Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Channel cat fish mystery

Hello all! I just got back on the boat after two weeks home playing with our pond! The pond has never looked better! I have baby LMB everywhere and my BG are bedded up. The HBS are feeding like I have never seen! The water quality is fantastic and our plants along the pond bank look fantastic.

I have asked this question here before and never got an answer or opinion and I really need some of both as I am stumped! Our channel cat fish have vanished! The were here in March and looked fantastic with an average weight of 7lbs. The pond is walked daily by my wife or I and the fish are feed trained. From day one the cat fish have never been seen eating but continued to grow and flourished the total stock was around 60 CC in a ½ AC pond. In Mid March we caught 8 fish with 1 fish over 10lbs! Now we have no cat fish! I fished for them 5 times while I was home with all kinds of bait and never caught a fish. I did set a few lines at night(baited with BG) and checked them in the mourning to find the line snapped. I then upped my pound test and the next night I caught a large snapping turtle. When CC breed do they stop eating? If they all were dead wouldn’t we see at least 1 carcass? How the heck do we loose 60 large CC and never see a dead one? All of the other fish are doing fantastic, eating breeding and growing! Any ideas what could have gotten my cat fish?

Salt,

What size were they when you put them in?

A year ago I put in a bunch of 4-5 inchers. They weren't meant to go into the main pond, but that is a whole 'nother story.

By fall, I was regularly catching a number of 7-8 inch CC. This season I don't think I'm seeing any of them, unless they somehow grew to over 12 inches over the winter. I'm not sure if their bigger cousins ate them (I have a few older 24-30 inch CC), if the bass were somehow able to eat them, if they just died and I don't seem them, or if they are just keeping to themselves.

This year I put in a bunch of 14-18 inch CC. They feed like crazy, and I catch at least one 14-18 inch CC every time I try to get some bluegill for dinner. The females have been full of eggs for the last couple of weeks. I've had plenty of bluegill culls for eating, so I've been throwing all the CC back.

Since I don't think my 7-8 inch CC from last fall are now in excess of 12 inches and full of eggs, I'm thinking they have disappeared.

I had trout in my half-acre pond over the winter. There were somewhere between 7 and 10 that were 14-18 inches when the water warmed. As the water warmed, they have completely disappeared. I assume they died and sank. None have floated up. I can only guess that the bigger CC and maybe a snapping turtle or two have enjoyed them.

I know this isn't much of an answer, but you may not be the only one with disappearing catfish.

Ken

Wow disappearing cat fish! When we fish and hook a fish deep and it dies most of the time they float! I have seen a fish or two laying dead on the bottom but even they float after a day or two! You would think that BIG CAT fish would float! It bothers me that I could loose a biomass that large and not see it or understand what caused it?

Hey Salt!

My cats have stopped feeding, - and I too was wandering about the possibility of spawning / guarding dens. I have 20 cats, - all just a tad bit smaller than the bass I got from you. When spring first broke, - they were at the surface sucking up pellets like little Hoover vacuums (just like they were doing when last season drew to a close). It has now been at least three weeks now (if not longer) since I have seen them.

Are you still planning to shock? That should give some answers I would think.

Brian

I would bet that CC stopping eating to spawn. It seems a very common practice for many fish.

I have not seen all the big CC this year that I had in the pond at the end of last year. I had 20-30 big CC eating pellets then and only see 5-10 this year. It is a mystery, but not a crsis as I would have removed more of them to get them out this year anyway, and I would rather eat BG.

I was going through the same thing.They started eating this spring and then quit.I didnt see any for a while and then only little ones.I ran out of fish food so picked some up yesterday but didnt see much when I fed last night.But,they was smoken when the feeder went off this morning

Hello Brian!
More than likely we will not shock this year. Skip has been slammed and I want to wait until the new pond is done construction and full. The old pond is at full pool now after our recent rain and the bass have strapped on the feed bag big time! When I get home next I will give you a call and see if we can’t hook you up with some more fish. The BIG BG have still not started eating as they are guarding nest and fighting! Our second hatch of wood ducks came off last week and stayed briefly. The took the new brood and walked right through the woods to the ditch and said see ya later! No thanks for the great wood duck boxes or corn………..ungrateful little ducks! Hahahah Were you able to put up the boxes I gave you?

PS we have clouds of bass fingerlings in the 1 inch range. We should be able to haul seine all of them you could want. The cat fish thing is making me crazy! I hope they are there but it doesn’t look good! I just cant imagine as much time as I spend at the pond both NIGHT and day that I cant find even 1 fish! I may try dynamite !

Andy,

I assumed that Skip was still busy, - since he hasn't reached me to fill a fish order. More fish in a couple of weeks sounds great. I really like the prospect of getting a lot of bass fingerlings. I can't wait.

My wood duck boxes, along with timbers to erect them, have made it down "by" the pond. Honey-dos last weekend kept the project from completion. I hope to pick up some PVC this weekend and get the boxes up.

Brian

You mentioned that the other pond is done. Is that the one with the liner? If so, how did the project go, any pics, what is the story? We would love to hear some details as we may end up needing to do a liner.

No Vctor''we have not even started on the new pond yet! But we can hardly wait! Maybe in August. This pond will have a liner. We we start I will keep the board posted and take lots of pictures.