Originally Posted by Sunil
If you're raising catfish for food, how does fish feed factor into the equation? That question is not yet considering the taste of the fish that you harvest considering potential taste differences between fish feed diets vs. natural diets, but more so the cost of feed in regards to the amount of 'eatable' fish you can harvest
I definitely think the cost of feed is worth it for the increased amount of fillet poundage you can take out of a pond. No way could I eat as many BG from a 1/2 and a 2/3 acre pond without feeding 500-600 pounds of Aquamax a year.

BTW, I have postulated that YP eating fish food have less flavor than "wild" YP. Anyone else notice that?

Originally Posted by Snakebite
If I plan to catch a few fish out to harvest, I will turn the feeder off for two days prior to help reduce fish waste inside the body and improve taste. I rarely harvest channel catfish over 4 pounds as there tends to be an increased layer or fat on the top and bottom of the fillets, and the nerve fibers are thicker making the catfish fillet tough.

I also stop feeding for 2-3 days before fishing a pond. Catch rates go way up after this.

I feel CC are best to eat at around 2-3 pounds, tops. They get tougher when they are bigger than that and, if cooked as fillets, have a huge difference in thickness that makes cooking difficult. (I leave CC cooking to my wife, who does marvelous things with them - over aluminum foil - on the grill after marinating the fillets.)

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