Bullhead bonanza on the Des Plaines

By Mike Jackson

Daily Herald Outdoors Writer

I knew the water was going to spill over the banks. And I also suspected I could find some action in the middle of the driftwood jammed against various river-born obstacles. My goal was to find and catch a bunch of brown bullheads.

Almost two decades ago Al Levy and I searched for a decent and safe place to fish along the Des Plaines River. He called one day and in his typical excited voice recounted an outing in which he caught close to a hundred bullheads in a couple of hours.

So I joined him for a half day, and together we filled a cooler with bullheads, bluegills and several channel catfish. It wasn't bass or walleye fishing, nor was it fly casting for trout, but nevertheless we had plenty of action and tons of laughs back then.

So I recently decided to revisit the Des Plaines River. I came equipped with two 7½-foot spinning rods, reels spooled with 8-pound mono, a folding seat, a couple sandwiches, water and live bait.

As expected, the river's current was zipping by but I also noticed a couple slack-water pools nearby. I also saw some fish swimming near the surface. Sure enough, it was a school of bullheads.

One rod was rigged with a No. 8 hook and a single nightcrawler, while the other was set up with some catfish bait.

I flipped the crawler rig into the eddy and allowed it to sink to the bottom. It never made it there. I felt a couple twitches on the line. I opened the bail and let line race off the reel. After a few seconds I set the hook and brought in a very scrappy bullhead. It measured a solid 10 inches. Because a neighbor had pestered me for months to bring home some bullheads for him, I placed the fish in a bucket of ice.

The rest of the school hadn't moved.

I then made a cast with the catfish bait and nothing happened for a good five minutes. Just as I was about to make another cast into another quiet pool, the line moved to the side. Once again I opened the bail and let the fish run with the bait.

I could tell this was no bullhead. It appeared to be more of a “sprinter”, so to speak, as it raced away from me.

I cranked line in as fast as I could because the fish was headed for some sunken tree branches. I dipped the net in to the current. Up came a silvery channel catfish in the 3-pound class. Not bad.

I changed setups on both rods. I went to Lindy Rigs with 3/8-ounce slip sinkers. The nightcrawler sailed through the air, right back toward the middle of the school.

The fish spooked for a moment but quickly returned to whatever they were doing. I felt another tug on the line and because I already had the bail open with my index finger holding the line, I just released the mono and let the fish (a larger bullhead) take it. My good fortune lasted for nearly an hour and the bucket was almost filled to the top.

I didn't bring minnows, so I rigged a small Berkley Power Minnow on the other rod and shot a cast to the hot zone. Nothing happened for a while until I started moving the bait around. Then something big attacked the bait.

Fifteen minutes later I brought a needle-nose gar to the bank and subsequently cut the line. I never expected this to happen.

The sandwiches were consumed. I had someplace else to be and I'd accomplished what I had set out to do — catch a bunch of fish for my neighbor.

In the Mankato, Minn., area the brown bullhead is highly revered as great table fare, with local tournaments and cookouts focused on catching these scrappy fish.

But down here they appear to fall into the Rodney Dangerfield category in that local anglers never give them any respect. Too bad.

Ÿ Contact Mike Jackson at angler88@comcast.net, and catch his radio show 6-7 a.m. Sundays on WSBC 1240-AM.