Pond Boss Forums PHOTO GALLERY Image Gallery 20 year old catfish?

The last time the pond was stocked was 20+ years ago. I drained it down and there were two CCs this size. None of any other size so I don't think they've ever spawned and have to be originals.

Cool pic, Nathan. I absolutely love that look on your daughter's face! One of those "I'm not so sure I'm having fun holding this gross thing, but in a way it's sort of exciting" looks that I've seen on my own kids' faces any time they've had to hold a fish or some other cool creature!

Great picture!

I wonder if that could be one of your original stockers from more than 20 years ago. Without more background, I'd guess it was not.

I'm sure you've mentioned it before, but what other fish were in the pond if any?

Without knowing how tall your daugher is, I'm guessing the cat was 30 to 36"???

The pond only had BG, Gambusia minnows, and the two CCs (plus some snakes and turtles) when I drained it. I weighed the catfish but didn't measure it unfortunately. It was 9.2 lbs. I just now measured from just below my daughter's shoulder to her knee (based on the pic) and it's 27".

I don't know a lot about the pond except that my grandfather stocked it with CC (maybe 30 years ago). My uncle says that before that it had LMB. They used rotenone to kill everything because he wanted to have it just as a CC pond. When he took us fishing there as kids we used live BG for bait, so I'm sure that's how they got in. The Gambusias will get into any pond in this area from what I hear. We used to occasionally catch some kind of 3-5" fish that was silvery colored. Maybe a shiner or a carp? I didn't find any of them when I drained it this time though.

So you think it's possible the CCs spawned at one point in this pond?

What other background would help you know if it was an original stocker or a product of spawning in the pond? I can see if my grandmother remembers anything else about the pond.

It is possibly the CC spawned. Without predation from bass, the odds of them having successful recruitment is much higher. There is an albino CC that was stocked in 1993 into my dad's friend pond that is still alive today. That's 17 years... So, I could see 20 being possible.

It's had a rough life.

Rough life indeed. Two ten pounders that may have been the only ones in the pond for many years. My brother says the second one committed suicide because it couldn't face life after the first one died.

Here's a link that suggests that a CC lifespan of 20+ years is possible.

http://www.dnr.state.md.us/bay/cblife/fish/channel_catfish.html

Sure don't look 20 years old. Unless it is some long term starving stunted fish. Head looks way to small, and boy is it skinny. Rough life indeed. Is it an eel with whiskers?

We've got channel catfish that were stocked in low-productivity ponds seven years ago that are just reaching two pounds now. They're lean'n'mean.

Their starving and being mistreated. I'm certain PETA would have an army picketing your pond if they knew about this.

LOL!

Good stuff. That catfish only had one eye. Just skin over the place where the other eye should have been. Maybe that's why it was so skinny....couldn't see well enough to catch a meal. The only times we saw it before it died it was grazing on algae on the surface.

There were bluegill everywhere in that pond before I drained it. So it wasn't for lack of availability that it was skinny.

Hopefully the new CCs that I put in in the Fall won't be like this one. I plan to feed them.

That was my original thought that the CC was way to skinny and small to be 20 years old. I then wondered if perhaps it had nothing to eat for all those years.

My final consideration was if a CC was more prone to reach 20 years of age in the hot Texas weather vs. somewhere up north.

Starving, suffering from malnutrition, and one eye. Did you have it mounted? I swear I have a stunted lmb mounted. Has the head of a 8 lb, body of a 5 lb. Just long term lack of forage, had both eyes though. Taxidermist laughed, he usually has a cast for every weight there is, he had to make a new one for my freak of the week. Came out pretty cool though.

You have a pic of your freak of the week?