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Posts: 3909
| I once read somewhere that "to a muskie, a big crappie is like a potato chip, but a bullhead is like a porkchop". So I obtained two 10" bullheads and made up a quickstrike rig to give it a try. I guess I should mention that my quickstrike method is to hang the bait down 4'-8' next to the boat using a long rod in a quick-release rod holder, I use an ABU with the bait clicker feature. My strategy is to attract the muskies in two ways. First, while casting I want lazy follows to turn off and go after the bullhead. Second, I want muskies that I happen to drift over/near to see the bullhead and come in for a snack. This approach has worked for me in the past with suckers, but big suckers are real hard to obtain these days. Some observations on the bullhead trial.....
1) use a heavy leather glove to hold the buggers when you attach the quickstrike rig.
2) my typical quickstrike rig (single lip hook and two trebles) was too big for the 10" bullheads. I'm going to make some up that with lighter sevenstrand and with a single lip hook and a single razor-sharp treble.
3) bullheads are TOUGH; I dragged one around for 5 hours and it was VERY lively when I finally called it a day. This was a strong point for the bullhead.
4) bullheads seem to swim along in a terrific lazy side-to-side manner and I suspect they look pretty tasty to a muskie that we happen to drift over.
I didn't get any strikes, but I was unable to see any follows or any muskies nosing the fish because I happened to fish thru 5 hours of the heaviest rain we've seen all summer.
Anyway, I thought that my little experiment seems to hold promise. Anyone else with thoughts on using bullheads on a quickstrike rig? What would you do different?
Thanks |
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Posts: 367
Location: Chicago | I would do it in a second. |
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Posts: 4266
| And you can always eat them if a muskie doesn't.  |
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Posts: 238
| Very interesting stuff right there!Live bait inovation,genious.Ken O Briens 65lb canadien record,georgian bay monster was full of bullheads when it was cutt open for examination.
I myself have done quite well on the musky inovations real fish bullhead.
I think you are deffinetly on to something there,given some water time and better conditions i am sure it would deffinetly produce.I like the concept,very interesting.Thinking outside the box is good stuff. |
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Posts: 5874
| Keep them high on a sunny day. Bullheads love to sun themselves to warm up.
Please post how you make out on future meat excursions.
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Posts: 16
| Sounds like a great idea. How do you catch the bullheads this time of year? I've only caught them in the spring shore fishing at night. I'd love to try them for musky bait. Large suckers are unavailable where I'm at.
Regards
Bob |
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Posts: 15
| Another tasty treat for a muskie is a burbot if you can get get lucky enough to catch one. They truly are musky candy.
And I guess you could eat them if they don't get eaten by the muskie first
John |
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Posts: 2515
Location: Waukesha & Land O Lakes, WI | I wanna circle hook some big polywogs up by us. there's millions during the summer. |
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| What do the bullheads think? |
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Posts: 8818
| I don't suppose bullheads have much capacity to think... If they could, though, I'd put my money on something along the lines of: "Uh oh. This ain't good..." |
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Posts: 1293
Location: WI | Cast - 9/27/2008 6:51 AM
What do the bullheads think?
"sweet, I got a lip ring!" |
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Posts: 3909
| Lip Ring! What a hoot!
The local lakes seem to be full of bullheads. I once talked with a guy who was scuba-ing at night and he said that, after dark, he sees LOTS of bullheads swimming along the bottom, all headed in the same direction - moving slowly from deeper water toward shore/shallow water. So, well after dark, I use a single hook baited with a fresh whole nightcrawler. 14" above the hook is a small sinker and above that is a barrel-shaped sliding sinker. I cast from shore and place the rod in a Down East rod holder that is clamped to a 4 gallon cooler full of water. I try to place the bait on a sand or gravel bottom rather than in the weeds. I check the rod every 2 hours or so and so far there's been a bullhead on every time (except once when I caught a dogfish). I bring them in gently and I cut the line rather than try to remove the hook. Bullheads go into the same cooler that is holding the rod.
It's my understanding that Michigan rules now prohibit transporting baitfish from one body of water to another; the bullheads must be caught on the same lake where I'm going to use them. So, I place my cooler/rod set-up on the beach of the lake I'm fishing. |
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| I check the rod every 2 hours or so...
is there any problem with this re: unattended line rules, Ranger?
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Posts: 17
| Is this not illegal-to use bullheads like this? Its illegal to use Perch like this in canada. |
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Posts: 8818
| oceanrider, WI regulations state that it is legal to use game fish as bait, provided that it is taken from the lake you are fishing on and counted towards your daily bag limit for that species. So yes, you can use perch, pike, blueguills, pretty much anything of legal size and in season. As for an unintended line violation? Well, I suppose that depends on your definition of "unattended"... |
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Location: Grand Rapids, MI | oceanrider22 - 10/1/2008 2:33 PM Is this not illegal-to use bullheads like this? Its illegal to use Perch like this in canada. In Michigan every other fish really is bait and as long as you aren't transporting the fish to another body of water (VHS regulation) this is totally legal in Michigan. If you catch it legally and the fish is of legal size you can use it for bait. I always ask my bass tournament friends if they'll save me a couple 14" smallmouths so I can use them for bait... they don't think I'm funny for some reason. |
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Posts: 128
| We use Bullheads for Flatheads and they are hands down the most lively and durable bait around. Keep in mind if you use Bullies as bait in Minnesota they have to be 7" or less. |
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| Used bullheads for flathead bait on the Wolf River also. You may want to cut the spines off them for less painful handling. |
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Posts: 3909
| I guess I should point out that I've only tried this bullhead experiment one time.
