Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations Are Channel Catfish bad?

I put in about 300 CCs 3 years ago and they are not approaching 3 lbs. They are getting quite big. I feed them pellets 2x/day for 15 seconds, pellets from Southern States/Big Strike.

Recently, I've caught several on a four inch Rapala which made me wonder if they were eating the BG that I want the bass to eat. Any suggestions? Do I need to get rid of the cats if I want a trophy bass pond? I sure love catching the CCs though, man they pull. Sometimes I think I have a giant bass on when it's actually a CC. I can only imagine when they get 20 lbs or bigger.

If you true goal is trophy bass, they need to go. As CC get bigger, they will more and more compete with bass for the same food. As the CC get larger and have been caught a time or two, they also become extremely smart and hard to catch. CC also take up large amounts of biomass. Even if half of the 300 CC you stocked are still alive. That is now 400+ pounds of fish!

They are not bad they just take up space and make meeting your goals harder. But that is way to many for your pond. Do you have any CC reproduction? CC do compete with LMB as CJ noted. If they do not reproduce you could keep a few (10) and still grow some LMB. You would need to feed and likely add some forage.

ewest how many Channel Cats would you suggest in a 4.5 acre pond where the goal was a healthy mid-sized black bass population and also have guests/visitors have a good time catching lots of fish of varied species? I am primarily a bass fisherman, but want friends/family/kids able to come out for the weekend and catch some fish too.

I stocked 900 in a 17 acre lake. Now I wished I hadn't stocked any. We are catching them though and will have enough to fill a freezer if we keep going.

That's roughly 50 per acre. Not quite as out of control as some stocking rates I've seen... How big are your CC now? How long ago did you stock them?

I was sold 100 for a 1/4 pond, so I am trying to get out as many of them as I can before I have a massive fish kill. Plus they are at the ideal size to eat in my opinion.

If using CC that are big enough to avoid predation ( 2 in. if stocking the pond with new small fish or using 10 inch CC into a pond with adult predators) then 10 per acre is enough for me.

I wish I could find something to use for bait to catch CC that the GSF and HBG will not eat.

I used scraps from my CC that I cleaned last week to try to catch more CC, and I caught one of the largest HBG I have ever caught, along with some nice female BG.

Was not expecting that, but on the other hand makes for a cheap bait the next time I go BG fishing.

Stocking rates for CC should generally be the number of fish it takes per year to make as many meals you as you want to consume per year. You are most likely not going to be able to remove every CC you stock, but you can get pretty close to it if you fish them reasonably hard each year. So if you plan to have 20 meals of CC per year and you harvest your fish at around 2 pounds or roughly 16"-18" fish. That takes about 1 CC that size to feed 2 people or 2 CC to feed 4. So if you had a family of 4 and wanted 20 meals per year, you'd need 40 CC in your pond reaching the 16"-18" mark annually. More CC if you planned to harvest them at a smaller size.

Yeah right now I am taking out any that I catch. Many are in the 2-4 pound range with some smaller, but regardless of size they come out. Unless I catch the 1 albino that was put in, or the few I tagged, they may be let go as well.

I love catfish. I hate catfish. Actually, I'm somewhere in the middle. I love catching them. I love eating them. I just don't like them in my pond when they start getting big and I can't catch them.

This year I put 50 channel cats into a cage at the end of my dock. I've lost about 10 that died due to mortality issues. The rest seem to be doing fine, and they are growing.

I presently have a number of 25-30 inch CC that thumb their whiskers at me nearly every evening when the feeder goes off near sundown. They are way too wary to take a hook with something tempting and delicious.

The main thing with catfish is to keep them under control. Never over populate them in a pond! Even adding 20 per year, in an acre pond, can be a problem. That is why I've got my newest group in a cage.

My thoughts exactly. There will always be a few hold-outs that you won't catch. They become the problem -- but, if you eventually catch them, they sure make great food for a pretty good party.

If not clear as cats get bigger it will be competetion for bass. However when they get huge I feel a few help keep small bass in check. Seen it a few times help reduce bass recuirtment. But I mean over 25 lbs or so. Sounds like you need to start having some fish frys.