I picked up 29 bullheads in my traps today. Some of them are small but they will make good cut bait. This warm weather has moved them back in shallow. My cylindrical traps were working good – I got 11 in one and 14 in the other. It is a quick and easy way to stock your bullhead tank. I’ve got 57 on hand now. Time to go fishing!!
Thanks for some excellant advice from Steve I put out one trap last night in the pond behind my back yard and this morning had 10 lively bullheads! Thanks Steve!
I wish I had a pond to put traps in. 
I might have to get one for the brother’s lake. We rarely ever see bullheads, but every time one of the kids leaves the bait on their line dangling in the water, we find a nice chunky bullhead on the line the next day.
Pug,
It was so easy i am shocked. Cost was minimal for trap from Mills and dogfood. so much for buying at bait stores!
I’m sold. What else am I going to do up at my brother’s lake anyway? Fish for walleye?
Hey Steve,
Could you tell me more about your bullhead traps and how they work and where you put them? We like to use lots of bullheads for flatheads down here. They catch our bigger fish, usually. I’m real interested in this……thanks in advance!
Hi Brian –
You won’t believe how easy this technique is to gather good flathead bait. Very few people are interested in catching bullheads especially the smaller ones we use for bait so they are seldom harvested. I have found bullheads in just about all of our city parks that have ponds and that they are easy to catch especially in a minnow trap.
Bullhead traps: I use two of the standard metal cylindrical minnow traps with a small modification. The traps come with a standard 1 inch hole at each opening. I increase the size of the entrance to 1 ½ inches which is the largest legal size allowed in Minnesota. If you can legally make the opening bigger in Nebraska I would increase the size to 2”. I use the black vinyl dipped traps and they work just fine but they also sell the same trap in a galvanized minnow trap. Some people prefer the galvanized traps and claim they work better than the black traps. I plan on buying one of the galvanized traps and seeing if there is any difference.
You can find the traps in most any sporting goods store, WalMart, or the Catfish Connection catalog on page 23, stock #DMT. Catfish Connection sells a 15 inch trap extension that attaches to the standard minnow trap, I plan on picking up a couple of extensions to increase the size of my traps.
Where do you put them: If you have a pond or river that you normally catch bullheads then you have a good spot to also trap. I search for trapping spots by fishing them first. If I can catch bullheads with a rod and reel then I know I can trap them too. I have developed six good trapping spots that most people wouldn’t expect anybody to be interested in fishing. I try to place my traps where I don’t think anybody will accidentally hook one while fishing. I try to be as inconspicuous as possible when placing my traps so that nobody messes with them and I have never had any trouble.
How they work: I open the trap and add about a cup of dry cat food as bait. The cat food bait will last for days and is very effective. I know other people use dog food. I have also used the Berkley Powerbait Catfish nuggets and they worked fine also. The dry cat food is cheap, light and easy to use so I normally use that. I wade out to about waist deep water and toss my traps out about another 10 feet with a long piece of decoy cord attached to the trap. I try to get my traps to land and sink so they are parallel with the shore, that positioning seems to produce the best. I have a metal rod I stick in the bottom and I tie off the trap cord to it so it is just below the surface but not too deep so I can see it again when I come back to check my traps. I don’t tie off my trap cords to the bank – you are just asking for someone to make off with your traps. If somebody wants my trap then they are going to have to walk out at least waist deep to get them. As I said – I’ve never lost a trap so this precaution seems to work. I attach a waterproof tag on each trap with my name, address, and telephone number which is a requirement in Minnesota.
Keeping your bait: I keep a bait tank similar to yours. Mine is a 100 gallon stock tank rigged with a 100 gallon aquarium power filter and 2 airstones. I keep from 75 to 120 bullheads on hand so I am ready to go catfishing on a moments notice. I do a water change every 3 days or so to keep my bait healthy and lively – I’ve rigged my tank with a sump pump so I just plug it in, draw down the water, throw in the garden hose and refill the tank. I can do a water change in 10 minutes without any hassles. I have city water so I have to treat the water to remove the chlorine and chloramines but that is simple and easy. I enjoy catching and keeping my own bait – it is all a part of the flathead hunt.
Hope this helps you find and catch some good bait. Let me know how you do.
Steve
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