82 Fish and Game Warden. [Bull. No. 1. 



These hardy little adventurers will follow a stream to its 

 very headwaters, and it is not uncommon to find them in 

 small ravines or even in open ditches along roadsides ; in fact, 

 in almost any little pond that has at some former time been 

 connected by a small stream to larger bodies of water where 

 these fish live. 



Bullheads do not move about much during the daytime when 

 the sun is shining. They are active and do most of their 

 feeding during the morning and evening and especially during 

 the night. They vdll take and bite vigorously and persist- 

 ently at almost any kind of bait, but are especially partial to 

 large angleworms and pieces of small scale fish, such as shiners 

 and chubs, when cut into proper sized baits. 



The Bullhead as a Food Fish. 



One of the fortunate things about this small catfish is that 

 it is really a good food fish. The flesh is rather dark, but ten- 

 der and juicy and of fine flavor. It is in great favor in the 

 markets and commands prices equal to that of the best poultry 

 and meats, and is eagerly sought after, the demand being so 

 great in most places that it is not possible to supply the 

 market. 



A Good Pond Fish. 



No one of our native fishes can be more highly recommended 

 than the horn pout or bullhead for pond-fish culture purposes. 

 Their extreme vitality, their ability to adapt themselves to 

 a variety of conditions of environment, and their omnivorous 

 food habits make it possible to raise them successfully in 

 bodies of water ill adapted to the culture of most other kinds 

 of fish. They will spawn in almost any kind of water; in a 

 large lake, large river, small lake, small river, creek, ravine, 

 pond, or even a pool, ditch or mudhole where the water is 

 scarcely a foot deep. We have kept bullheads in ponds not 

 over twenty feet in diameter and not more than two feet deep. 

 In these limited quarters it was necessary to feed them, but 

 they seemed to do well and spawned and hatched and even 

 reared bunches of young. They are rapid growers and at from 

 two to three years of age will attain a weight of from eight 

 to twenty-four ounces each and are ready for the frying pan. 



Food Habits. 



These catfish are good feeders, as before stated, being 

 omnivorous in their nature, eating almost anything in the way 

 of animal and vegetable matter, devouring some aquatic vege- 

 tation and quantities of aquatic forms of animal life such as 

 insects, insect larvae, crustaceans, including many crayfish 

 and mollusks, both thin-shelled clams and snails. They are 

 also fond of seeds of various plants, the elm, foxtail grass 

 and smartweed seeds being some of the common ones taken. 

 We have many times found their stomachs well filled with 



