Friend has a trophy bass pond that he engineered and maintained to get 8+ pound largemouth bass. Instead he has a lot of small to big channel cats and very few bass. Catfish are evidently eating the bass fingerlings he keeps adding. Original advice he got on how to stock the pond was off. He has enlisted me and other friends to help thin out the catfish. We are using fish traps, cane poles, fishing rods, you name it. Best bait so far is cheap hotdogs mixed with cherry koolaide and garlic. I bury the small cats in my garden and eat the 1+ lb cats when we can or they go in the garden if I do not have time to clean them. He has bigger channel cats in the pond and many getting bigger as this problem continues. He caught a 6 lb one the other day.
My 1st question is related to this but more in general. Except for this overpopulation problem, I wish to throw back any catfish I will not eat. In terms of flatheads, blues and channel catfish, what size limit would you say when exceeded, the fish is not good eating? Note I know the big fish is proabably edible, but I only want to keep the real tasty ones. Also if you have a preparation trick to make a normally poorer tasting big fish taste great, please share.
2nd questions is are their any other ideas how to rid the pond of the catfish infestation? Nets are out due to the many man made structures in the pond that would snag a net and he does not want to drain and refill. Trot lines are out due to snagging the man made structures, bluegills are biting on the catfish bait (chicken livers, dough bate and the treated hotdogs) and he does not want to have to maintain them. Traps are working better with the treated hotdogs bringing in cats into the trap but caught mostly bluegill with baiting them with chicken livers and dough bait. He tried electro shock but was told it did not work as well on catfish as not many came up to be counted. Note, he will not open it up to other fisherman, just his friends but I am the only one that likes to catch catfish. His other friends go for the few bass he has. I told him a catfish infestation is a good problem to have but he has his sights set on raising trophy bass. Pay lake was out of the question although I think it would be profitable. Thanks for any responses.
My 1st question is related to this but more in general. Except for this overpopulation problem, I wish to throw back any catfish I will not eat. In terms of flatheads, blues and channel catfish, what size limit would you say when exceeded, the fish is not good eating? Note I know the big fish is proabably edible, but I only want to keep the real tasty ones. Also if you have a preparation trick to make a normally poorer tasting big fish taste great, please share.
2nd questions is are their any other ideas how to rid the pond of the catfish infestation? Nets are out due to the many man made structures in the pond that would snag a net and he does not want to drain and refill. Trot lines are out due to snagging the man made structures, bluegills are biting on the catfish bait (chicken livers, dough bate and the treated hotdogs) and he does not want to have to maintain them. Traps are working better with the treated hotdogs bringing in cats into the trap but caught mostly bluegill with baiting them with chicken livers and dough bait. He tried electro shock but was told it did not work as well on catfish as not many came up to be counted. Note, he will not open it up to other fisherman, just his friends but I am the only one that likes to catch catfish. His other friends go for the few bass he has. I told him a catfish infestation is a good problem to have but he has his sights set on raising trophy bass. Pay lake was out of the question although I think it would be profitable. Thanks for any responses.
