A lesser-known bullhead

By Aaron Horrell

This fish is a yellow bullhead catfish. It has eight barbels (whiskers) around its mouth that it uses to locate food.

These barbels are harmless to touch, but beware of being stuck by any of the three rigid spines at the forward edge of the dorsal fin and the two pectoral fins. Getting stuck by one will hurt like being stung by a wasp.

Look closely at the fish's mouth. It has a large number of tiny needlelike teeth and a very strong bite.

Rather than putting your finger inside the fish's mouth, use small needle-nose pliers or vise grips to retrieve your hook.

Bullhead catfish wiggle wildly when pulled from the water. Don't handle one until it stops wiggling, and be very careful even then.

I caught this 12-inch-long fish on a small hook baited with a worm.

I was fishing for bluegill but gladly added this and three other yellow bullheads to my creel.

The yellow bullhead catfish doesn't often grow longer than 16 inches. The longest of my four measured 14 inches. Cut pieces of raw chicken livers threaded onto a single hook are very good bait for catching bullhead catfish.