Hello pond masters how are you? I just arrived back at work and have had the time to cruise all the post that I have missed. I received my air pump but due to an overwhelming schedule I was unable to install while I was ashore. I do have a question. I have stocked CC 3 times over the last year and they just vanish .I have never found a dead one and they do not feed with the BG of fat heads. When I was home I spent a few hours cast netting and checking fish and never caught a CC nor have they been caught on rod and reel. The first time I stocked I put in 30 2to 4in CC the 2nd time I went larger at 3to 6in (50) CC and stocked the same the 3rd time. I have also added 3 CC that were at least 2lb. I have never seen them after they hit the pond? The BG are of all size and appears very healthy, the LMB are fat and happy but have yet to spawn, I have bass from 2to 4in and 10 to 18in and 5 fish around 24in ,the big fish are in the best health. My pond is small (under and ac) and the water table is down. I also have FT algae but not real bad. Thanks for the help.

NaClH2O:

IMO, the first three stockings could possibly have become LMB food, unless they occurred before your bass got anywhere near as big as they are now. I think the 2 pounders would have been big enough to escape predation, but there are only 3 of them. If they have plenty to eat, you might not see them. You are gone a lot, right?

Theo is right. Your bass ate them. Stock larger catfish next time, at least 8-10 inches long, and they stand a better chance to survive.

The first two times I stocked CC I only had 10 bass about a pound to 2lb. I did not think they would eat all of my CC given all of the small BG that where in the pond, but it sure looks that way! I wish that I had been more patient and followed the stocking guide lines. I stocked fat heads and BG in the spring, had two good spawns and then stocked the bass in the fall (adult and sub adult fish from another pond) I stocked the CC about 3 weeks before the bass, then again in the spring.

To some degree I have a balance as what I have left all appears to be fat, growing and healthy. I stock minnows and small BG on a regular basis to subsidize the gap in the food chain. Now my minnows and BG have a variety of sizes and seem to be stable if not growing in population slightly. When I was home last I traded 50 adult BG for 1 6lb LMB. She was caught in a fike net and treated gently and started feeding the 2nd day she was there. It is most defiantly a bass with experience as she rolls into the shallow water and hides in ambush in the lily pads. The other adult fish I have tend to stay in the deep water and hang around the structure at the other end of the pond.

I am gone for weeks at a time but get TWICE daily pond reports from the wife. She has never seen a dead CC or a CC at all for that matter. This fall we are going to haul seine the pond and get a true accounting. Thanks for the replies, I was hoping for a different answer, but live and learn!