Its always good to get perspectives and Bill makes a good point that large CC are capable of eating walleye in the 5" to 7" lengths. So I can't say that ladder stocking would be successful at that size. Even so, I somehow think we need to discuss how to make your vision happen (of which CC seemed to take a very prominent role).
Scott, read
this white paper on raising catfish for home use. It discuss the potential of CC as single species production where reproduction is allowed in the pond.
Some Kentucky farmers spawn fingerlings and produce food-size fish in the same pond, year after year. The large broodfish that are accidentally captured during harvest are returned to the pond after seining. Spawning cans are used (2-3/ac) and the catfish are allowed to reproduce in the production pond. Fish are fed to satiation and daily feeding is capped at 25-30 lb/ac. When feeding reaches this level, ponds are selectively harvested with large mesh seines. Selective harvest removes the 1.5- to 2.0-lb fish, allowing the smaller fish to remain for continued growth. This method allows continuous production of 1,000 to 1,500 lb/ac of fish each year.
While CC can stunt, generally management like this above can produce 18" CC without any other predator than the catfish under production. It takes supplemental food and continual harvesting to properly manage a pond like that. Speaking from my own experience, I have never seen CC stunt when combine with lepomis or stronger predators. I wouldn't recommend CC only to you and have you feed like the example above because I think first that you really don't want to eat that much fish or work that hard at it. Also you probably don't want to feed more than a ton per acre of feed. So I think combining with any other fish that provides sufficient predation of the CC YOY will work to keep recruitment below levels that would cause CC stunting. A population of bluegill weighing 300 lbs only supports 60 to 80 lbs of LMB. This is only because they breed like rabbits. What standing weight of LMB could a population of 3000 lbs of CC with 1 or 2 spawning containers support? I don't know but it significantly less that what BG can support. Possibly as little as 20 to 30 lbs. The point I am making is that you don't need a lot of predators to keep CC in check. They don't reproduce like rabbits and when YOY are available, predators seem to prefer them. Again, I have never seen them overpopulate with BG and/or GSF in the pond with them (even with absolutely no LMB). So I think your dream of a CC fishing pond can be made a reality.
CC only muddy the water when they are high in number and only then when they are smaller sized. The key is population management and limited recruitment. My brother in law has a 2 acre clear pond and a 1 acre muddy pond. The latter is CC and GSH. No other species are present and the CC proliferate and cannot eliminate the minnows. (Usually LMB completely eliminate GSH.) There is nothing at all special about cover or anything like that. Its a bare bottom pond with tractor tire for spawning ... that's it. The CC are stunted but they can live more than 10 years so if they are moved to the clear 2 acre pond they still have time to grow. So we spend a day or two catching dinks and move them to the larger clear water pond. That pond has nothing but GSF, LES, and CC. The GSF and LES do not get large and are limited to about 5" in length (most smaller). These lepomis do not allow much recruitment at all. As far as we know, none. CC grow fast in this pond and he supplement feeds them maybe 120 lbs of catfish feed a year (hand feeds). He's been doing this for maybe 15 years and it works for him and I enjoy fish with him when I visit. The CC are excellent eating from that pond. He has caught CC in excess of 6 lbs but most range between 2 and 5. So if you want CC I say go for but just figure out a way to limit recruitment if you want to feed modestly and want clear water.