Thanks for the clarification, Will, on the regs. Lambeau, I think I would be ok with the "unattended" part because I stayed within 100 yards or so of the cooler/rod setup. Still, I suppose I would be at risk of getting a ticket so next time I'll attach one of those clamped bell deals on the rod so I could, hopefully, hear it ring when a fish grabs the nightcrawler.
All in all, Michigan's regulations seem to be very reasonable and I've never had any problem with them or the CO's I've encountered while fishing here in my home state. I've always been impressed with the local CO's and how respectfully I've been treated when I've been stopped/checked. |
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Posts: 37
| update us if it works : ) |
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|  Bullheads are the best early fall bait for quick strickes hands down!!!!!!! They are in their mid-fall migration, they are moving into their winter homes, Deep muddy water where they burrow down into the mud and almost hibernate unless something hits them on the head to make them bite. So late fall fishing with bullies on the bottom will always prove to be better than suckers bobbing along a weedline. Remember!! suckers are bottom dwellers also. |
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Posts: 292
Location: SW MI | Wouls this work with other fish too? Ciscoes, Perch? |
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Posts: 159
Location: Stevens Point, WI | I've used bullheads and had muskies hit them, I also clip the spines off like guest said. Bluegills are stinking awesome too, and i've tried perch, but perch are not hardy, bluegills a little more so, while bullheads will go all night long writhing on the hooks like a salamander.
Edited by 12gauge 10/2/2008 9:40 PM
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| i have heard some guys using Ciscoes up north...with um good results to say the least...i dont know how they get them though... |
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Posts: 38
| SVT there is an article about using ciscoes as livebait in the october/november 2006 issue of Musky Hunter, it reads they net them at night, with more details of how when and where. |
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Posts: 3909
| Ok, I have two bullheads (9" and 11") resting in the cooler and I'll be on the water by 2:30. I read a couple more articles about quick strike designs and modified my rig such that the lead hook is now a smaller single Quick Turn wire hook that will be placed lightly in the skin/cheek. This is opposed to a larger single hook in the lip. Why? The light wire hook will release quickly, giving the treble(s) the chance to hook the fish. The heavy hook in the lip is too strong of a connection, it may not come loose and thus decrease the opportunity for the heavier trebles to penetrate the fish.
Stay tuned....... |
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Posts: 292
Location: SW MI | Keep us posted, I'm very interested to see how this ends up. Good luck! |
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Posts: 371
Location: Dixon, IL | I like to know what's result and large suckers is hard to find here! Bullheads is easier to keep in large cooler! I kept bullhead as a pet in my tank for 3 years is no problem! |
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Posts: 3909
| Ok, I have a quick report. 3:00 - 7:00, sunny, slight breeze, water surface temp mid-60's, air temp started at upper 50's and dropped to mid 40s by 7:00 (dark) or so. Never saw a fish, don't think the bullhead was chewed at all. I kept the bullhead in deeper water most of the time, about 4 feet off the bottom, 14-25'. He stayed lively the whole time, much more so than a sucker. BTW - I marked quite a few fish on the bottom, but not too many suspending fish. I cranked up the gain and the thermo wasn't evident like it was over the summer. I threw Suick, glider, Grannie, DDD, bucktail, spinner bait, surface baits and a jig/creature. Whew! I spoke with a few other boats, including a guy who asked me, "are you the bullhead guy posting on MuskieFirst". Ha! All I heard of was one mid-40's fish raised on a bulldog. I'll try again, but next time I cut the spines off per suggestions above.
Nice to meet Dasher and his buddy, nice folks. |
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Posts: 413
Location: Madison WI | I have had muskies hit walleyes in late fall on the madison chain. I wanted to point one thing about EA's post about Wisconsin regulations, they have to be of legal size also. I caught a 20 inch walleye last night that i could have used for bait but she was a bit fat in my opionion. I try to catch the 15 inch 1-3 pounders to use as bait, anything bigger and if something does hit it I am afraid I might not be able to turn it. |
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Posts: 2068
Location: Appleton,WI | Ranger you are correct bullheads can be good forage,i believe o'brians fish was gorging on bullheads.Also why I make a bullhead bait.
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Posts: 371
Location: Dixon, IL | I am not sure if bullhead as bait for musky is allow in Wisconsin? I know that Illinois is allow is only catch bullhead or bluegill for bait on the same water. Certificate baitshops to sell suckers as bait to catch muskies. Illinois also do not want fishermen dump left over fish in any water......so i guess that mean any left baits to throw out in the woods for animals or birds to eat!
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Posts: 413
Location: Madison WI | I don't believe its illegal to use bullheads in WI, if it is then the DNR that has watched me use them hasn't been enforcing the law. |
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Posts: 367
Location: Chicago | It is not illegal in Wis. |
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Posts: 1906
Location: Oconto Falls, WI | Northern pike make a superb quick striked morsal as well on waters that have them. In fact some lakes it is the best option, even over suckers. It's almost as if the fish hates the northerns!
Ranger, props for trying out the bullheads. I have thought of doing the same, but decided I didn't want to take the time to catch them. Try running the bullheads closer to the bottom. I know when I run suckers most times I have my success within 2' of the bottom. If I am higher than that nada. So, you constantly have to re-adjust your depth, but it can be worth the extra work.
I am interested to see if this pans out for you! |
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Posts: 16
| Any action on the bullheads yet? |
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