Bullhead

[edbone]

Thats a catfish in the sink

[315stickbow]

Guys I know the difference between a channel cat and a bullhead. that's not a cat. That wasn't the only fish I caught that night. The rest were cats look close at tail. Channels are very forked. That is square. I regret not taking more pics. It was late and I just wanted to clean them and sleep

[ShaneO19]

      You are certainly welcome to think that's a bullhead but I am almost certain it isn't.  It looks exactly like a catfish and nothing like a bullhead. The easiest and most obvious way to tell is the tail like you said but we can't see it in that picture.  If it really didn't have a forked tail then it likely either had a mutation or got worn or cut down somehow. 
      Another way to tell the difference is the jaw.  The upper jaw in that fish extends well past the lower. Catfish have this and bullheads don't.  Colors of both fish can vary but I have never seen a bullhead that light colored.  That catfish is probably just getting big enough to lose spots but you can still see some.  The other obvious thing is how huge it is!  I know the state record is over 7lbs but from places no one had heard of.

[315stickbow]

http://www.allfishingbuy.com/Fish-Species/Bullhead-Brown.htm

[315stickbow]

Messed around with effects on photobucket to try to bring the tail into view. I can see it better on my phone. I'm not trying to argue with you folks, but I'm 99% sure this is a brown bullhead. The upper jaw extending past the bottom is a bullhead trait according to that site I posted above.

[big_guy_13021]

Sure looks like a flat taik to me and thats a bullhead..just a different kind of color.looks like it drowned and turned a bluish purple  .thanks for your effort getting a good view of tail....

[Old Timer]

If I caught that fish (must have been fun), I would have called it a catfish.  Has catfish eyes, head and mouth..  What do I know   It was legal and you said it tasted good so what else matters

[Mac Attack]

BTW, a bullhead is in the catfish family......technically.....look it up.

I have seen bullies with white, yellow, and even bluish bellies.
I've seen them with brown, black, and green topsides.
And as far as size, I have seen some VERY large bullhead over the years.
I caught 2 that were both over 5# back in the late 60's on Silver Lake in NY.
(d**n turtles ate one of them up to the head cause I left them alive on a stringer tied to the dock overnight because I was too lazy at the time to clean them.  But that's another story)
If the tail is not forked, it's a bullhead!

And that fish in the sink looks like the tail is not forked.
So I'm convinced it's a bully!
That's my vote.

Start a poll.

 

[ShaneO19]

Still not a great view but I agree that the tail doesn't seem to be forked like most.  Doesn't look like a bullhead tail either though.  I was looking through a bunch of pictures online and there seems to be quite a bit of variation in Channel Catfish tails.  Here are two of several I found that look like they could be similar to yours:

[315stickbow]

Who knows. I'm just gonna go catch some more tonight 

[greensider]

when channel cats get big like 30 inchess theyre tails are not that forked like the young ones

[carcaju]

could it be a white catfish? they aren't that common but they are in some places

[missfishy]

I caught a catfish in onieda that looked exactly like the brown bullheads  in there but it was about three feet long ....a flat headed one maybe.

[alfed]

While you guys are discussing that cat fish, I went out and got another bucket of bullheads last night on Cayuga. There are two pics on this thread one a know catfish, the other the fish in question. A few things to look at. The jaw in both pics are identical. A big one for me is the large eyes. bullhead have a smaller eyes. no matter if its a yellow or brown bullhead their barbels are always black or dark brown... not blue/grey. Regardless it was a nice fish to catch either way hope he ate well, fork tail or not.

[3 DOT]

While you guys are discussing that cat fish, I went out and got another bucket of bullheads last night on Cayuga. There are two pics on this thread one a know catfish, the other the fish in question. A few things to look at. The jaw in both pics are identical. A big one for me is the large eyes. bullhead have a smaller eyes. no matter if its a yellow or brown bullhead their barbels are always black or dark brown... not blue/grey. Regardless it was a nice fish to catch either way hope he ate well, fork tail or not.

It's definitely a catfish.  Quite possibly a Yellow Catfish.  Somewhat rare in these parts but not so rare that they're not seen from time to time.     They look like a cross between a Channel cat and a Flathead cat......and a non forked tail !