Feed training bluegill and Channel Cats - 06/07/13 05:27 AM
Hello,
I am a newly registered user on this site. First off, FANTASTIC website with a wealth of information.
For a little background....
I recently stocked my 1/2 acre pond with 50 channel cats ranging from anywhere between 5-9 inches. This pond was origianlly stocked with catfish when the property was originally purchased. My family fed the cats 3 times a week and needles to say, the cats got huge! Long story short, the cats were all taken out because certain members of the family wanted to turn it into a bass pond. It worked well but now I am the one putting money into the pond and I would like to focus my energy and resources on turning it into a great bluegill and catfish fishery. I would appreciate it if my question, at the end of this post, will be answered by assuming that the majority of my catfish have survived predation. Many of them are much too big for any LG to eat.
My plan of action is to harvest the catfish once they reach several pounds and continually restock the pond. I WOULD like to institute a feeding program. The same program that worked wonders when we originally fed. All the stories on this forum of the fish going crazy when they feel vibrations on the day of feeding, well, that was certainly the case with our pond. Before, everytime I drove the 4wheeler down to the pond the water at the end of the dock to the middle of the pond was churning with hungry cats and bluegill.
As of right now, the bluegill have very very little itnerest in the feed. Most spit the feed out, while some eat only a few pellets. I have seen no catfish come to the surface to feed. It will be two months on June 22nd since I stocked my catfish.
I live in Virginia, the water temp is right, and the feed is not old. Apologies for the long post but HERE IS MY QUESTION. Has anyone had success with buying larger bluegill, say in the 5-9 inch range, from a hatchery in order to train the existing bluegill in a pond that the feed is actually food? I have read that for some people this has been a very successful route. Perhaps the same question could be asked for buying larger catfish from a hatchery? If I plan on going this route, I will be purchasing these larger bluegill and cats from Zetsts fish hatchery. With that said, does anyone have any reviews on Zetts.
Once again, sorry for the long post and I look forward to reading some answers from all you experienced Boss Pond Forum Pros!
I am a newly registered user on this site. First off, FANTASTIC website with a wealth of information.
For a little background....
I recently stocked my 1/2 acre pond with 50 channel cats ranging from anywhere between 5-9 inches. This pond was origianlly stocked with catfish when the property was originally purchased. My family fed the cats 3 times a week and needles to say, the cats got huge! Long story short, the cats were all taken out because certain members of the family wanted to turn it into a bass pond. It worked well but now I am the one putting money into the pond and I would like to focus my energy and resources on turning it into a great bluegill and catfish fishery. I would appreciate it if my question, at the end of this post, will be answered by assuming that the majority of my catfish have survived predation. Many of them are much too big for any LG to eat.
My plan of action is to harvest the catfish once they reach several pounds and continually restock the pond. I WOULD like to institute a feeding program. The same program that worked wonders when we originally fed. All the stories on this forum of the fish going crazy when they feel vibrations on the day of feeding, well, that was certainly the case with our pond. Before, everytime I drove the 4wheeler down to the pond the water at the end of the dock to the middle of the pond was churning with hungry cats and bluegill.
As of right now, the bluegill have very very little itnerest in the feed. Most spit the feed out, while some eat only a few pellets. I have seen no catfish come to the surface to feed. It will be two months on June 22nd since I stocked my catfish.
I live in Virginia, the water temp is right, and the feed is not old. Apologies for the long post but HERE IS MY QUESTION. Has anyone had success with buying larger bluegill, say in the 5-9 inch range, from a hatchery in order to train the existing bluegill in a pond that the feed is actually food? I have read that for some people this has been a very successful route. Perhaps the same question could be asked for buying larger catfish from a hatchery? If I plan on going this route, I will be purchasing these larger bluegill and cats from Zetsts fish hatchery. With that said, does anyone have any reviews on Zetts.
Once again, sorry for the long post and I look forward to reading some answers from all you experienced Boss Pond Forum Pros!