Quote Originally Posted by IceNitro View Post
Interesting read; thanks for the link. So blues are stocked strictly for sport? I assume they can put a hurt on the white perch populations?
I can't speak for all the other lakes in Kansas, but El Dorado was stocked with blues to provide increased angling opportunity along with greatly increased trophy fish potential. Blues were first stocked in 2004. Zebra mussels were discovered in 2003. Blues do consume zebra mussels but large scale zebra mussel control was not a big factor in stocking the blues at El Dorado. It's a bonus that the blues consume zebra mussels. White perch were verified in El Dorado in July 2009 and blue catfish due prey upon them. The more larger predators in a lake preying upon white perch, the better! Harvest regulations are being used to manage the blue catfish population to meet the objectives for the reservoir. Blue catfish aren't picky eaters and have a very wide diet. A diet study completed at El Dorado a couple of years ago showed that blues are eating white perch. Again, this is a bonus for the lake but not one of the deciding factors for stocking blues in the first place since white perch were not present at that time.

As you know, blue catfish have the potential to reach much larger sizes than channel catfish. Blue catfish popularity among anglers is quickly growing. Blue catfish are excellent table fare and are usually preferred by anglers over channel catfish. Availability of blue catfish from the KDWPT Hatchery System has led to increased stocking of blue catfish. Through proper fisheries management, Kansas blue catfish can create highly desirable populations offering excellent angling and opportunities at BIG fish that were not possible with channel catfish.