Thanks for the response Todd, I was hoping you'd respond as you seem to be the hatchery with the most experience with BC on this board. I can't even imagine a fish of 50 lbs in a pond. Wow.
Presently I'm feeding my Channel Cats (CC) about 50 lbs a week of Game Fish Chow. I've fed them close to 500 lbs of food already this year so I'm assuming I've gained 200 plus lbs of channel catfish biomass. After not being fed for years they have certainly jumped in size with some up around 10-12lbs I believe, but the average seems to be below 2 lbs. My carp (CGC) do show up to feed on occasion but not frequently enough that I carry a gun to shoot them.
Goals: (obviously fluid and open to suggestion) (1) Ultimately I'd like to transform the water quality of the pond without the use of rotenone IF that is possible. If that can't be done, I'd like to enjoy a decade or so of a trophy catfishery. (2) Have Fun by trying something new and trying to learn something for myself and the Pond Boss community. (3) Have Bruce and/or TJ fearing for their lives as their float tube is being pulled under by a 30 pound blue cat.
Short Term Plan: This fall, TJ has sourced 200 Blue Cats for me. I'm thinking now I may have to discuss with him upping that order as it doesn't seem enough BC to control CGC in a 20 acre BOW. Although after this year I plan to implement a ladder stocking of Blue Cats and/or Hybrid Cats. Possibly on an alternating basis. I'm doing the Hybrid stocking more out of curiosity than anything. There are no particular objectives in that regard other than observing the difference between them and BC. And taking advantage of their apex predator status. I'd also like to add FHC as I can find them. Probably from local fisherman pulling them from rivers. As stated before I don't think I can source them in the numbers needed to control CGC though. So I will enlist the help of BC and Hybrids.
Mid/Long Term Plan: I'm also planning on building a grow out pond or 2 this fall in which I hope to grow out stocking size BG, crappie, LMB and possibly HBG. My plan is to transfer them into the pond as I transfer CGC out of the pond. The removal of CGC from the pond is a two fold plan. Obviously I plan to use the BC, but I also plan to implement a fyke/hoop net removal system. For the first few years I plan to keep the CGC, dice them up and transfer their biomass into BC biomass. I will journal the number of CGC caught per netting and once my numbers have been reduced to my satisfaction, I will begin to remove the smaller channel catfish as well and transfer their biomass into the BC biomass via dicing them up and throwing into the pond. IF I can attain the goals of having large BC controlling my carp I hope to slowly begin to remove them and let the numbers of BG, LMB and crappie replace their biomass.
What I hope to learn: Number one is that I have boys that are now 3 and 4 years old. I hope I can use this experience to teach them the love of the outdoors and a bit of freshwater biology over the next decade and a half. I realize there is going to be a lot of sweat equity involved and I want them to be a part of it. Along the way I want to study the impact of CGC removal on water clarity and vegetative growth. I will also record mouth gape measurements/ weight/ length of all the CC, BC and Hyrbids caught along the way. I also plan to chart the impact of water clarity on BG, LMB and crappie relative weights. When my BC arrive I plan to begin a thread archiving all of this info and hope to make this a Pond Boss learning experience.
Any suggestion or advice from anyone on this board is greatly appreciated as I begin this journey. And yes, I do want to find a transportation method to get your D&B strain up here. Hopefully as soon as next year. Maybe this thread will get enough locals interested we could have a large haul.
Last edited by NEDOC; 08/26/15 10:17 AM.
