Channel Catfish are good to stock in a variety of ponds. If you want to grow catfish up to eat or just to catch the Channels are a great choice. They are fairly hardy and will grow quickly if given adequate food. They will eat floating catfish pellets and are fun to watch as they eat. They will also eat bluegill or minnows if feeding is not an option. They will reproduce in a pond setting if given a nesting environment. We use old milk cans to hatch them in at the farm but a barrel or something similar would be adequate. Catfish are the last to hatch so they usually don’t have a good survival rate. If you start fishing them out and keeping them it’s best to restock by adding fingerlings in their place. This will ensure that you have Catfish to catch for years to come! We recommend stocking 250 per surface acre if you don’t plan on feeding a commercial fish feed. If you do plan on feeding a commercial diet then you can stock 500-750 per acre.
