Chase -- I know it takes a while to grow cats, but . . .
Do you have a feeding program? I find that my catfish grow faster than I really like. I feed twice a day for all but December through March. In the cool months it is for the trout. But by this time of year, the bluegill and catfish are feeding heavily. The channel cats grow faster than I really like. A 10-12 inch catfish stocked in my pond in June will be 18-20 inches by the end of September.
Do you have a pond you could use as a grow-out pond? It might take several years to get there, but I think you could maintain a pretty stable supply of cats over 20 lbs., with feeding and aeration.
I try real hard not to let mine get to this size:
In the mean time, I like Todd's idea of getting together with Travis (CJBS). You might also check with some of the outfitters on the James River, down in the Richmond area. Every year they pull out large numbers of real monsters.
Ken
