I live in Central Missouri and stocked 100 channel catfish (about 6 to 8in.) in my renovated 2 1/2 pond last Spring. As of Sept/Oct they had grown to around 17 inches and I harvested a few. I then stocked another 100 that same original stocking size as I plan to begin harvesting as soon as I can catch them. As I take more out, I'll likely put another 100 in.
Does anyone have any advice as to how I may catch them during the winter when ice isn't present on the surface?
I fed them through last summer to help jump start the growth. The day I did catch a mess of them, I smashed feed into cloth and used that on the hook. Yesterday I caught a couple dozen bluegill, filleted them, tossed out pieces and used small pieces on a hook hoping to catch catfish. I floated the bait about 6 feet under a bobber in about 8 feet of water off the end of my dock. The deepest part of my pond is around 15 ft. I also have two diffusers pulled up alongside the front end of my dock, close to shore. It was a very windy and somewhat chilly upper 50 degrees. I didn't get a bite from a cat.
Does anyone have any experience catching pond catfish during the winter? If you do, any tips you're willing to share? I guess one tip would be to wait until it warms up when it will be easier but I do enjoy trying to catch on a decent weather winter weekend day.
