Blue Catfish & Flathead Catfish Diet - 09/09/20 08:19 PM
I came across a new study (From 2019) that examined the diets of Blue Catfish and Flathead Catfish from Lake Ellsworth in Oklahoma, and I thought the catfish enthusiasts on here might find it useful or interesting. Here is a picture of their results. I enlarged it a little bit because it was really small and hard to read, but in doing so, distorted some of the text.
Lots of interesting data here. I knew big cats ate Crappie, but I didn't know to what extent. To see that 84.68% of the Blue Catfish's diet (by weight) was Shad and Crappie, really affirms my decision to make those my primary forage for my BC pond. Another interesting data point was the lack of Sunfish in their diets, as Bluegill are a common bait used for both BC and FHC. It's also interesting to see that Blue Cats ate their own kind, as well as Channel Catfish, while the Flatheads didn't.
HERE is the entire study if anyone wants to check it out (pdf format).
Lots of interesting data here. I knew big cats ate Crappie, but I didn't know to what extent. To see that 84.68% of the Blue Catfish's diet (by weight) was Shad and Crappie, really affirms my decision to make those my primary forage for my BC pond. Another interesting data point was the lack of Sunfish in their diets, as Bluegill are a common bait used for both BC and FHC. It's also interesting to see that Blue Cats ate their own kind, as well as Channel Catfish, while the Flatheads didn't.
HERE is the entire study if anyone wants to check it out (pdf format).