Pond Boss Forums Thread Like Summary - Winter Pond Catfishing question

I live in Central Missouri and stocked 100 channel catfish (about 6 to 8in.) in my renovated 2 1/2 pond last Spring. As of Sept/Oct they had grown to around 17 inches and I harvested a few. I then stocked another 100 that same original stocking size as I plan to begin harvesting as soon as I can catch them. As I take more out, I'll likely put another 100 in.

Does anyone have any advice as to how I may catch them during the winter when ice isn't present on the surface?

I fed them through last summer to help jump start the growth. The day I did catch a mess of them, I smashed feed into cloth and used that on the hook. Yesterday I caught a couple dozen bluegill, filleted them, tossed out pieces and used small pieces on a hook hoping to catch catfish. I floated the bait about 6 feet under a bobber in about 8 feet of water off the end of my dock. The deepest part of my pond is around 15 ft. I also have two diffusers pulled up alongside the front end of my dock, close to shore. It was a very windy and somewhat chilly upper 50 degrees. I didn't get a bite from a cat.

Does anyone have any experience catching pond catfish during the winter? If you do, any tips you're willing to share? I guess one tip would be to wait until it warms up when it will be easier but I do enjoy trying to catch on a decent weather winter weekend day.

Google Stubby Steve's BAIT , I also live in Central Missouri and have been feeding Purina MVP since last June and still feed every day even this winter as I had Rainbow Trout stocked in November , i did miss about a week when the pond froze over recently but as soon as the ice was off the pond i went back to feeding , I was able to find this Stubby Steve's online and its a direct replica ( rubber little brown ball ) of Purina MVP and If you ever wondered if your BG , BASS and catfish feed in the winter , i can assure they feed and readily can be caught under a bobber 3-5 feet deep ( at my pond anyway ) . I am amazed really at how FAT and healthy all my fish are even here in the middle of winter here in the Midwest and had no problem educating some fish even when the temps are in the freezing range , i think the consistent feeding for me was the key to keeping them coming , it was by accident that i learned what was actually feeding as at first I thought it was the Trout and although they ARE sure feeding the by product turned out that all the fish i fed in the summer never stopped feeding for the most part

One thing that will really open your eyes to the fish movement under the ice is to use a "fish finder" in the ice hole. You can save some $$ by buying a used one on the secondary market. There are a lot of guys that have to have the "latest and greatest" and their used equipment can be had for a steep discount. They are sensitive enough to see your bait and you can drop the bait to the level of the fish that you see on the screen.

i.e. if the fish are suspended 4' above the bottom, dropping the bait to the bottom will get you 0 bites.

I don't have any direct experience on catching cats in the winter, but I think you're on the right track with chumming the area you're going to fish at.

You could also try scenting the bluegill chunks with some attractant.

If you buy cheap hot dogs and cut them into pieces and feed when you get a chance they will get used to the sound and smell then all you have to do is throw a few pieces out then put a hook in one no weight and throw it out and you will probably get what you need

Misery blue cats bite all winter long. Never tried catching channel cats during winter.

Chumming the hole is a good play. Definitely worth a try.

Chumming will surely work once the water warms up but I'm not so sure about right now. Also, these cats may not be used to fish scraps as I fed them food pellets all last Summer up until the Fall cool down. I am hoping they will go for the fish though because I won't have to worry about the bluegill pestering my bait while I wait for a catfish to come around to it.

When I did fish for the catfish and catch them, I threw out some fish food and used some of it on a hook suspended from a bobber. One interesting thing about that day was that the fish weren't coming up for the floating food I threw out there. I always feed them at dusk so maybe they were skittish to rising during the sunny day. I did catch them with bait under the surface so maybe the food attracted them close to the dock or maybe they just hang out around there to be close for when feeding time comes.

My friend clowned on me for not being sporty but I told her it was about getting fish to eat, not so much about the challenge. When I grab eggs out of the bird hutches, I don't turn it into a challenge or a sport, lol. My fish are in that lake to harvest and eat first and foremost.

I dont have as much experience of catching winter time Channel cats in a pond but catch hundreds of them in the river in the winter time, they will be really sluggish and slow and on the bottom, doubt that you will have much luck on a bobber, In my pond, even in the fall when they were eating feed, I would catch a few around the feeder but mostly by fishing the bottom. in a pond there will be a therm o cline or in other words, warmer water at deeper depths, thats where they like to hang out. even on a river with moving water they will congregate in the deeper holes. on stink bait, the worse the better, rotten chicken livers or rotten cut carp.

When I had channel cats, I caught them on hard baits (artificial lures). They are predators. In the Winter, they must be worked very slowly.