…and the temps drop so everyday when I want to go out to work on it…I say nope, not today!
Then you rub my nose in bullheads. I don’t even have the bait tank ready! 
what exactly is a bullhead trap?
I can’t wait for the first, “The Olies are Catchable” post! The way things are going, that might be 4 weeks. 
Hey rcr –
I call them bullhead traps because that is what I am after. 2 of my traps are the standard Frabill minnow cylindrical traps that you get at Fleet Farm. I expanded the openings to 1 1/2″ which is the largest legal opening for a minnow trap in Minnesota. And I have 1 large homemade minnow trap that is about 2′ long and wide and 15″ high. It covers a larger area than the small cylindrical traps. I spread the traps out early in the year trying to narrow down the best bullhead spot for the traps. Once I find the best location then I group the traps together.
I normally get smaller bullheads with the traps but the traps are easy to put out and to check – it is an easy way to maintain your bullhead stock. I use bullheads for cut bait so I go through a bunch of bullheads and the traps help me to always have bait on hand.
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I baited the traps with some dry catfood and that seemed to draw them in.
How ironic is that? Drawn to cat food, only to become cat-food! 
The circle of life. 
i dont think i’d ever use a bullhead trap. i actually enjoy catching them on ultralight equip. its always a good time, with me and my buddy competing for who will get the most.
I’ve never use a bh trap either…but it’s a great way to catch enough bh’s to go out an evening or two if you don’t have the time to fish for them. Many people consider fishing for bh’s the start of flathead fishing…or part of it.
Personally I hate bh fishing…maybe it’s because the 7 year olds fishing the docks out fish me consistantly.
I go out with a buddy at times and we don’t compete..we work together. 
Hey! I know that spot! 
What does a bull head trap look like? I have only seen the round minnow type traps.
Thanks,
STCROIXER
Quote:
What does a bull head trap look like? I have only seen the round minnow type traps.
Thanks,
STCROIXER
The answer is above right under my first post.
read post. reply later. re-read post. reply later.
Thanks pug, I just get a little excited some times.
I think we all do this time of year 
Steve,
Where do you set your traps? Shallow, deep, weedy area, etc.
And how did you find these ponds?
Thanks,
Brent
If I was you and trapping…I would ask Mike from HOF..as I think you live close to Rochester.
There are a ton of ponds down there…or pick them up from Everts..not yet though. 
Brent –
I’ve got a string of about 6 good bullhead ponds. A few I found by talking to kids I’ve seen fishing from the shore. If I see kids riding around on their bikes with a fishing pole I make a point of stopping and asking them where they are fishing and what they are catching.
You will be surprised how many ponds have bullheads. Most city park ponds are a good place to start, especially those with fishing piers. If you don’t have any bullhead spots right now I would sit down with a local city map and look for all the parks with a pond. Many of the larger housing developments will have a lake or pond with a walking path around it. I’m willing to bet most of those ponds also have healthy bullhead populations. Once the weather gets warmer and the water temp is up in the high 50 degree range I would then start hitting those parks in the evening with a fishing rod looking for a good bullhead bite. A small jig with a piece of nightcrawler hanging a couple of feet below a bobber. Toss it out – if you don’t get hit within 10 seconds reel it in and toss it to a new spot.
I do a lot of pond searching early in the year before the pond weeds get going. Some of my best ponds are clogged with weeds along the shore and they are difficult to fish once the weeds get thick. Usually you can find a couple of fishing spots that will give you access to the weed edges casting from the shore.
If you have any storm sewers entering your pond I would start there. If you have a run-off creek or ditch that runs into the pond this is another place to start. Usually there will be a sandbar or gravel bar running out from the storm sewer. Those runoff areas will deposit food into the pond during rainstorms and the fish seem to key on those type spots.
This is the earliest I have ever set my traps and I was surprised to get some bullheads this early. As the water warms the bullheads will start feeding through out the pond. They feed on worms, small minnows and other food carried into the pond. They cruise around in schools and once you locate a school the action is fast and furious if you are fishing them. That will also clue you in on a location for your traps.
I set my traps shallow, I wade out about waist deep and toss them out about 10 feet from there. I try to position the traps so the openings are parallel with the shore, for some reason they seem more productive that way. I’ve never had anybody mess with my traps but I am careful to not draw attention if I can help it. As per regulation, I have my name, address and telephone number on a waterproof card attached to each trap. I usually check my traps late in the evening or early in the morning.
good info. when i fish for bullies, its usually worms out of the garden or bits of crawlers. but i have caught many of them on corn, hot dog skin, preserved minnows, and even a couple on mini marshmallows. if you dont want to stop to buy crawlers or what not, try anything, it could work. first bullie i caught was on a white gulp minnow that smelled like glue.
WOW, thanks for the information 
Thats why I love this site, people who don’t mind sharing information that would take me years to figure out 
Brian, I did talk to Mike and he gave me a few spots to check, the only problem was, I could not get any small enough to legaly use in MN. The small housing development ponds sounds like a great idea, I guess I need to get myself a holding tank for my bait now so I can catch a few and hold on to them for a while.
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