catfish in ponds

[Eric White]

One of the ponds I fish has Catfish in it. Will catfish be a nuisance or have a little impact on the rest of the pond? It also has crappies, bluegills, perch and walleyes. No bass are in the pond.

[Rod Herington]

Catfish, or Bullheads shouldn't be a problem as long as you have enough predators like Bass, Crappie, Walleye, Perch, Channel Cats, BIG Bullheads, BIG Sunfish, and fishermen. All of the fish predators will eat lots of small Bullheads throughout the year, and Bullhead fry in the spring. Bullheads can overrun a pond if you don't keep an eye on them. If they do get out of hand you can control their numbers easy enough by trapping. Some of the biggest Bass & Crappie I've ever seen had good numbers of Bullheads in the small lakes and ponds they came out of.

[Jim Gronaw]

Most folks I know who puts cats, usually channels, in their ponds do so strictly for a food source in the future. They can get big, and will become the apex predator if not harvested. It is usually a put & take gig, harvesting them when they get 2 to 4 pounds. Tony's right...check out pond boss on them.

[Eric White]

They are channels, not large ones, 5 to 6 pounds. The pond is between half and one acre, 25 feet deep in the center.

[Tony Livingston]

The pond sounds light on predators, Eric. Of course, the size of the BOW will play a major role in how many fish it will support. Are they Channels, Blues, or Flatheads? Flatheads are voracious predators, Blues are somewhat, and Channels can be, but not as much. Generally, catfish are removed once caught, as they can become very hook shy.

Have you spent any time over at Pondboss? Those folks know their stuff!