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



catfish, came and fed upon it. They also would feed upon raw- 

 corn chop, but ate it with greater relish when it had been 

 cooked or steamed. They, as well as the catfishes and carp, 

 were especially fond of green corn cut from the cob. 



THE BULLHEAD CATFISHES. 



There are no better fish for small ponds and streams than 

 the common Bullhead or Bullpout catfishes. These fish are 

 natives of nearly every body of water in the state of Kansas. 

 They are very hardy and prolific and will thrive in almost any 

 body of water where it is possible for any fish to live. In the 

 judgment of a great many people who are fond of fresh-water 

 fish, these catfishes are considered to be among the very best 

 table fish we have. When taken from clean water — we do not 

 necessarily mean clear water — their flesh is sweet, tender and 

 juicy and of an excellent flavor. People who complain of bones 

 in fish will flnd them most satisfactory. When properly 

 dressed there are no bones left in the fish except the backbone 

 and a few short ribs. These, as a' rule, fit loosely in the flesh 

 and can be easily removed from the fish after it has been 

 cooked. 



Spawning Habits, 



We can not give very much exact information concerning the 

 spawning habits of the Bullhead catfishes. We have seen 

 thousands and thousands of the young of this fish only a few 

 days old, but have never had the pleasure of examining .the 

 nest of a Bullhead catfish while the young were hatching. 

 These fish usually live and spawn in water that is more or less 

 roily; the nest beds or pockets for the eggs are found in 

 water from sixteen inches to three, four or more feet in depth. 

 We have found what we supposed to be their nests in certain 

 ponds after the water had been drained ofi". 



Two years ago this summer we found a school of very young 

 catfish in a pool that was not more than sixteen inches deep 

 and not over eight feet across. This pool was formed by water 

 that came through an overflow pipe from the open ditch that 

 supplied the old Hatchery with water. It was an easy matter 

 to drain the pool and run the water into another near-by pool 

 that was a few yards below. This we did. We found a place 

 on the north side of the pool by the side of a piece of broken 

 tiling that we took for the spawning bed of the catfish. There 

 were five catfish of spawning size in this little water hole. The 

 place that we took for the nest bed was more than a foot in 

 diameter and was on the hard ground. All loose sand and 

 other material had been removed. This clean, hard spot ex- 

 tended up to the tiling and several inches under it. If this was 

 the nest — and we thought it was — it had been made by clean- 

 ing the ground thoroughly along the side of the piece of broken 



