My family eats a good amount of fish, and all our friends eat fish. Plus, I have a ton of business contacts and their kids that would love to fish it as well. I don't think it's unreasonable to pull 300 fish out per year in the 1-2lb range. My thought is that I might as well start with the max fish load, and then if we're not fishing it as much, just reduce my stocking rate. The other stuff that I have read on previous threads is that catfish become difficult to catch on rod and reel after being caught. so, when you catch them, it's probably best to just pull them out. We may start fishing in the fall, once the fish have put on some weight and are worth pulling out. Then re-stock the appropriate number of fish in the spring and put a pause on fishing until those fish are of good size. This prevents someone from catching a small catfish and wanting to toss it back. After the second year, it sounds like that would be a good time to draw down the pond and net it to ensure that none of the big catfish are still lurking in there.
