As the water recedes, a bursting chorus of life blooms in shallow, warming bays and backwaters. The river has set the stage for nature's regeneration. Brown bullheads are one of the first fish to be drawn into the shallows to feast on a rich supply of insects and minnows. After a long winter slowdown, the females feed voraciously to replenish energy and build egg masses in preparation for spawning. A big appetite, a tough attitude on a line, and delightful table qualities have made the unpretentious bullhead the epicentre of spring fishing tradition in eastern Ontario.
Tradition has a lot to do with simplicity.
Tradition and ritual take the complexity out of life, boiling things down to the basics - and there's nothing more basic than spring on a river and bullheads. They seem made for the simple, sweet art of angling. All you need is a hook, line, and sinker. A rod is optional. The sinker is optional too, if you have an old sparkplug, but don't forget worms.