G&H Farms
- Thread starter SwampCat
- Start date
Got home with some corn and headed out this eve to fill a couple feeders that havent had any corn since before turk season. Old man and bad shoulder dont crawl up in the back of the ranger anymore. Pour half a bag of corn into a bucket so not so hard to lift up.
Half the fun of heading out on the property to do something is seeing what you run across while out. This river slider - please correct if wrong - picked a horrible place to lay her clutch. It they dont get washed away, they will get run over
Stopped to take a look at a green dragon plant, not common here, and noticed a green tree frog tight to the stem
The catfish liking the new feeder. On the prowl waiting for 7:00
Half the fun of heading out on the property to do something is seeing what you run across while out. This river slider - please correct if wrong - picked a horrible place to lay her clutch. It they dont get washed away, they will get run over
Stopped to take a look at a green dragon plant, not common here, and noticed a green tree frog tight to the stem
The catfish liking the new feeder. On the prowl waiting for 7:00
SD51555
5 year old buck +
Very cool place you've got there! Why do you say you need to get the catfish out? Do they reproduce naturally and far too much?
Up north, bass are a pain. They just reproduce until they stunt and starve. If I ever realize my dream of a fish pond, it'll be predators that don't reproduce (walleye and catfish) and forage fish that stay forage sized until they're edible (perch).
Up north, bass are a pain. They just reproduce until they stunt and starve. If I ever realize my dream of a fish pond, it'll be predators that don't reproduce (walleye and catfish) and forage fish that stay forage sized until they're edible (perch).
I put them in their for the grandkids to catch which is ok - but none of us eat catfish. On Pond Boss forum, they say once a catfish reaches three lbs, they are just as predatory as bass. There are absolutely no bluegill fry in the pond. The catfish cruise the bank - just like bass. There are about thirty of them in there and they weigh four or five lbs apiece - they eat everything.
Howboutthemdawgs
5 year old buck +
I absolutely despise my catfish. Mine are getting that size as well. My question is do they reproduce you think?
I have a little imput on the topic. I have ponds that has had catfish, bluegill and bass in them for years and I have never seen small catfish ever in these ponds. On the other hand my buddy has a 2 acre pond with only catfish in it and he sees new baby catfish every year. So with a little research the catfish will try to reproduce but are very poor at guarding their nest and usually have 0% success with other species in the area. That is why some people add specific structure which will help protect the eggs and allow them time to develop then they may see a few hatchlings along with the other predator fish.
Howboutthemdawgs
5 year old buck +
Good info thanks
I have seen no evidence of reproduction. I have not fed these fish other than a few hand feedings on a very inconsistent basis. They have been in this pond for nine years. Once they reached four or five lbs, they quit growing. I have seen the fish cut and skinned up in June like they are going through the spawning motions - but have never seen a catfish smaller than these. If they did successfully spawn - I am sure they would eat their own fry. They cruise the shorelines all day long in packs of five to eight. I have absolutely no small bream in the pond.
I bought this feeder - all the instructions I have seen on feeding is run the feeder for a set time that it takes the fish ten or fifteen minutes to eat all the food. I am up to three feedings a day of 20 seconds for each feeding - and they eat all the food in three minutes. I am pretty sure they would eat 20 lbs of food in 15 min.
It is a double edged sword - you feed them and they start growing and eat even more. They are difficult to catch on rod n reel. Plus, we dont eat them and I hate to throw them in the weeds. I may have to do that. They have to be gone before I can start any work on balancing my fish populations
BenA
5 year old buck +
The type of catfish make a big difference. We had a channel catfish pond growing up. We fed them daily and caught them on jugs, trot lines, or rod n reel. I'd skin, filet and clean them and put them in plastic ice cream buckets in our freezer. To get them to spawn, we had boxes, tubes, barrels, tires, etc. We didn't have other fish in it. But, we loved and still do love eating fried or blackened catfish. I'd rather catch bass, but my family would rather eat channel cats.
Howboutthemdawgs
5 year old buck +
I’ve heard that same thing, without structure they can get up in they won’t spawn or at least not successfully. I wish I could find a species specific poison and get rid of mine
Almost 45 years ago - when I first got a job with the feds, I was making $6000 per year. I was married and had a pregnant wife trying to go to college. We couldnt make it off a govt salary - so I was also selling catfish. I would run lines in the dark before work and drop the catfish off at the fish market on the way to work. My wife would catch bait size crawfish during the day with a crawfish rake in the road ditches - and I would rebait the lines when I got home that evening.
Remember on Forest Gump when Bubba was talking about being in the shrimpin business and eating fried shrimp, boiled shrimp, grilled shrimp, shrimp gumbo, blackened shrimp, etc. Me and my wife were the same way about catfish - after about nine months of eating catfish - the catfish stew finally did us in. My wife was pregnant with our son at the time - he was born during that time - he loves fish - crappie, bream, tuna, mahi - but hates catfish to this day. My wife is as bad. I have gotten where I can eat a small, crisp fried catfish filet - right down there on the bottom of the list of my preferred fish to eat
Bowsnbucks
5 year old buck +
FWIW, we had channel cats in a pond, and they ate everything. Bluegills, sunnies, perch, bass - all gone - but the cats got big. We had purchased one of those "pond packages" to start a pond, but the cats were the lone survivors in the end.
I actually had some log piles pushed up in my pond when I had it made - I think if a catfish fry was in there, it wouldnt last five minutes. About five years ago, I was not seeing any redear - which I had stocked in the beginning. I bought 500 1 1/2” redear to stock - took them to the very shallow end of the pond where the water was only a foot or two deep - and opened the bag and let them swim free. Within a minute, the catfish were gorging on them like I had intentionally bought the redear for them to eat. I doubt a single redear lasted five minutes.
Mine are channel cats, too. Pondboss forum says do not put catfish in a pond unless you just want them to eat or for some other specific reason. I understand why, now.
Howboutthemdawgs
5 year old buck +
Mine will come to the feeder like yours and I can’t hardly spook them from the dock when they are feeding. I’ve been considering getting a cheap bow fishing rig and shooting them for fun
Howboutthemdawgs
5 year old buck +
I’ve heard they can get tough to catch when they get older. I think mine are probably pushing 4+ years old and I have not noticed any weariness. But I also don’t fish there but maybe once a month
