When I added channel cats nothing really changed. I don't see them as great predators. When I put in 2 big blues totaling about 80 lbs everything in the pond looked fatter a year later. It's possible I have overdone it in a 1 acre pond- time will tell. To complicate the formula a little more my 4 year old grandson caught a 20 lb flathead from my pond last week. I put it in as a 4 pounder years ago and never saw it again til they sent me the picture! So don't listen to me Swollen as my ponds balance is a mess I'm sure! My goal is to have a place in my backyard where kids can always catch good fish and we have achieved that. I add more black crappie every year and its a bonus to me that they seldom weigh under a pound when I catch em and they look healthy. I also threw about 30 smallish hybrids in there just for excitement and they always get a big reaction when caught. ( striped hybrids) Add a few hundred bluegill hybrids and lots of natives and you can see why I add 30 lbs of breeder pond shiners and a few big bags of crawdads every year. Real scientific approach to pond management I have going here right?
