Other names: Sea catfish, tourist trout, pain in the @$$.

Description: Hardhead catfish have six rounded barbels that stick out from their chins like whiskers. These barbels help the catfish find crabs, fish and shrimp in the muddy bays where they live. The hardhead's willingness to bite a hook has given them the nickname tourist trout...etc..

Habitat/Habits: They often occur in such numbers in bay and Gulf waters, that it is difficult to catch other species. If you ever see a school of juvenile (baby) Hardheads its like a Black swirling 8 to 10 ft wide pod of fish. (DO NOT USE A THROW NET ON THEM) Or like me you'll learn the hard way how to spend over an hour trying to remove about 100 little hardheads from your net. Not to mention how sore your hands will be for the next week from all the scratches and pokes you (((WILL))) recieve no matter how careful you are. Do as I say, Not as I do, Or you will be a dummy too!

Fishing tips???: Notorious bait stealers, very few, if any anglers concentrate on catching hardheads. Dead shrimp fished close to the bottom works well. Hardeads although slightly edible, do not compare to a tasty Gafftop Catfish!

Special tip!!!: If all you're catching is Hardheads, My suggestion is to change the way you're fishing! Simply enough, If you're fishing on the bottom then try fishing with a float and smaller weight, Change your bait, try a different type of leader or try a bigger a bait. If you're only catching Hardheads...Then you're fishing for Hardheads!

Safety Tip: Use an old pair of gloves to handle a hardhead DO NOT loose your temper and Kick/Punch/Stomp or throw a hardhead! If you do happen to do something this idiotic, you will receive a severely painful trip to the hospital to remove a bacteria ridden dorsal or pectoral fin from your Foot/Hand or Fellow fisherman.
(see my safety tip in the TIPS -n- TRICKS section titled "Belly rub".)