Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations Moving channel catfish

I have two 1/4 acre ponds about 75 feet apart. One pond has about 20 CC, plus (I think) a good number of small offspring. The other pond only has a few CC. Would there be any harm to the CC in moving a few of the mature ones from the pond with many to the pond with few?

Moving adult fish to a different body of water frequently causes them to decline. They knew how to succeed in the old BOW, but don't know squat about the new one.

However, if fish food is fed in both ponds, I believe CC who got big on pellets one place will most likely find where to eat them in another. I have moved larger CC from one pond to another, having used my SMB pond to grow out small fingerlings to where they should survive LMB predation in the other pond, with what I feel is success. YMMV.

Yes, I have grown some CC in my forage pond until they were about 11 inches, then transplanted them successfully. Never transplanted six pounders though. Both ponds get regular feedings of CC pellets.

I was able to (with a landing net) capture and transfer about a six pound CC from one pond to the other. Did this on Thursday evening. Yesterday and today, the feed response in that pond has been poor, after being excellent Thursday, and every feeding day before that. I think I spooked the other channel catfishes in that pond.

The big CC I transplanted to the other pond aggressively came to food this evening.