Hi there, I'm a longtime member of the forum with a new account.

I know that LMB are super popular, but I happen to love catfish ponds. Catfish are predators so they'll eat anything that LMB will eat. Follow the same rules as you would for an overpopulated LMB pond and you won't go wrong. Overpopulated LMB is probably the most common pond management issue so there is plenty of info already out there, but I'll attempt a synopsis anyway:

1. Take care of overpopulated predators and any water quality/fertility issues BEFORE stocking forage fish.
2. Common Bluegill are the all-around best forage fish because they thrive and spawn prolifically in wide variety of conditions (plus they are fun to catch and great to eat).
3. Minnows may be added to a new pond with no predators yet, but won't last long when stocked into an established sport fish population.


Some additional considerations for catfish:

1. Unlike LMB, you can fatten them up with feed pellets readily available at your local feed store.
2. Feeding them is fun. Just don't throw in more food than they will eat as that's bad for the water quality.
3. They won't spawn well. Which is good because they wont overpopulate on their own like LMB often do. On a small pond it's pretty cheap to just restock them every few years.

-Scott


Last edited by Scott E; 07/09/19 12:41 PM.