Trider,
A search here for catfish or channel catfish or CC will give you more information than you everwanted to know about them. They are bottom feeders in that they feed on usually living things near the bottom. They will eat preferably fresh dead or dying critters lying easy prey on or near the bottom. Catfish do not eat bottom materials such as dead leaves, muck, and such.
In some instances catfish have been observed to at night come up 30-60 ft off the deep bottom in lakes to feed (catch fish) in open water, so much for bottom feeders. Those fish did not read the book of proper ways for catfish to feed.
I reccommend them for ponds only if you plan to catch and eat them. When large (10-18 lbs) they are a top line predator in ponds and lakes. Once catfish are 16+" they prefer to eat fish and animal items.
You ask, "So I am looking at catching blue gills out of other lakes and putting any amount of them in the pond at any time? If I add any females the fish will reproduce out of control?"
Yes and No. It all depends.
Yes. Most likely you will have to get your male bluegill from ponds or lakes. We explain all that in the articles mentioned above. I suggest you stop by one or several of your neighbor's ponds near your soon to be built pond. Most every pond has BG in it. Ask the owner if you can fish and BUY some of the BG from him. He would be a fool to say no. Most everyone has too many BG. If the 1st owner says no, try again at a different pond. You will soon find a wise pondowner.
The adult male BG are worth $3-$4 ea from the hatchery and $0.50 1.00 ea from a pond setting. Price difference is you are doing all the work of collecting, sorting, holding and transporting. Next, you have to become proficient at accurately selecting males. The articles tell you how to do this. Best time to do this is when BG are spawning (June) and in "full color".
This "male bluegill thing" is evidently Advanced Pond Management. Many forum mumbers are hesitant to do this due to their difficulty in separating males from females. I am learning that many do not find this an easy task, compared to the author's ability. We must have an advanced experience fish selection eyes because I have never found a pond where I cannot select males year round using our methods described in the articles. If you have any doubts about male or female status pitch the fish back into the collection pond. Never put a "doubtful BG" into an all male BG pond. That could be your one mistake that causes the project to flunk.
Only hold and transport 2-3 fish per five gallon bucket so they do not get stressed and die before you get them home. Move only 8-12 fish per time. Do not hold fish in a bucket with out exchanging most of the water for each 20-30 min period.
No. It is not about putting any (BG) amount in your pond. Remember you do not need lots of male BG in your small pond if perch and SMB are present; usually no more that 20-50 added over a 3-5 yr period is enough for most everyone's needs. Remember you plan to have a YP-SMB pond. BG will be an occassional bonus fish. If you want more BG than 50 in a 1/2 acre pond then raise regular reproducing BG.
Yes. You can add male BG any time you have an opportunity to get them. But for novices to identify them it is usually best done in June. Sometimes it can be fun to go with the boys to the neighbors and just fish for some BG for restocking instead of constantly overfishing your pond producing hook smart fish. Research, hook smart or hook shy on our forum.
YES. Making a mistake and adding one female, then you flunk the male BG project. Females, in this case, ruin the single sex party.
Yes - No. Adding one or a few females may or may not cause out of control reproduction. It all depends on several if not numerous very important factors on how the pond is managed, its structure/design, and what fish are in the pond.
Last edited by Bill Cody; 12/18/07 07:31 PM.
