While turning over stones in the shallow water along the bank of the Coast Fork of the Willamette River running by the arboretum, I will occasionally discover this small, midnight black fish. It doesn’t like to be out in the open and will usually dart back underneath a stone when uncovered. Its body beautifully whips back and forth in a fluid, serpentine motion and quickly disappears.
In my research, I found a fish called a Black Bullhead Catfish that is an introduced species to the Willamette River. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife had this to say on their website: “Bullheads present in Oregon (brown, yellow and black) are distinguished from channel catfish by their square or rounded tails and lack of spotting. They seldom exceed two pounds and 18-inches long. Black bullheads have a square tail with a light vertical bar at its base and chin barbels that are all dark.”
This small, black fish seems to fit the description for the black bullhead. I can’t recall ever seeing a totally black fish like this one. It’s like watching a shadow of a fish move along the bottom of the river. I’m curious, has anyone who fishes for catfish around here ever caught one out of the Willamette?
Resource
Black Bullhead | Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife. https://myodfw.com/fishing/species/black-bullhead. Accessed 30 Aug. 2025.