Thread: New pond stocking?

I didn't recommend against catfish out of limited experience; the negatives I described are phenomenons I have personally witnessed dozens of times over twenty-eight years of pond management, and which have also been witnessed many times by many other pond professionals. I can name pond consultants from Nebraska to West Virginia to Indiana to Georgia to Texas that have witnessed the phenomenon, for instance, of catfish becoming hook-shy; there was even a presentation on the tendency of catfish to become hook-shy at a pond management conference held earlier this month at the Hilton Dallas. So, there is scientific research that corroborates my observation.

As to the idea that it's just a matter of feeding more: here again, my experience is that it just doesn't work that way. Large channels of ten-plus pounds not only hog the food, but they will aggressively intimidate bluegill away from the food by slapping their tails, rolling, etc. while they are eating. And they don't just eat for five minutes and then leave the rest to the bluegill; I have seen them follow drifting pellets for half an hour and more. If one is utilizing an automatic feeder to get the feed to the fish - which is far and away more effective than hand feeding for growing trophy bluegill since they need to be fed multiple times a day for optimum growth - you can't feed enough to feed a handful of large channels all they want and still get a proper amount of food to the bluegill, because you'd have to set the timer to throw for thirty seconds and you'd go through $500 worth of feed in a month.

I only mentioned the fact that channels take away forage from bass as an afterthought. Certainly there are more pond owners who are interested in big bass than there are those interested in growing trophy bluegill; but since the original question didn't mention bass, and panfish were mentioned as a primary interest, I tailored my advice to the growing of large panfish. If bass are not a primary interest, worrying about their growth is the surest way to limit the growth of one's bluegill.

Originally Posted by tnpondmanager

I didn't recommend against catfish out of limited experience;

I didn't say that you did, I was simply giving a different perspective from someone who has managed several ponds over a long period of time and was NOT managing for trophy bluegill alone. Sure, if trophy bluegill are your only consideration, which seems to be the case (for you), then catfish might be a bad idea. If rather, as most people, you want to manage for a balanced pond with multiple species that provides good fishing for all, then they are a positive, IMO. I don't dispute that catfish will consume a good portion of the feed, but if you want catfish in your pond, then you want them to grow and you want them to eat. The idea that bluegill won't feed or won't grow with catfish feeding among them couldn't be more contrary to what I've witnessed. If they are intimidated, they sure don't show it.

Again, I was just going on the specifics of what was asked in the original question, and subsequent posts by the pond owner. Trophy bluegill are by no means the only thing I manage for; a couple years ago a 56-acre lake I was managing gave up thirteen largemouth between four and nine pounds in two half-days of fishing by two anglers, including six bass that were over seven pounds each. This was the third year that I had managed it; the largest bass that had come from the lake prior to my management, according to the owner, was six pounds; so I know a little about trophy bass.

I only addressed my questions in the direction of a trophy-bluegill pond because the question was posted, after all, in the section of the forum devoted to bluegill fishing, and this information, combined with the poster's specific question, led me to believe he was more interested in big bluegill than he was bass. I recommended against channel catfish because I have personally witnessed, many times, the behavior I described, and many other pond consultants have witnessed the same, to the point that they recommend against channel cats as a rule to pond owners unless catfish are the primary interest of the pond owner.

You may have a little different notion of what constitutes good bluegill growth, than I do:

That's the kind of gill I want in my pond, 3/4 acre, 8' deep, I think I'll start catching me some catfish

Consider stocking with Fathead minnows one year ahead of your other fish to build up a forage base.

Fatheads and bluegill would be stocked a year ahead of the bass if the goal were trophy bass and the pond were located in the Deep South. Bluegill are the foundation of the food chain in a trophy-bass pond, so that year makes a big difference in the bass not over-eating their food supply. However, fathead minnows do not avoid bass predation well and typically are eliminated from a pond within a few months of the bass being stocked, regardless of how long the minnows were in there beforehand. Fatheads are stocked because they get the bluegill and bass off to a good start growth-wise, not because they can provide a long-term forage base.

Also, West Virginia is getting into the climate region where it is more commonly recommended to stock the bass at the same time as the bluegill. Bass grow more slowly in cooler climates, and if it takes the first bass fingerlings two years to get to a size where they can efficiently prey on the average-sized bluegill in the pond, the bluegill will by then have overpopulated the pond. In far northern states such as Michigan it is recommended to stock the bass a few or several months before the bluegill.

If big bluegill are the goal for the pond, the bass should be stocked at the same time as the bluegill and minnows.

WOW,them are some big ol gills there!!