Dray Walters, a fisheries technician in the Mt. Ayer office in southwestern Iowa, said that in his area, a night crawler will do the trick. He recommends Badger Creek Lake in Madison County for some 15-inchers, and Green Valley lake near Creston in Union County for fish up to 13 inches. The 19-acre Q-Pond in Clark County pumps out big numbers of smaller bullheads for its small size.

Fisheries biologist Ed Thelen in northwestern Iowa touts Spirit Lake of the Iowa Great Lakes as his area's top bullhead fishery.

"In Spirit Lake, you have quality over quantity," said Thelen. "Spirit Lake is our bread-and-butter lake. The bullheads in Spirit Lake move out into the main lake in the summer, and you'll catch them in a little deeper water. Bar none, Spirit Lake is the best bullhead fishing spot in the state and a trip you'll want to make."

Bullheads are similar to other fish, said Thelen, in that their population fluctuates up and down depending on the water levels and lake conditions. In 2005, a four-year low-water period finally gave way, and Thelen hopes the numbers of bullheads in Spirit Lake will soon improve.

He pointed out that in 2000, over 5,700 anglers caught a total of 21,782 bullheads in Spirit Lake alone. Numbers were down in 2004, when over 2,800 anglers took home just over 8,000 fish. Thelen hopes the trend is reversing back to higher numbers --of both bullhead anglers and a lot more harvested fish.

In northwestern Iowa, other good bullhead waters are Silver and Center lakes in Dickinson County, Ingham Lake in Emmet County and Clear Lake in Cerro Gordo County.

In northeastern Iowa, Martens Lake in Bremer County and Bergfeld Pond in Dubuque County top the list, said Bryan Hayes, a fisheries biologist in the region.

"Martens Lake is a shallow 130-acre lake located in the Sweet Marsh Fish and Wildlife Area," said Hayes. "Bullheads survive the winter because of the water flow from Plum Creek. Fishery surveys indicated good numbers of bullheads in the 10- to 11-inch range. Some of the old-timers remember when anglers would come to the lake specifically for bullheads.

"Bergfeld Pond covers 10 acres and is located in the City of Dubuque's industrial park. Bullheads are stocked the first weekend in June for a kid's fishing event. The kids catch a lot of them, and the remaining fish are a boost to the fishing all summer long. During the summer, I wouldn't fish any deeper than 6 feet to avoid the thermocline."

Though the fish are in deeper water this month, all in all, there's still some pretty good summer bullhead fishing to be had in the Hawkeye State.