I just read an In-Fisherman article about Catfish Ponds (
Here) and it got me thinking... why aren't Blue Catfish as popular (or more popular) than Channel Catfish?
According to the article, they state that, with a good forage base and a feeding plan, Blue Catfish can grow 4-7 pounds per year. Even on the lower end, 4 lbs per year seems incredible. Channel Catfish don't come close to those amazing growth rates. The only negative (?) is that Blues are more piscivorous (eat more fish) than Channel Cats, and at an earlier age. I guess if your goal is to grow trophy LMB, then Blues might compete with them for forage, but Blues will more readily eat pellets, so it might not be much of a concern.
The one thing from the article that stuck with me was the comment about the supply for Blue Cats hasn't caught up with the demand, but it's only a matter of time. This article is 3-years old and there's still very few fish hatcheries that are producing Blue Cats. I'm in North Carolina and I don't think we have any here. I know TX has some, but that'd be quite a drive for me.
Am I missing something? Are we stuck with CCs until BCs become more readily available?
