Capturing live fish unharmed...

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INTHECOWBOYSWETRUST

Candiru
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Mar 13, 2013
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I was thinking about trying this myself.. I have 6 baby channel cat fish my son caught at the campground over the summer and I thought about keeping them to try and breed..

They was about 1" when he caught them and now they are about 3" to 4" 6 weeks later.. I have them in a 180 gal. tank right now but my cousin has a huge (100' x 300') pond in his back yard he said I can use for them... I just really don't know if there would be a market for them around here...

Good luck with the plan I hope it works out for you!!
 
Chicxulub

Chicxulub

Hand of the King
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Aug 29, 2009
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Soooo.... Hook and line bullheads. What would be the ideal bait? I've never targeted bullheads before, only got them as bycatch on worms when going after panfish. I imagine something else might work better; livers, like for channels maybe?
 
Dieselhybrid

Dieselhybrid

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Chicken and beef livers work great!

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D

DDK

Plecostomus
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May 25, 2013
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Chicxulub said:
Soooo.... Hook and line bullheads. What would be the ideal bait? I've never targeted bullheads before, only got them as bycatch on worms when going after panfish. I imagine something else might work better; livers, like for channels maybe?
Click to expand...
crawfish tail peeled does the trick, hook it and if there are any fish they'll take it the instant they realize what it is.
 
vincentwugwg

vincentwugwg

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The quickest way to catch them was mentioned by Bottomfeeder... Chum the area with some canned cat/dog food. Poke 4-5 small holes in the can and tie a rope to the can... toss and retrieve for a good 10 mins... if there are catfish around, they will start their feeding frenzy. Fish away with your rod and reel!!
 
P

predatorkeeper87

Potamotrygon
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Sep 8, 2014
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you have unlimited options with bullheads...easiest catfish to catch, period.

If you are going rod and reel, like everyone else said they eat everything, just crush the barbs on your hooks down with a pair of pliers. USE CIRCLE HOOKS! bulls are notorious hook swallowers, theyll suck the bait down and just sit there, you'll never know you have one on unless you keep the line tight. My best luck for bulls is with nightcrawlers every time, but they aren't shy about taking everything thats edible haha.

You can make a pretty easy bullhead trap as well. get a piece of 4 inch PVC pipe, 3-4 foot long and 2 plastic funnels. cut the funnels so they fit snug inside the pvc, and make the openings big enough that the bulls can fit through them. attach the funnels to the pvc with zip ties. drill some holes through both, and zip tie them together. throw some bait into the trap, tie a long line to the pipe and drop it in the water. if the openings at the end of the funnels are big enough, you will catch cats.
 
vincentwugwg

vincentwugwg

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predatorkeeper87 said:
you have unlimited options with bullheads...easiest catfish to catch, period.

If you are going rod and reel, like everyone else said they eat everything, just crush the barbs on your hooks down with a pair of pliers. USE CIRCLE HOOKS! bulls are notorious hook swallowers, theyll suck the bait down and just sit there, you'll never know you have one on unless you keep the line tight. My best luck for bulls is with nightcrawlers every time, but they aren't shy about taking everything thats edible haha.

You can make a pretty easy bullhead trap as well. get a piece of 4 inch PVC pipe, 3-4 foot long and 2 plastic funnels. cut the funnels so they fit snug inside the pvc, and make the openings big enough that the bulls can fit through them. attach the funnels to the pvc with zip ties. drill some holes through both, and zip tie them together. throw some bait into the trap, tie a long line to the pipe and drop it in the water. if the openings at the end of the funnels are big enough, you will catch cats.
Click to expand...
The pvc trap sounds like a great idea!!
 
R

raymondk394

Feeder Fish
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Sep 7, 2009
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You can even make the syrvival trap with sticks and make a little swimming area with a funnel entrance put bait inside then come back tomorrow

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