This was a first

[Lil Jake]

So I just thought I'd share this photo. Over the years I've caught perch bass pickerel and even a blue gill but this was my first bull head trolling. It was suspended at 30' over 125. Anybody else ever pick one up trolling?

[lakebound88]

Mostly perch and trout for me!

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[steelydan]

once i got a 5lb channel cat down 80 ft in 300 ft of water on a michigan stinger nbk

[Sk8man]

Once on Seneca near Kashong Point while using Seth Green rigs I caught a huge bullhead on the third leader down (about 75 ft.) over 300 plus feet of water. I've also seen mass migrations of huge carp in the middle of the lake going east to west just under the surface....a lot of stuff goes on out there that is poorly understood

[madman1]

I picked up a big cat in the trench years ago first thing in the morning 10 or 15 pounds. Enough to lose my place on the rods with the other guys.

[BSmaster]

Caught my first bullhead (14in) on the beetle spin this past Sunday.  3ft of dirty water with a quick retrieve.  Thing smacked it good.

[justtracytrolling]

I had one morning on Otisco the day after my best walleye morning last season that I caught 5 catfish in row 6-10 lbs on rapala tdd11s down 30 over 50 fow doing exactly what I did the day before.  Didn't catch a walleye that day and havent caught a catfish since.  Go figure...that's what I love about trolling...you can catch literally anything that's in the lake!  As soon as somebody picks up the rod everybody is trying to figure out what is on the other end!

justin

[Adk1]

I have picked up a few bullhead but not on lake o. mostly on rapalas

[Sk8man]

The really interesting thing is that both catfish and bullheads are considered "bottom feeders".....yet caught trolling up in the water column....

[Mosh]

I've caught them a few times trolling for walleye in about 20 FOW but never deep.  That's bizarre!

[Lil Jake]

Interesting how much time and money we all spend to target one species just to have a surprise on the line. Fishing not catching I guess. Wouldn't have any other way. Best of luck to all!

[bulletbob]

 Itrs very simple.. The 
natural balance" of the Finger Lakes is all messed up by historical standards... Sawbellies are not native.. They are in the lakes, and have been for decades, and in  several of them  are by far the dominant food source...  Food  is the first order of business for fish.. any fish.. most species will leave preferred temp, and habitat for abudant food..

  By design,smallmouths are stream fish that grub through rocks for bugs, crabs and sculpins.. In the fingers, they are   fish eaters, at least many of them.. Some will go "out of character" and become open water dwellers following schools of bait, picking off stragglers.. Same with LMB and Pike.. Both of those fish are weed/structure oriented ambush artists.. However, in the fingers they will suspend and follow the easy food source...
 

  Name the fish.. Walleyes, Browns ,Rainbow, Salmon, even cats and bullheads... In normal situations these fish are not open water fish you would expect to find 50 feet down over 125 in a lake.. However, if there is a lot of food there, many will go out of preferred temp and habitat zones to utilize it.
 The smb I catch in the creeks and rivers look the same as the ones in the big lakes, but act in a tottaly different manner.. its all about where the most food is, and how easy it is to catch it... bob

[keukakatch&release]

I've caught em on saw bellies down 80 over 120. Also caught plenty of smallies that way too in the late summer. Just like people, not all fish follow the rules...

[stinger]

Just to back up what bulletbob says.

 

A couple pics of bass I caught trolling for trout. These fish were all suspended over 100' +  bottom in the 65' range. As you can see in the second picture when they are on the feed they are not shy and not alone.

 

 

[blueghost1]

Dragged up a dead bullhead on a copper rig in Seneca last year 20 fow not much fight

[Sk8man]

Yeah Kev for some reason the dead ones in shallow on copper don't seem to fight as well as the ones 75 ft. down that are spinning around on the way up and in on the Seth Green rig....have to leave it to the experts to sort that one out I guess

[blueghost1]

Yeah Kev for some reason the dead ones in shallow on copper don't seem to fight as well as the ones 75 ft. down that are spinning around on the way up and in on the Seth Green rig....have to leave it to the experts to sort that one out I guess