Question to any catfish farmers

[Jogeephus]

I rencently put in a catfish pond and have it stocked to the guidelines with chanel catfish. Been blue/grey herons visiting the pond about the time the feeder cranks up. Yesterday I found one with a 10" fish in his mouth. After imobilizing the bird, I tried to free the fish but he had a puncture thru its head.

Question. How bad are these birds on a pond? How many do they eat a day? I know I shouldn't immobilize the birds since I'm sure its illegal but I am hoping to use the pond for recreational purposes for some elder folks and don't want anything messing with my plans. Any advice would be appreciated. Am just getting on the learning curve on this one.

 

[Beef11]

If i were you then you'd be me which would be a big mess. I would limit the birds ability to eat fish through rapid lead therapy. a small well placed dosage would allow the culprit to exit the premises before feeling the symptoms thus alleviating the fish cops needs to harass you on the matter. Savvy

 

[Arnold Ziffle]

Jo, I'm not a catfish farmer but when I stocked my pond the herons, etc. were there darn near every evening that I went out to the place to feed & probably were there much of the morning as well. I'm confident they ate A LOT of fingerlings. Can't remember where I read this, and it might be a hocus pocus story, but supposedly one university or state fish & game dept. did a study by stocking a certain number of fingerlings in a catfish pond and took no measures to control predation by herons, cormorants, anhingas, etc. -- the result was almost total devastation of the fish population!

Anyway, one thing I've heard and read about (but never tried) is to get some field fence, rabbit wire, etc. and attach it to stakes in the shallow part, all along of the shoreline, but where it is in the water. Apparently the herons like to land on land ( :lol: ) and then proceed to walk into the water to hunt for their prey. The wire stops them, as they won't hop over it and can't go through it.

I hope MikeC can chime in on this, as I think he raises some cats for commercial purposes. Maybe Macon can shed some light -- I think one of his many pursuits is catfish farming.

 

[MikeC]

I rencently put in a catfish pond and have it stocked to the guidelines with chanel catfish. Been blue/grey herons visiting the pond about the time the feeder cranks up. Yesterday I found one with a 10" fish in his mouth. After imobilizing the bird, I tried to free the fish but he had a puncture thru its head.

Question. How bad are these birds on a pond? How many do they eat a day? I know I shouldn't immobilize the birds since I'm sure its illegal but I am hoping to use the pond for recreational purposes for some elder folks and don't want anything messing with my plans. Any advice would be appreciated. Am just getting on the learning curve on this one.

The herons aren't that bad but do eat quite a few a day. Depends on the number of birds around the pond. One or two birds won't hurt much, just don't let them invite their friends!

It's the Cormorants that will eat you completely out of fish.

That new 22-250 will do a good job of "Immobilization"! :lol:

 

[oscar p]

We have a minnow farm in the next town from us, They went under after the father passed. A chinese company bought it a couple of years after that and raised gold fish. There was a write up in the paper about the herons eating them out of buiness. They got a permit from the state to kill them. They could only kill 16 a year. The guy that worked there said he killed the 16 bird limit in 30 minutes, and didnt go to half of the ponds. It said in the paper that the birds ate $20,000 worth of gold fish a year. They didn't stay in buiness long

 

[MikeC]

We have a minnow farm in the next town from us, They went under after the father passed. A chinese company bought it a couple of years after that and raised gold fish. There was a write up in the paper about the herons eating them out of buiness. They got a permit from the state to kill them. They could only kill 16 a year. The guy that worked there said he killed the 16 bird limit in 30 minutes, and didnt go to half of the ponds. It said in the paper that the birds ate $20,000 worth of gold fish a year. They didn't stay in buiness long

I doubt they will give a permit for a pond that is not a commercial endeavor.

 

[MikeC]

If i were you then you'd be me which would be a big mess. I would limit the birds ability to eat fish through rapid lead therapy. a small well placed dosage would allow the culprit to exit the premises before feeling the symptoms thus alleviating the fish cops needs to harass you on the matter. Savvy

I agree and would recommend the 52 grain Sierra's. ;-)

 

[oscar p]

We have a minnow farm in the next town from us, They went under after the father passed. A chinese company bought it a couple of years after that and raised gold fish. There was a write up in the paper about the herons eating them out of buiness. They got a permit from the state to kill them. They could only kill 16 a year. The guy that worked there said he killed the 16 bird limit in 30 minutes, and didnt go to half of the ponds. It said in the paper that the birds ate $20,000 worth of gold fish a year. They didn't stay in buiness long

I doubt they will give a permit for a pond that is not a commercial endeavor.

I wasn't talking about A pond, I was talking about 40 or so ponds, How commerical can you get. They shipped gold fish all over the country, or world I would guess. The news paper artical was in the Advertiser Gleam, Guntersville Al.

 

[ga. prime]

I wouldn't shoot a Heron. White or Blue. Great or Small. Not enough of them around to hurt the fish population.

 

[MikeC]

We have a minnow farm in the next town from us, They went under after the father passed. A chinese company bought it a couple of years after that and raised gold fish. There was a write up in the paper about the herons eating them out of buiness. They got a permit from the state to kill them. They could only kill 16 a year. The guy that worked there said he killed the 16 bird limit in 30 minutes, and didnt go to half of the ponds. It said in the paper that the birds ate $20,000 worth of gold fish a year. They didn't stay in buiness long

I doubt they will give a permit for a pond that is not a commercial endeavor.

