Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations Blasted Catfish!

Greetings, fellow enthusiasts.

My pond is approximately 1/4 acre and is FEATURED behind my house. It's about four years young. Prior to filling it, I had numerous cracked and chipped concrete culverts placed in it. The grass has grown around it nicely. I started out with fatheads, then bluegills, and then only 30 bass. THEN, about a year afterwards, relying on terrible advice, I added 50 (only 50) channel cats. I later realized that those ingenious culverts were the ideal spawning location. Needless to say, the cats are king now.

I want a clear, pleasant pond. I "conducted" the "water in a jar" test. Added some gypsum...clear as a bell. However, my pond looks like chocolate milk. Even when gypsum is added, any clarity is short-lived. Because my pond is the FEATURE behind my house, I reluctantly add blue dye to achieve a murky greenish-tan color.

Anyway, I figure the cats are the culprits. How, pray tell, do I rid myself of them?

Trot lines at night, jug lines. Rod and reel. I like to use cut BG for bait.

Catfish traps as discussed in a concurrent thread.

P.S. Howdy and welcome to the forum.

Hi Serenity welcome to Pond Boss. I'll leave the questions for the experts.

Didn't the "Serenity Now" phrase come from some movie or TV show? I'm sitting here trying to remember where I've heard that before and it's driving me crazy. (I know, I know, it's a very short drive).

Why would catfish cause muddy water? I have never heard that.

In high numbers and in a hungry state, they will continually root through the bottom of the pond looking for food. Common carp will do the same thing, maybe at lower densities.

Dang. I thought this thread would be about using dynamite to catch catfish.

Fish fry time. I use chicken livers and i prefer rod and reel for catching them. But in your case I wuold just put out lots of jugs with strong line and treble hooks.

Soungs like good fun and good food.

Seinfeld - JHAP - Seinfeld!

Thanks TJ. I knew I heard it somewhere.

Thanks guys. Admittedly, I think I was hoping on the dynamite solution. I've successfully used trot lines and jugs, but I wonder if I'm making enough difference. I haven't enough time from work to clean and eat them all :D. I think I'll also try the traps suggested.

Got any friends with kids? Have a fishin' derby some Saturday...have somebody out to filet and cook the things. Add some tater salad, cole slaw and baked beans and make a real day of it...

Start early in the morning, catch as many as you can. Toss a couple cans of sweet corn in one area the evening before, and fish that area. A one gallon paint bucket with holes drilled in it makes a great chum bucket. Fill it with field corn, wheat or any other grain and soak in a 5 gal bucket of water for 2-3 days to sour. Toss that in the pond instead of sweet corn and they'll be hanging around by morning...

Just some thoughts...we've done that to catch pond cats when I was a kid, now I've just gotta get un-lazied enough to do it at my own place.

Mine got shy so I started using doughballs and they started hitting again.

GW...quit giving away my fishing secrets