Quote Originally Posted by tnpondmanager View Post
Channel cats have some significant drawbacks such that many pond consultants these days, myself included, advise pond owners to think twice before stocking them. The two main issues they bring are that they are extremely prone to becoming hook-shy, moreso than any other freshwater species; generally once they have been hooked once, they don't get hooked again, even on live or cut bait. The other issue is that they greatly relish pelleted fish food, and will hog it to the detriment of other species you may be trying to feed, such as bluegill. These two issues together create a double-whammy in ponds that have had channel cats a few years and in which the fish are also fed: they get up to eight or ten or twelve pounds, a size at which each fish can eat an astounding number of pellets in one feeding, and they won't bite your hook because you hooked them when they weighed two pounds, so they eat up most of the feed and keep it from your other fish but you can't catch them so they're essentially just wrecking any sort of management you try to effect on the pond. They also take a lot of forage away from the bass when they get past two or three pounds.

I would recommend bluegill and bass.
I have some experience stocking ponds for myself and others and have witnessed the results over the past 20 years. I am not concerned at all about the first two issues. First, I have not experienced the level of hook-shyness that you describe out of channel cats. Out of my own ponds, I have caught the same distinctive fish repeatedly, and never experienced a number of big cats that couldn't be caught. Rather the opposite. I would protect the larger cats because most were easy to fish out.

Secondly, the feed is a matter of cost. If you feed the fish enough there will be plenty for all catfish and bluegill to have their fill. That is simply a matter of adjusting the volume. Yes, they can eat a lot of feed, but if you want them to grow, as I do, then you want them to eat. If you don't want catfish for the sake of catching them, then by all means, don't stock them.

The last thing you mentioned is by far the most important for my purposes: The catfish will take quality forage away from bass. If you are managing for a balanced pond rather than just for trophy bluegill, then you want your bass to grow well also. Catfish will certainly compete heavily with bass for forage, and this needs to be kept in mind when stocking. For this reason, I recommend going light on the number of catfish. But for the average pond owner, catfish provides a fishing opportunity for larger fish that are good table fare with a fast growth rate.

I will be stocking more catfish in my pond this month.