I wasn't talking about A pond, I was talking about 40 or so ponds, How commerical can you get. They shipped gold fish all over the country, or world I would guess. The news paper artical was in the Advertiser Gleam, Guntersville Al.

I meant for Jo Gee's application, they prolly wouldn't issue a permit for herons.

Don't doubt for a minute that that outfit got one.

 

[MikeC]

I wouldn't shoot a Heron. White or Blue. Great or Small. Not enough of them around to hurt the fish population.

You've never been to the catfish ponds I've been to then.

I've seen literally thousands around a big catfish complex fairly close to me soon after stocking the fingerlings.

We ran up on a Blue Heron roost one day while going to a duck pond. It looked like millions leaving out...........

 

[ga. prime]

Nope, I sure haven't seen that many.

 

[Beef11]

We have alot of Blue heron over here in Idaho. Must be pretty adaptable birds. Or they like trout and catfish.

 

[Jogeephus]

What amazed me is how the bird planned on swallowing the catfish since it was about 10 inches. Also, I had no idea they could stab something so well with their beak. I mean it had a hole right in the top of his head just like he was gigged.

I'll probably keep an eye on them while on yote patrol. :lol:

 

[MikeC]

What amazed me is how the bird planned on swallowing the catfish since it was about 10 inches. Also, I had no idea they could stab something so well with their beak. I mean it had a hole right in the top of his head just like he was gigged.

I'll probably keep an eye on them while on yote patrol. :lol:

We find them all the time with a little catfish halfway down their neck. They try to swallow them backwards and those sharp little fins get caught.

Nothing left to do but the humane thing.

Put them out of their misery. ;-)

They are quite a challenge to "immobilize" because of the small thin body size. :lol:

 

[Beefy]

great blue herons are usually pretty skittish of humans. i dont think they are much to worry about assuming there is enough deep water for fish to be safe in. i dont do anything about predatory birds and the fishin here aint hurtin.

 

[Jogeephus]

Mike, while I'm asking, is there any truth that the flesh of the catfish is firmer and sweeter if harvested during the cooler months of the year?

My plans are to invite some elderly gentlemen from an assisted living home to the pond and let them catch a bunch of fish. We can then take the fish back to the home and treat the ladies to a fish fry.

I'd like the fish to be at their best. I'd also like the fishing to be at its best as well since we will have plenty of mouths to feed.

Right now, the fish are about 8-10 inches in total length and I'm not really sure how to best time things. How much bigger should I let them get? And if there is anything to the cool water thing, when do you think the optimal time for hookability and edibility? (I hope I'm making sense)

 

[auctionboy]

I rencently put in a catfish pond and have it stocked to the guidelines with chanel catfish. Been blue/grey herons visiting the pond about the time the feeder cranks up. Yesterday I found one with a 10" fish in his mouth. After imobilizing the bird, I tried to free the fish but he had a puncture thru its head.

Question. How bad are these birds on a pond? How many do they eat a day? I know I shouldn't immobilize the birds since I'm sure its illegal but I am hoping to use the pond for recreational purposes for some elder folks and don't want anything messing with my plans. Any advice would be appreciated. Am just getting on the learning curve on this one.

If you want these ponds for recreational purposes don't you think the people would enjoy seeing the wildlife?

 

[Jogeephus]

I rencently put in a catfish pond and have it stocked to the guidelines with chanel catfish. Been blue/grey herons visiting the pond about the time the feeder cranks up. Yesterday I found one with a 10" fish in his mouth. After imobilizing the bird, I tried to free the fish but he had a puncture thru its head.

Question. How bad are these birds on a pond? How many do they eat a day? I know I shouldn't immobilize the birds since I'm sure its illegal but I am hoping to use the pond for recreational purposes for some elder folks and don't want anything messing with my plans. Any advice would be appreciated. Am just getting on the learning curve on this one.

If you want these ponds for recreational purposes don't you think the people would enjoy seeing the wildlife?

Recreation is secondary. Fish production is my primary goal. The fish, like the cattle, will be another source of revenue I can use to pay my taxes with.

My concern is how much impact will these birds have on the fish population. I know these birds bring in eggs and seed from undesirables as well - mud cat and jack fish just to name a few.

If they are going to kill fish for the sake of killing them, I will use some control measures. If they aren't going to have much impact, I can coexist with them.

As I said, I'm just trying to find out what kind of impact these birds are going to have on the catfish pond.

 

[MikeC]

Mike, while I'm asking, is there any truth that the flesh of the catfish is firmer and sweeter if harvested during the cooler months of the year?

My plans are to invite some elderly gentlemen from an assisted living home to the pond and let them catch a bunch of fish. We can then take the fish back to the home and treat the ladies to a fish fry.

I'd like the fish to be at their best. I'd also like the fishing to be at its best as well since we will have plenty of mouths to feed.

Right now, the fish are about 8-10 inches in total length and I'm not really sure how to best time things. How much bigger should I let them get? And if there is anything to the cool water thing, when do you think the optimal time for hookability and edibility? (I hope I'm making sense)

I don't know anything about fish being better tasting in cool weather.

If it were true, I would think the catfish processors would harvest them in cool weather only.

They will get an off-flavor taste if they are too populated. This usually happens in the late Summer-Fall. The processor/buyer sends a guy out to catch one or two, put them in hot grease with no seasoning and eats them. If they have that "muddy" taste they pay less.

This usually happens in older ponds that have 3000-5000 fish per acre.

http://www.uaex.edu/aquaculture2/FSA/FSA9051.htm