YoTone Posted October 1, 2019 Posted October 1, 2019 its not a flathead, i thought it was at first so i released her without weighing her but i took pictures cos i thought it looked funny for a flathead. ive asked those who seemed to know that it is indeed a bullhead catfish. PA state record is 4lbs 10 oz and i may be biased but this is in my opinion in the 5lbs +class range. caught on a black chatterbait. im kicking myself for not weighing her but oh wells lol 4 Quote
OCdockskipper Posted October 1, 2019 Posted October 1, 2019 It does have that bullhead look for its head & tail. Big head & tiny eyes. Squared off short tail. I have never caught a bullhead over 12", so i have no idea if they keep that same look when they get big. Quote
Global Moderator Bluebasser86 Posted October 1, 2019 Global Moderator Posted October 1, 2019 For sure a bullhead, what kind is hard to tell but no doubt it's a bullhead. Don't feel bad though, I did the same thing when I was a teen. I caught a massive bullhead that was an ounce shy of 8 pounds while I was fishing for flatheads. It was mottled colored and had the rounded tail but big rounded head and overbite, I just thought it was a small, deformed flathead. I realized years later I'd likely caught and released the world record brown bullhead without knowing it. I don't think I even took a picture because 8lbs is a baby flathead (back when I used the disposable cameras so I didn't want to waste a picture on a little fish). 1 Quote
Dirtyeggroll Posted October 1, 2019 Posted October 1, 2019 Definitely not a bullhead and definitely not over 4 1/2 lbs. You can tell by the way it is. Sorry but no years of regret for you haha Quote
YoTone Posted October 2, 2019 Author Posted October 2, 2019 Check the pictures again.Is the bottom lip in front of the upper lip? Flatheads have that distinction. And it was in my opinion I said that weight when I saw the huge belly that you can't really see. If it's not a flathead what is it then? Quote
Global Moderator Bluebasser86 Posted October 2, 2019 Global Moderator Posted October 2, 2019 1 hour ago, YoTone said: Check the pictures again.Is the bottom lip in front of the upper lip? Flatheads have that distinction. And it was in my opinion I said that weight when I saw the huge belly that you can't really see. If it's not a flathead what is it then? It's a bullhead, 100% no doubt. Rounded tail, rounded head, overbite, all add up to equal a bullhead. Flatheads have a rounded tail, flat head (duh), and an underbite. Flatheads that size almost always have a mottled coloration too. 4 Quote
YoTone Posted October 2, 2019 Author Posted October 2, 2019 18 minutes ago, Bluebasser86 said: It's a bullhead, 100% no doubt. Rounded tail, rounded head, overbite, all add up to equal a bullhead. Flatheads have a rounded tail, flat head (duh), and an underbite. Flatheads that size almost always have a mottled coloration too. to add to this is that the bullhead whiskers are dark while the flatheads are white to yellow. Quote
Global Moderator Bluebasser86 Posted October 2, 2019 Global Moderator Posted October 2, 2019 48 minutes ago, YoTone said: to add to this is that the bullhead whiskers are dark while the flatheads are white to yellow. The flatheads here tend to have whiskers that are almost black so I don't think that's a great indicator, but I'd be the farm on it being a bullhead just off what I listed. Quote
YoTone Posted October 2, 2019 Author Posted October 2, 2019 either way it was a fun bite. i dont want to be that guy who tosses around words like state record at every other fish i catch but it was a heavy fish regardless of what it is. well maybe not if it is a flathead lol. Quote
JediAmoeba Posted October 2, 2019 Posted October 2, 2019 10 hours ago, YoTone said: either way it was a fun bite. i dont want to be that guy who tosses around words like state record at every other fish i catch but it was a heavy fish regardless of what it is. well maybe not if it is a flathead lol. I have seen some bullheads like this caught out of large farm ponds...those big bullheads can put up a good fight! Nice catch State Records in Pa are hard to confirm anyway and its guaranteed you have to kill it to get it to a weigh station. There are a bunch of pickerel that have beaten the state record caught in the Poconos but were never confirmed... Quote
YoTone Posted October 2, 2019 Author Posted October 2, 2019 1 minute ago, JediAmoeba said: I have seen some bullheads like this caught out of large farm ponds...those big bullheads can put up a good fight! Nice catch Definitely was brother Thanks Quote
Super User Ratherbfishing Posted October 3, 2019 Super User Posted October 3, 2019 A giant bullhead caught on a chatterbait. That one for the record books any day of the week. 1 Quote
Super User Team9nine Posted October 3, 2019 Super User Posted October 3, 2019 Another vote for bullhead...probably a black bullhead, but hard to say with certainty from the pics. Heck of a bonus catch 1 Quote
Russ E Posted October 3, 2019 Posted October 3, 2019 That is a jumbo bullhead. For all the reasons @Bluebasser86 mentioned. I have caught plenty of flatheads bass fishing. They seem to have a taste for crankbaits around here. They look quite a bit different than your fish. 1 Quote
YoTone Posted October 3, 2019 Author Posted October 3, 2019 1 hour ago, Ratherbfishing said: A giant bullhead caught on a chatterbait. That one for the record books any day of the week. last year i caught a 8 lbs channel with a chatterbait at the same spot. but yeah so far its been my weirdest catch this year. 10 hours ago, JediAmoeba said: I have seen some bullheads like this caught out of large farm ponds...those big bullheads can put up a good fight! Nice catch State Records in Pa are hard to confirm anyway and its guaranteed you have to kill it to get it to a weigh station. There are a bunch of pickerel that have beaten the state record caught in the Poconos but were never confirmed... I wouldnt of bothered to try to get it official and in the books if it was indeed bigger than the current 4 lbs 10 oz, which in my opinion was. Quote
Cam R Posted October 4, 2019 Posted October 4, 2019 Yea that definitely a bullhead. I night fish for them at a lake. All are usually between 10”-17” AAV of 14”. That one is huge you caught. Quote
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