Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Creating habitat Pond is coming along

RAH, I wouldn't depend on forage in a catfish pond. Why don't you just feed the catfish pellets? At about $18 a bag, it's the least expensive option. I think longears depend on stream conditions to spawn. Catfish cannot eat enough BG or crappie to keep up with the prolific spawns in ponds. The only natural forage I have found in my CC stomachs has been crawdads.

My enjoyment comes from developing and managing the food chain. If my goal is large blue catfish, does it matter if the catfish cannot keep up with the forage spawn? If the forage overpopulate, would adding another predator to the mix be an option? What about redear as forage and a bonus "catchable" fish species that is less prone to overpopulate? I am thinking that redear could not do much harm in the mix.

From what I have learned from research and on here, ponds only hold certain amounts of biomass. When the smaller fish overpopulate, and you have a few days of unfavorable weather, you can have a fish kill. The smaller fish will survive, and the larger ones will die, including your catfish. The forage base needs to be controlled.

From everything I've been reading,it sounds like adding some HSB might work for you since they won't reproduce.

Or maybe heavy fishing?