CC 04-23-2012

Comment

Comment by Zach Pierce on April 25, 2012 at 1:41pm

I would have liked to weigh them but did not have my scale I would guess the top one at 5-8 pounds

Comment by Jim Gronaw on April 25, 2012 at 1:17pm

Very healthy looking cats. They will 'attempt' to spawn, hence form roe and try to utilize some kind of cover. But the attempt is usually marginally successful at best.

Channel cats can get very big in farm ponds...I have seen them over 20 pounds and my PR, a 15 pounder, came from a pond last October.

Comment by Zach Pierce on April 25, 2012 at 10:41am

I figure that would not spawn in the pond, but they were all full of eggs, and I just wondered about when they do spawn as it seems early here. We do not want them to spawn successfully, but if they do happen to I guess it will be ok, as I am sure they have spawned before as this pond is not ours we just have rights to fish on it and my dad has started feeding it. The owners said they stocked it 15 if not as many as 25-30 years ago so I doubt these are the original fish unless they have all stunted to 3-8 pounds. There are also some grass carp in this pond that have to be at least 4 feet long. I am scared that the pond could have way too many of them as they said they stocked the grass carp possibly before the state required them to be sterile, not sure how long ago that would have been.

Comment by Jim Gronaw on April 24, 2012 at 8:56pm

Zach, I think James is correct that the channel cats do little, if any, successful spawning in small lakes. Some farm pond owners in my area have put tractor tires or old culvert pieces in their ponds to promote reproduction, but with limited success.

If you want bigger cats in your pond, then some harvest of the current numbers may help, with remaining fish having more food to go around. If you have them feeding then that will surely help as well. I'd keep track of how many you stocked, and how many were harvested and when. Keep track of the size of these fish and in time I think you will enjoy a larger average sized catfish. We have noticed bigger cats in one of our ponds by eating a few of the original 50 that were stocked. Average size was about 16-17 inches. Now, we are getting fish approaching 24 inches, and this is not a managed pond nor is there a feeding program.

Comment by James E. Sampson on April 24, 2012 at 2:39pm

catfish will not generally spawn in a pond unless there are spawning containers put into place or some sort of suitable structure. they like to go back into a hole to lay their eggs and guard their nest.

Comment by Zach Pierce on April 24, 2012 at 12:58pm

Here are some CC my father caught yesterday at a pond he just starting feeding last year.  This pond is full of the CC and he said he has counted over 50 feeding at one time, all in this size range.  Any idea how to get more of these out or how we can get them even larger?  How do you tell the difference between males and females?

How long do they carry their eggs and when should they start spawning?