Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Trout/Catfish

Good Day to All. I do have a question. I just completed building my new pond this spring. 1/3 acre earthen pond, lined with plastic, Kasco aerator as well as a 1/3 horse diffuser, use both depending on water temp. The pond has 8" of good top soil on the liner. The max depth is 9' with the average probbly 5 ft. Fill it with 40gal/minute submiserable. I run the pump during the warm months of July and the 1st two weeks of August to keep the water temp cooler for my Scandinavian (sp) Cutthroat trout. I live in Western Nebr so we have very cold and very hot weather. I feed the trout ocassionaly however they do not eat very good as I put in 3000 fatheads and let them spawn before I put in the trout and man do i have a huge natual forage base.
I have 160 trout and 150 catfish in the pond, as i said feed is plentiful. I can catch all the nice 1/2 to 2 lb trout i want, however, for the life of me cannot catch the Cats. I have tried everything that i caught them with for years in natural waters and still nothing. No deads, Never see any on the sides. Is there just so much natural feed that they care not to bite, or are the trout to agressive and even if they don't want the bait stand off the cats so they cannot take the bait? Driving me crazy, any suggestions. By the way the Trout/Catfish was a reccomendation from a local fishery. He wasn't totally high on it but said i would be fine.

Thanks if Advance.

jdm

Scandanavian Cutthroat? Could you expound on that? I'm familiar with a cutthroat but never heard of a "Scandanavian cutthroat." How could a fish that is native to the western U.S. get such a name?

As far as your catfish, if the trout are doing well the cats are not in their optimum temperature range for normal activity. It's too cold for really active cats.

How big were they when you put them in? They may have been stressed out and died on you without you knowing it. Fish don't always float to the surface after they die, the ones that do can get carried off by scavengers long before you awaken. But then again it could be they are well fed and aren't receptive.

Cecil, You are my hero!! I read all your responses on Aquaculture.Com! You are so well respected on Aquaculture. Since then you for the most part moved here. OK-here is my sales invoice: 100 10"-14" Scan Steelhead Rainbows, and 50, 6" to 9" Tasmanian Rainbows. 4lbs of Agua 5 Enzymes, and I bought some feed. This guy regularily sells only trophy fish to the fish ranches in Colo at a big pop per fish. I know corporations that take people to fish at the ranch, so it it for real. He doesn't raise but the hign end fish, Period!!! Tolerate temps to 68, then stress bad. I had this happen to my fish and reworked an areator. Since no dead fish. I would see dead catfish easily as i go out daily and i 100% know they didn't die! Do you think that they are satisified, or they will not fight a trout for the bait? This guy is for real, in fact I did catch late this fall a 6lb steelhead.

Most of the other trout suppliers in this area sell only rainbows, not steelhead. Many other fellas have told me this guy is the best. If no predators, no fish die off, do you think that they are in fact not hungry? I respect your opinion and would like a comment if you have the time.

Your Hero,
jdm

Cecil-I did say cut's didn't i!
Sorry, I meant Steelhead trout. Shooting lots of geese and mallards this week, if ya get this way let me know and i'll show you a good hunt
\jdm

Thanks for the kind words. I check the AquaNic site on a regular basis, but there just aren't many contributors. I'm convinced there are a lot of academics that check the site, but are too stuffy to contribute or help someone out. This is a great site thanks to Pond Boss, all their staff, and friendly contributors -- so welcome aboard.

Maybe your Scandanavian strain are a strain from a river by that name in the northwest?

Since your invoice said "scan" steelheads is it possible it actaully said "skam" steelheads which is referring to skamania steelhead? If you are not aware, these are a strain of steelhead that are originally from the Skamania river in the northwest and are commonly now planted in the Great Lakes. They tend to be very elongated but have a thick peduncle and large tails. They are very acrobatic on the hook and strong.

Does the invoice actually say "Scandanavian?" If so, next time you talk to the supplier ask him the significance of the "Scandanavian" title. I would like to know.

It is very likely your trout are more aggressive than the catfish, especially since the water temps may be below the catfishs' perferences. Cats do well in water up into the 80's and trout are at their peak in mid 50's to mid 60's. If that is the case, you should catch a cat eventually, but the trout will usually beat the trout to the bait.

Trout are really agressive fish and will even roil up the bottom of a pond like carp. (I had one clear the surface the other day and if I didn't know better I would have thought it was a monster carp. However I know it was a big fat brown at least 10 lbs.

As far as stirring up the bottom, (roiling) I have this problem in the pond that I have trout in. The pond has a very soft clay bottom. I have rectified the problem somewhat for now by running my aerated well water through the pond running out the turbid water. Once water temps drop into the 30's I will be able to shut the well down as the trout will slow down considerably. When I do a complete harvest next fall or late summer, I plan on taking Bob Lusk's advice, and after draining, putting in a heavy sand and stone layer to cover up the clay. A liner is out of the question as I have too many boulders and rocks in the pond.

I hope I helped and didn't ramble too much.

Cecil

jdmcalf - 'Geesch' 150 catfish in a 1/3 ac pond w/ trout? Any reasoning behind this stocking combination?

Fish for the young cats 'on the bottom' with something the trout probably won't eat like stink bait or liver? or a chunk of raw meat; fresh dead road kill ok or piece of fish or fish guts. Although its getting pretty late in the season in the North for cats to actively bite. Small cats if that is the size you initially stocked can as Cecil says die and not float or see any evidence of dead fish.

What is the Name of the hatchery where you got these exotic trout? Interested.

Fella's, I looked even further and they are Scam!! I'll get it right one of these days. Yes they are very acrobatic and lots of fun. As for the stocking rate we eat alot of the fish, and have unlimited suppy of feed so not worried about the cost. I am plum tickled with the stocking rate as long as we eat a few each year. As far as the farm that I bought them from it is called Spotted Tail Trout Farm. The owner is John Bovee and he lives on the place in Mitchell, Nebr. He is extremely intelligent and well respected, he does alot of consulting in Wyo. I assume you are both right about the lack of Catfish activity, water is 42 Degrees as of yesterday. The reason for the Catfish/Trout combo is quite frankly; I like to eat both and both are fun to catch. Many lakes in this area have only Catfish and trout in them. During the hot summers when the trout are not as active the catfish really are so you have the best of both worlds. Thanks for your comments. I keep ya posted.

jdm

JDM,

Would a fish trap baited for cats answer your question? Seems like you'd catch a catfish or two after having a trap on the bottom for say a week, assuming there were any to be caught.
Bullhead Bob