I've got some big,6# channel cats that I thought were taking out too many bluegill. They are hard to catch, I can only catch 1 or 2 per trip. I got some minnows yesterday and caught 2. While cleaning one of them I checked the stomach to see if it was stuffed with bg. To my surprise I found what appeared to be Filamentous algae. Green and stringy just like the junk in my pond.
Is it possible that they are indeed eating the algae?
Also, I can't catch any Bluegill. they seemed to have vanished. Last spring they were everywhere now you don't see any. Bass seem to be healthy. But cats seem to be growing at much too fast pace.
Any thoughts on this?

If your CC are eating FA, they probably can't get ahold of anything they like better. But if the Bass are healthy, that seems like an indicator you've still got BG left for them to eat. Are there any other fish besides BG the Bass could be living on?

CC are smart enough that catching more than one or two per fishing attempt is hard for me, too. I can keep most of them out of the pellets during a feeding cycle by catching one just before hand.

CC will eat small amounts of vegetation as they forage. It wouldn't suprise me if they were inadvertently eating FA when going after dragon fly larve or other insects in thier aquatic stage.

The cats could also be injesting FA if the small bluegill attempt to hide in the algae just before the cats capture them.

Sunday I saw a very interesting CC characteristic. I was sampling in a 0.5 ac heavy, dense, clay lined, dugout pond that had golf ball sized limestone all around the upper pond perimeter spread in a layer 6"-10" deep and down to a depth of 3 ft deep. The stone layer is a common design feature for most ponds in my region. Stone ledge reduces wave-sediment erosion and discourages digging and invasion of muskrats. Anyway I saw this big, very dark spot in the stone ledge about 16"-18" deep. When I went to the spot in my boat and probed the spot with my paddle it turned out to be a cave dug into the bank. Cave was around 14"-16" wide and about 3 ft deep back into the bank. The large catfish (30"-36") in this pond had dug through the stone ledge and into the compacted clay liner to make this large cavity. Owner definately has no other types of animals in or near his pond to do the digging. Pondowner said he sees wide headed catfish (males) in this cave-hole especially during mid-summer. Owner said the cats keep enlarging the hole. Owner thought these wide headed catfish were flatheads. I educated him about the head morphology of male and female catfish. I suggested that he start fishing for them at the mouth of and in this hole to get them out of the pond. This pondowner said that he also has a very hard time catching these big catfish. Catches one and they all quite biting! I have heard about CC digging washtub sized holes into the stone ledge but never a fairly large cave.

Bill, enlarging a hole of any size I can understand. I just wonder what type of instinct makes them start one. I can only assume that they started wallowing on a hole, found an "easy" spot and kept going.

Stone ledge may have had a slight depression in the stone layer. Clay liner was definately not soft in that spot or pond would have leakage symptoms. Pond is very tight and banks are well packed. Hole margins and cavity were very firm when I probed it with my boat paddle. Do you suppose CC use their spines for lossening the soil? I wish I could get a good photo of this cave. It is far enough underwater that a photo is difficult.

its obviously time to start noodlin.

as a pond consultant Bill, dont you perform these services?

Not to make light of the situation, but this 0.5 acre pond sounds like a prime training ground for a beginner noodler.

Theo, how far are you from this pond?

Sorry, Dave. You beat me to it.

I saw some of these huge CC feeding on pellets at the feeding ring - really big fish. When the fish were sucking pellets their wiskers looked to be 8"-10" - really long. Those fish are no doubt strong and I am no match for them underwater.

I am beginning to figure out where the cavities come from where the nodders find their fish.

BC, it would be interesting to catch one of these "workmen" CC and see what kind of bodily evidence they showed from their labors. It would be great if the pond owner does catch some, can take a series of photos, and show just what parts of their bodies are being used.

Probably a couple of hours; you think I should give it a shot?

You chum with chicken noodle soup first, right? :rolleyes:

I am having exactly the same problem with my big catfish (30 to 36 inch), except that I don't have the limestone. My dugout pond is also exactly 0.5 acres (140 x 160 feet, rectangular).

I have very heavy compacted clay. The big cats have dug large caves in the north bank of my pond. I was going to take pictures of the caves when the pond was down about 18 inches two weeks ago -- then it started raining, and my pond has been a few inches above the standpipe for the last couple of weeks. This is about my normal water level for about 9 months out of the year. The top of the caves are about 6 to 8 inches below the mean-water level.

I don't dare drive my tractor in that area. The biggest hole is at least 18-inches in diameter, and at least 24 inches under the bank, maybe 36 inches. I warn visitors not to walk in that area.

I've posted elsewhere about my difficulty catching these things -- same problem reported above. I left jugs near one of the caves, and got a snapping turtle. When I fish in this part of my pond -- or any part of my pond -- with liver, dough, or night crawlers, I get bass (no luck with Cecil Baird's pantyhose either).

When the pond draws down again next summer, I figure I will use my tractor and front-end loader to dig out the area and fill it with rocks.

I'd certainly appreciate any ideas other might have about stopping this problem. (We're having another fishing party tonight -- but the last three have only resulted in bass taking the catfish bait. Oh, and I did get a 33 inch grass carp on bread last Sunday.)

I'm not going noodling! If somebody wants to try, contact me. I'm about 25 miles west of Winchester, VA.

Happy fishing,
Ken

OK this may sound stupid but its just a thought.
Could a person use a snare of some type to get these cats out of a hole? Like I said, may be a stupid question.

I just noticed that Sunil is less than 100 miles from me (go south at Cumberland, right at Romney onto Route 50 east). If you want to come noodling, me and the fish expect to be home all day Saturday.

This evening I can post a note by the caves for the snappy turtle and that pretty little northern water snake (he's less than 4-feet long) to stay away from the area tomorrow.

Ken

....what do they say about great minds?