Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations LMB Growth??

This time of year, when it has been cold but then you get a spell of sunny warmer days the shallows heat up fairly quickly. So it is not uncommon for the fish to get pretty shallow to be in that warmer water. And as esshup said, fish will often maintain their condition and most likely relate you to food opportunities.

What is your water temp. Spawn has started in some places. When warming starts so does metabolism and the urge to eat. Warm water is the place to do that at this time of year.

Yeah right now mucky shallow bottoms in the south around 5 or 6 feet deep can be gold minds for LMB!!

RC

Well this makes me feel better.. I think I found what they are eating, there are hundreds of little frogs around the pond. The bass are eating them up as fast as they fall in.

A few years back I had a group of 4 female LMB cruise around the pond all summer long 4-10' from shore looking for a meal. Often one would charge towards the shore for an unaware BG, if she missed & the BGs tried to escape to deeper water; there were 3 other big mouths waiting.

Okay so after reading items on the forum and online from other sites I'm beginning to think the flatheads have got to be my problem.

How do I catch them and not the other channel cats. I have only caught two and they were within 15m from each other. They were both monsters though.

Im wondering whoever stocked the pond how many flatheads they put in and if they spawn...

It sounds like flatheads can eat a pond clean!

They can. Try larger live bait, too large for the CC to eat. But, if the CC you are catching are over 3#, then they are eating live fish too. They are cheap to restock in 10"-12" sizes.

IMO It doesn't matter what type of CC it is they all get big and they will eat anything. Specially flatheads! There like fresh water sharks. If they are hungry they'll eat it!

Being here in Arkansas a LOT of folks here like CC and they ask me all the time do I have any in my pond? When I say nope there all like why not?? Why not so I don't have to go through what your going through now.

What you put in your pond is SOOOOOOOOOO critical 1 wrong move and it can mess up everything you tring to do for a long, long time!!

RC

I really want to get them out now. I have milk jugs up around the pond and pulling out at least two cats a night, when i bait the lines. I guess I need to catch maybe some 4 in bluegill and rig them up to try to get some flatheads.What if the blue gill dies on the hook, do you still think they will eat it or will I need to keep them fresh?

I haven't even seen the 10 albino CC's I stocked when I bought the place... Why didn't I read the forum before I went crazy with Cats haha !!

Flatheads prefer live bait. Guys that I know that fish in the river here for catfish like using GSF for bait, they say they live longer on the hook.

I've caught a number of CC on a 3/4" to 1" piece of hotdog on a hook. Even after it's been in the pond for a few days on the hook.

Hotdogs have been a guaranteed CC caught for past couple days. My wife got mad because I used all the good hotdogs??? Is that possible!! Ha

BH are my favorite bait for FHC - they stay alive much longer than other baits I've used. Think juglines and circle hooks - size hooks according to the size of BH you will use for bait. A 8-10" BH struggling against a jug is hard to resist for FHC.

Here is a pic of my nephews and I with a couple Cats. Can you confirm that this is a FHC. I had never seen one before and don't know the difference between one of these and a bullhead?

http://s1028.photobucket.com/user/johnstier/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps9dd8ad11.jpg.html

Looks like a flathead on left (your right hand) and a Channel on right..

I love catfish nuggets and there are not better tasting catfish IMHO than Flatheads...We are just now the last couple of years seeing them in our local river..They have been moving up stream for the last several years.. I still throw them all back unless they are deep hooked..

How do you make the nuggets? Just cut up the fillets? And what bait do you use?

Yep, Just fillet and chunk up in small enough pieces they fry up quick...

As for bait, I use live minnows/small bass/bluegill and crawfish usually...We run a lot of bank poles in the spring when the river is cleaner and temps are warming... As I have mentioned here before about running bank poles in ponds, you have a chance of catching your trophy LMB and killing them...So not a set it and forget it thing like in the river...

So if you have a night that you just want to have a fire and hang around the pond until sun up... Get on it, you have a nice mess for a fish fry...

Since both of those catfish are roughly the same length, take a look at the difference in mouth gape (size). That's why Flatheads are worse in a pond for eating fish than CC. Lusk has found 3# LMB in a Flathead stomach in a pond.......

This is on FHs from a prior thread..

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.

Yeah what Eric said!! Flatheads can eat EVERYTHING!!!! There fricken garbage disposals. They do taste good however. But if you want catfish that needs to be your only real goal for that pond then. Eveything else is just dead meat!!

RC

YIKES!! Well my bass sound like they have been just snacks for the flatheads!This would explain the marks on my LMB!! I always thought they were just fighting with each other but a few 10-13in bass I have been catching look like they have been almost eaten!! No more catfish! After this Monsoon blows over in Southern IN I will start hitting the CATFISH hard. Do you think I will be able to catch them all? Do flatheads reproduce in ponds, what I read was no. I have a very deep pond with limited shallow areas. All this catfish talk is making me hungry. I will keep you all updated with pics and numbers of cats I pull out.

My pond is very murky from all this rain we have been having. I trenched a line down to the pond for electric last fall and no grass yet. So all the mud is washing into the pond. Will that hurt my catfishing chances?

Thanks for info !!
John

No catfish don't care if the water is muddy or not they will still eat. they don't see very well anyway that's why they have those whiskers to help them locate prey.

Just catch um baby catch um!!

RC

Flatheads are cavity spawners. They a cavity to make their nest in. 55 gallon barrel with the end cut out, etc.

I am not aware of any pond or even small lake that has a reproducing population. The smallest I've heard of is 40 acres and has a rather large feeder creek.

CJB I'm guessing your talking about FH not catfish in general..