# differences



## Buckeyefisher7 (Mar 1, 2011)

what r some differences between channel and bullhead catfishes


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## katfish (Apr 7, 2004)

Bullheads have a square tail and are usually brown.










Channel cats have a forked tail. Juvenile channel cats sport the spots shown here which fade as they mature.










Flathead catfish are similar in appearance to bullhead but they get larger.
Flatheads fins have cartilage and fold down easily--bulheads have bone and are quite sharp.










Blue cats slightly resemble channel cats. Their anal fins are much longer and contain more rays.


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## SeanStone (Sep 8, 2010)

Identifying bullheads can be quite difficult. There are three types of bullheads; Black bullheads, Brown bullheads, and Yellow Bullheads. 

Black bullheads are olive green, brown, and or yellow. They can be identified by locating a smooth edge on thier pectoral spine. They are the smallest of the three bullheads. They prefer shallow soft bottom bodies of water. 

Brown bullheads are similar to the black bullheads but they have a distinct mottled (blotchy) pattern. Of the bullhead species the brown reaches the largest average size. They are typically found in deep clear bodies of water consisting of hard bottoms.

Yellow bullheads are the smallest of the three bullhead species. They prefer clear water with heavy vegitation. They can be distinguished from the other two types by their long anal fin and long whiskers that tend to be yellow or white at the tips. 

Source:
Life & Times in Catfish Country, written by Doug Stange (Chapter 4)


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## AkronCATS (Nov 5, 2008)

Bullheads are bait, channels, flatheads, and blues are gamefish!!


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## monsterKAT11 (Jun 20, 2004)

if it kinda looks like a flathead and stabs you in the hand and make you cuss its a bullhead


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## jmackey84 (May 15, 2010)

the big difference betwean bullheads and juvinile flatheads is the flatheads lower jaw sticks out farther then the upper jaw and bullheads upper jaw sticks out father then there lower jaw, at least from what ive read, i have yet to catch a flathead yet, also, the anal fin on channel cats are kinda round, were the blue cat has a more boxed looking anal fin


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