Woods and Water by Dick Herfindahl

All the lakes are open in our part of the state. When that happens, I look back to the days when the bullhead was king of early season fishing. As a kid, there were a few times when my uncle Harvey would take me with him to Pickerel Lake to fish bullheads. In those days folks learned about any area fish bite strictly by word of mouth.

Spring is when the bullheads are the best eating, and that is also when the bite is usually the best. I can remember how folks would line the shore of Pickerel Lake and the cars would be lined up along the roadside on Highway 69. All of the old-timers would await the day that ice-out occurred so they could pursue that whiskered fish. I can remember how pumped up my father-in-law, Orv Johnson, would be when one of his card-playing buddies at Twin Lakes Liquor Store would tell him about the latest hot spot where those big, old yellow bellies were biting.

When I was growing up, the bullhead was beyond a doubt the most abundant fish in the area. There was actually nothing better than a meal of early season bullhead, pan-fried and served with fried potatoes and Van Camp’s pork and beans — yum, yum; mighty tasty. A lot of the rural bars and service clubs would hold bullhead feeds and also smelt feeds — both of which have pretty much become a thing of the past.

As a kid I paid my dues like all of the other kids who fished the whiskered one — that is, getting stung by the dreaded stingers the bullhead has, which inevitably end up poking even the most careful fisherman. It wasn’t just a poke, but something that would stay with you for awhile, just as a reminder that you had been had by the bullhead.

Every once in a while I look back and fondly remember those days gone by, and — more importantly — I wonder where are the bullhead? Folks used to also line the shores of Albert Lea Lake, especially by Jugland Dam. Catching the whiskered one was pretty simple and there used to be an abundance of them. I know times have changed and you won’t find a guy in a $30,000 bass boat bobber fishing bullhead, but they should still eat as good today as they did years ago. Bobber fishing was a favorite for a lot of bullhead fishermen and women, but using a simple hook and sinker with a gob of worms and letting it lay on the bottom was pretty darned effective — if you didn’t get snagged up on the bottom.

When I worked at Conger Creamery, me and a couple of my coworkers would go to Pickerel Lake and fish at night. We would start a bonfire, cast out a gob of worms and wait for the line to go tight. That was simple fun that yielded results without a whole lot of effort.

I’d noticed a gradual decrease in the number of bullheads where I kept a seasonal camper on Lake Tetonka in Waterville. The year before I moved the camper up north, I talked to some folks from Iowa who came up to the lake each year to fish bullhead for their annual feed. They’d said the bullhead numbers had declined so bad that they had to go to Morristown Dam to get their fish. On that same note, they also said the city of Waterville had folks fishing in Morristown so they could have fish for bullhead days. Not a good thing for a town that called itself the bullhead capitol of the world.

I spoke with a gentleman who has lived on Albert Lea Lake for many years, and he told me he used to catch a lot of bullheads every spring while fishing off his dock. He said that now he’s lucky to catch any.

I am no marine biologist, so I won’t guess as to what has caused the decline, but I would sure be interested in finding out. I know that during my last few years at Best Point Resort on Tetonka Lake I would occasionally see a bullhead swimming just below the surface with a sore on its side. There could very well have been a disease of some sort that took its toll on that species. I am sure the bullhead population or lack thereof is not at the top of the DNR list of things to worry about.

Speaking of a fish of a different color, I have seen some folks catching perch while fishing from the Front Street bridge and I have also heard of folks catching and releasing some nice walleye while fishing the channel below the dam on Bridge Avenue.

I plan on taking a few days and heading up to the cabin to check and see how many trees are down and if the cabin survived the winter. I could wait until the opener, but the little kid inside of me wants to get up there. Like I do with my grandkids, I will probably give in to the old kid’s wishes.

 

Musky talk news

The April meeting of Southern Crossroads Chapter of Muskies Inc. will be at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Eagles Club in Owatonna. Our speaker will be Kevin Walsh. He will speak on trolling for muskies. Our meetings include a speaker, door prizes, raffle, updates and lots of musky talk. You need not be a member to attend. Bring a friend and help improve musky fishing in southern Minnesota.

Until next time, it’s a good time to drop a line in for some perch and panfish. Who knows, you may even catch a nice mess of bullhead. If you don’t want to fish, it’s still a great time to take a walk or ride your bike around the lake.

Please remember to keep our troops in your thoughts and prayers. They are the reason we are able to enjoy all the freedoms we have today.

 

Dick Herfindahl’s column appears in the Tribune every Sunday.