Bill; expect survival to be low. Small fish in existing fish populations tend to be eaten. But, if 10% survive, you will have 30 catfish you didn't have before.
The philosophy of giving away fish has been a hot political item before.
Texas came to the conclusion that tax dollars should not be allocated to a small segment of the public. In other words, only landowners with ponds got fish. That left out many others.
Of course, since I am in the fisheries business, I find it a conflict of interest trying to compete in a marketplace where I have to pay to exist in my business, and also to pay taxes so my competitors can exist.
Personally, I think the state of Texas made a solid decision back in 1980, to stop providing free fish.
That decision has made better consumers out of pond owners, too.
In the old days, stock a pond for free, let it mature, enjoy it for a few years, then when it began to decline, heck with managing it. Kill the fish, and get more free fish.
Now, pondmeisters take care of ponds and fish. This site is a testimony to that fact.
While some states still "give" away fish, you will see the level of management is way behind the rest of the country.
You get what you pay for.
