Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose Pros and cons of stocking channel cat

I would like to know what everyone thinks about CC. we will be stocking our pond next year and my husband wants these. I personally don't like them but have read that they wont reproduce in a pond so I guess a few wouldn't hurt if it makes him happy. what do you think?

If you plan on aggressive harvesting, they are fine eating, and don't mind risks, they are ok. But don't believe they won't reproduce in a pond. And they have the potential to dominate the rest of the population over time with no harvesting. They cna throw a pond predator balance and overall balance way out of whack.

They can reproduce in a pond. It's not likely, but can happen, especially if you have a larger pond or lots of structure. A good population of LMB will keep CC reproduction under decent control though. Simply harvesting CC once they get to 2# or so would also help. CC are very inexpensive around 8"-10", you can easily treat them as a put-grow-take fishery. They will happily take any kinds of floating feed. CC are smart fish, they will learn very quickly how to avoid being hooked if you catch and release.

Pros:

good to eat
add diversification to the pond
can be easy to catch
wont' reproduce unless there is proper spawning cover

Cons:
Can be very hard to catch
can compete with other predators if they get large


I've had CC in my pond for 5-6 years now and I have yet to see signs of reproduction. But, I know they are cavity nesters and don't have any cover in the pond that would allow them to make a cavity - steep banks, dense weed beds (like Chara), etc.

I am in the process of trying to fish them out. I want to stock HSB in the pond, and I'm worried about exceeding the carrying capacity of the pond. Once caught, they can be very hard to catch again. I caught one last April, tagged it and released it into the pond. It has never been caught again, and I haven't seen it dead.

If they aren't stocked in very high numbers, they shouldn't muddy the water. I'd go light on stocking , don't fish for them the first year, and only replace what you've removed the 2nd year and every year after that. I have had bad luch with CC C&R. I can't catch the ones that I've released again.

The biggest negative that we encounter when stocking channel catfish is their tendency to dominate feeding grounds.

Or, as some landowners put it, "They cost an arm and a leg to feed".

If you want big largemouth bass, one of the best ways to support fish like this is to have a healthy, viable population of adult bluegill to create forage on an annual basis. One of the best ways to do this is to supplementally feed the bluegill.

Unfortunately, if your bluegill never get to the feed because you have a bunch of big, lumbering channel cats at the feeder each morning, the bass aren't as likely to get this benefit.

Just something to think about. I personally like channel catfish, but I tend to err way on the conservative side when stocking them.