Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Corrective stocking Adding flathead catfish for trophy bass

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?

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

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.

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...

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...

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!!

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.

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.