Bass--
There are good points and bad points to most everything, especially in ponds.
Your stocking plan is a good one. The bluegill and redear sunfish will get a chance to get adjusted, and will probably spawn next year -- but it is possible they could still spawn this year. The FHM will start to spawn almost immediately. They should be densely populating your pond before winter sets in. In any case, your bass should have a good forage base when they are added next year.
I just recently read, either here on the forum, or in Pond Boss Magazine, about how many of each type of fish, and how many pounds of each type of fish, a pond can support. Catfish numbers are pretty high on that list compared to large mouth bass.
I'm sure the old timer Pond Boss members are tired of hearing that I have a love-hate relationship with channel cats. They are inexpensive. They are very hardy. They grow extremely fast, especially when fed. They are fun to catch. They are great eating, and can substitute for many other kinds of fish, especially saltwater species.
I just added about another twenty-five 5-8 inch CC to my 1/3 acre put-and-take pond this morning, along with another 150 hybrid bluegill. This pond is a little over a year old and was stocked with 100 hybrid bluegill, 25 channel catfish, 50 red ear, two koi, and two pounds of fatheads at this time last year. I added the fish about two weeks after this pond reached full pool, which was about a month after we built it. Based on their present sizes, and based on how much food they eat, we (grandkids, relatives, and neighbors with fishing rods) expect to begin harvesting hybrid bluegill and channel cats before Labor Day this year.
My original 0.7 acre pond will no longer be stocked with any catfish. It will become a bass/bluegill/redear pond -- although it does have our monstrous friend "Koi George", two torpedo size grass carp, and a small number of black crappie. Over the last couple of weeks, I also discovered that the RES and BG have apparently been co-mingling, as I now have quite a few extremely aggressive 6-7 inch BG/RES hybrids that are taking a lot of feed, growing like crazy, and attacking worm-baited hooks as soon as they hit the water.
Channel cats must be managed closely. If they are ignored, they will grow into monstrous pests that will dig caves in the sides of your pond. They will suck feed pellets like industrial vacuum cleaners. They become top-line predators as they get bigger (at about 18 inches), and will eat your smaller-to-medium size fish. They may also muddy your pond as they dig around the bottom.
Other than that, what can I say?
Caveat Emptor,
Ken
