Nice! Lease some land, Grow heirloom corn for you and the herd. Never put catfish in a pond with like perch or bass, Pretty soon that's all you will have is catfish!
All I have in there are large mouth bass but they are all pretty small, I need to find a way to get them more food. They literally jump out of the water to try to catch the dragon flies. I didn't stock it, the fish have been there since I bought the farm.
No need to lease land, I have more than I can manage, I was bush hogging until 10:30pm last night. I need to lease some time! If I grow corn it would have to be for my kids, I don't do well on corn (carbs) and the cows can eat grass. The guy I bought the farm from said there were some catfish in there but I have never seen them.
My grandpa's farm had a small pond , he actually was having it dug when Hurricane Hazel came thru NC back in the 50s. That storm delayed the digging. The stock in the pond would change over time. It always had bream. Smallmouth , and a few largemouth bass. Catfish and Crappie. And Turtles. Sometimes you would catch a mixture of fish breeds , other times just one or two. But it was always a good place for a young kid to walk down to with a cane pole and a can of fresh dug worms.
I forgot about the turtles, we have tons of them. I am amazed at how long they can live under the ice in the winter.
Are they snappers or the green sliders ? Grandma used to make a turtle stew that could equal any pot of chicken and Dumplins ,,,,we used the snappers.
The sliders are the ones you'll see sunning out on a log , or the banks ,,among the other varieties. The Snappers will mostly stay in the water , for some reason , youll find them out roaming around , I think when they do that , they're just looking another body of water , or they're out looking for the spot to lay their eggs. Cleaning them takes a little experience , it's not an easy job.
Can we talk about the pond a bit? I would like to build a pond someday on my property but have no experience or knowledge. Does a pond need a fresh, running water supply? Would one need to line it first (I know they make them)? Does it need aerated for the fish to live (probably done with solar)? What else does it need to keep from turning into some algae covered, mosquito infested, hole? I am wondering how much work it would take build it and, more importantly, maintain it? Catfish would suite me as they grow fast, eat almost anything and taste great! @BenP Nice setup, btw!
This has the potential to be a good standalone. Would be much better to pursue the topic in it's own thread rather than derail "meat stockpile". Fire it up , @Bandit99, should fit well here - General Survival and Preparedness
Nice. My great grandfather had about 169 acres in CO that I am thinking about moving to. There is nothing else around for 100 miles.
Sorry Bandit,,,I get sidetracked easily sometimes,,,,kinda like a squirrel,,,,,,but actually the original post was about all the beef standing around the pond...
My meat stock pile is chickens , only a few right now, but if push comes to shove I can use those to repopulate the yard. Bigger problem is having enough water to grow food for the birds, and my self as well.
