Ok. My friends, my Dad and I have been hunting this Dairy farm out in the county. We hunted deer and ducks there this year. There is a big pond; I'd say about 85yds long with a stream going out the end, and about 60yds wide. It is at the bottom of a valley, and the cows go down and drink and wade around and such. I figured there were fish there, because there was an old rusty john boat, and faded chicken liver containers around the bank. We have not asked the owner what species of fish are in it, but he doesnt care if we fish it...especially if we release everything.
I have fished there twice since hunting season ended, but not more than an hour at a time. Each time well the first time I went alone, and hooked a litttle 8-9" catfish...a channel I think, he was kind of greenish/brown with a few speckles. The second time RustyS hooked one about the same size. We were fishin pretty deep, but the water is still pretty cold. Its fed by a stream. My question is...Are there big catfish where you find little catfish??? This pond is well big enough for somemonsters, and I doubt anyone eats these muddy cats. I mean some mama cat had to lay eggs. Is it just too cold for the big ones to bite? We can usually catch cats in the lake year round. A little advice would be appreciated!

they could be one of the species of bullhead catfish..that generally only get a pound or 2. look em up for some pics of the diffrent species..get us some pics and we can ID them. could be any type of catfish though..i just find bullheads in small ponds alot of times. and small ponds often stunt growth of fish over time. theres simply not enough food unless the pond is well managed. small ponds can grow large fish..but you have to manage them properly and limit the number of predatory fish...large fish need alot of food to maintain themselves.

try to get us a pic of them..someone should be able to ID them for sure...bullheads dont get real big...and other species that may get big might not in the small pond..but you never know till you fish it a while.

with the temps in GA i doubt that it effects catfish all too much..but it might..try fishing later in the spring into summer and see how you do..

I'm pretty sure thatthe catfish are channels....and they will bite in cold weather and the big ones will live with the little ones. Minnows are a great bait for the big ones. Fishing late you already know is a prime time for catfishing. Look atthe tails..Channels have a forked tail..bullheads have a square tail
C7

im in ga. and its sounds sorta like a little speckled cat. um use hot dogs!!! that works amazing or minnows or chesse, or worms anything. youll catch it if its there eventually

Get yerself a kan of dogfood and punch holes in it and through it in there the night before and come back the next morning and fish around the can. We always used chicken liver for bait but its kinda hard to stay on the hook so use a ladys stocking and put the liver in that and hook through the stocking as it will stay on longer. Catfish are usually nocturnal so the best fishing is at night or early morning and evening.
The only way your going to know if there big catfish there is to fish it.
Good luck.

Bobby

A smaller sucker minnow usually works good for me early in the season when the waters still a little cold

I hear ya..about those minnnows. Once when fishing for bass with minnows I could not keep the channel catfish off. Then, I put on a shiner and caught one about 4 pounds bigger than this one. LOL Note the rabbit cages ..I got some very fat red worms.The catfish in the picture is a blue..note..no speckles and forked tail is not as deep as a channel.

nice catfish there

Not sure but I think Im going to have to agree with mauser06, sounds like you are catching bullheads. Most ponds around here with bull heads in them are full of them and most people dont like them but I do enjoy catching a mess no and then. But even if they are bullheads that dosnt mean that there isnt any narly line breaking channels in there. My favorite bait to use Early in the year, feb-may, is fresh cut bait. My favorite cut bait is bluegill. Dont think you have to put a big chunk on neither because I usually do better on a small piece cubed about an inch, if you get it tobig its harder to hook them. Good luck to ya!!!

This might sound like a waste of good food, but use pieces of steak. The fatty parts are the best, the steak is much tougher then most meat and is harder for the Cats to get off the hook.