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Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 10
Fingerling
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Fingerling
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 10 |
The goal for my 6 acre pond is to grow trophy bass. What do you guys think about putting a flathead catfish in it, maybe just 1 big one, to help me keep the bass numbers down?
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Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 21,536 Likes: 279
Moderator Hall of Fame 2014 Lunker
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Moderator Hall of Fame 2014 Lunker
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 21,536 Likes: 279 |
It will grow and eat everything in the pond. As it gets bigger it will target bigger prey and item # 1 will be big LMB and BG.
From a prior thread
Here you go.
North American Journal of Fisheries Management Article: pp. 198–202
Gape:Body Size Relationship of Flathead Catfish Joe E. Slaughter IVa,,1 and Brad Jacobsonb a) Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division, 2065 U.S. Highway 278 SE, Social Circle, Georgia 30025, USA b) Arizona Game and Fish Department, Region IV, 9140 East 28th Street, Yuma, Arizona 85365, USA
Abstract.
The flathead catfish Pylodictis olivaris is a highly piscivorous ictalurid native to central North America whose range has been extended throughout much of the United States. With this range expansion, many populations of native fishes have experienced declines in the number of individuals due to direct predation by flathead catfish. Previous evidence suggests that flathead catfish are opportunistic feeders and may be the least gape limited of North American freshwater piscivores. To better understand the size of prey vulnerable to flathead catfish, we measured gape dimensions for individuals of various sizes to determine the maximum size prey a flathead catfish can kill based on its gape limitations. Our results show the relationship of total length to horizontal and vertical gape and the relationship of flathead catfish total length to the total lengths of ingestible-sized prey of different body shapes. Furthermore, comparisons of the body depth of three common fish species to the gape dimensions showed that no size of largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides, bluegill Lepomis macrochirus, or gizzard shad Dorosoma cepedianum would preclude predation by flathead catfish. Our results support the assumption that the flathead catfish is one of the least gape-limited piscivores.
Received: January 31, 2006; Accepted: May 4, 2007; Published Online: February 11, 2008
DOI: 10.1577/M06-033.1 North American Journal of Fisheries Management 2008;28:198–202
Last edited by ewest; 03/29/11 07:59 PM.
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Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 10,458 Likes: 2
Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame Lunker
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame Lunker
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 10,458 Likes: 2 |
Big LMB are pretty darn good at eating their own. 6 acres is a lot of work, but you really have to do the work yourself. Fishing, trapping, electroshocking can all be utilized... Relying on other species of fish is iffy. They will eat what they want to eat, not what you want them to eat. It's the same for pike, musky, blue cats or flatheads or any other high end predator... In studies I have seen on flathead catfish diets, I rarely see LMB being high in their stomach contents. Sunfish species, bullheads and shad are high on the list.
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Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 1,027
Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 1,027 |
There is a guy here who use bluecat I am told to help him cull his bass numbers..He is grow HUGE bass to here of it...But the blue cats mouths are MUCH smaller than a flatheads mouth...
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Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 1,027
Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 1,027 |
There is a guy here who use bluecat I am told to help him cull his bass numbers..He is grow HUGE bass to here of it...But the blue cats mouths are MUCH smaller than a flatheads mouth...
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Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 10,458 Likes: 2
Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame Lunker
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame Lunker
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I wouldn't rely on blue cats to cull your LMB. They are good predators, but IMO not that good...
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Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 1,027
Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: Nov 2002
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I wouldn't rely on blue cats to cull your LMB. They are good predators, but IMO not that good... You don't??? You need to ask Bob Lusk when he managed a bass lake with good sized blue cat...thats all they had in their stomachs was bass...He said that one of the bigger cats had a 5 lb bass he had eaten!!
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Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 10,458 Likes: 2
Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame Lunker
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame Lunker
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If that is all there is to eat, I am sure they'll eat them. I'd love to see this pond where blue cats were used to control LMB.
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Joined: May 2003
Posts: 951 Likes: 39
Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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I had a friend who added a bunch of flatheads to several of his ponds about 8 years ago with the goal of getting bigger bluegill and bass. I'm really curious how it worked out; but we're not in contact anymore.
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