I'm starting my pond soon, and in Iowa the DNR helps pond owners stock their new ponds. Their tried and true stocking suggestion in our region is largemouth, bluegills, and channel catfish. Most any other species in our area can either potentially be a problem (like crappies) or just a novelty that won't thrive (like walleyes or smallies). I really want to manage my pond for trophy LM and BG, and don't really care one way or the other about catfish. The DNR person I talked to didn't think catfish were a detriment or a benefit to the LM or BG until they reach large size. I will stock the pond with FH minnows, so my thinking was no cats means more minnows for the LM and larger BG. The flip side I suppose is that I'll have to serve as the predator for the bass, which will be hard for a C&R guy, but I suppose I can get over that for the bigger cause. What do all of you experts think on the issue of catfish or another 2nd predator for that matter?
