Hey Hook, It has been awhile since I have had the Smoked duck and andouille gumbo at Prejene's on 49,but will make it that way again this year sometime.

My novice 2 cents on the catfish is simply this: "DO NOT DO IT".

The reasons I can site are simple too:
!. they compete too much with the CNBG and eat the fish and fish feed ($40.00+ a sack) you are trying to grow. I have pulled 40 or so of the original stocking of 75. The rest in just a couple of years fishing have become hook shy and a few look to already be in the 7 to 10 lbs range and I cannot get them to bite. Just a headache. Can be fixed several way, but just a pain. I was told that right here on the PB site, but I was a bit stupid that I put them in anyway and paying the price.

My wife wanted CC and here I am. SO, since you are starting anew, a simple solution is just to dig a small secondary pond only, feed the cheap catfish feed (About $17.00 to $20.00) and catch CC when you want or just net a bunch for a big fish fry. When you get tired of messing with them you can then use the smaller pond to grow out minnows and or CNBG (smaller ones are much cheaper) to supplement your big pond. IMHO

CNBG, Shellcrackers(REDEAR) and bass can be grown and controlled better IMHO without CC. If your were wanting a Catfish pond that would be different, but you said Bass bream and fatheads minnows.

I would recommend aeration and feeding if you want a gang buster pond, although a natural pond is not bad either.

In your neck of the woods the growing season is almost all year due to the very mild winters.

So, I think it would be better if I were going to do it again, to have a 1/2 to 3/4 acre pond and another 1 or 2 smaller 1/4 acre, or so, for brood pond(s), grow out pond, and or catfish pond. You could even build them with a gate valve 3",4" or even better 6" to have blocked/open water flow between the different ponds, and just use nets to push the different smaller fish into the bigger pond as needed or wanted, through the pipes. MUCH MUCH cheaper than going and buying supplements when needed. Minnows are around $9 to $12/lbs as an example and the time to go get them bla,bla,bla.

I want big CNBG and REDEARS, but the catfish give me some challenge in that arena.

Good luck and the pro's will chime in here along with what Landry said, I think a picture will emerge. Let us know what you do.

For getting the pic's on the site is not that simple and sometimes some offer to post pic's for you. I do not post much because it is to much trouble IMO.

Life is more fun with a pole in your hand.