Catfish Ranch

[Mike]

A few Cats eating their feed.

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More of the same

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[Angus Breeder]

That looks like the perfect place to spend a sunny afternoon with a fishing pole.

 

[Mike]

That looks like the perfect place to spend a sunny afternoon with a fishing pole.

That's too much trouble.......fishing with a pole that is.

I just feed 'em up next to the bank and net them with a long handled dip net.

:wink:

 

[Maple Leaf Angus]

That looks like the perfect place to spend a sunny afternoon with a fishing pole.

That's too much trouble.......fishing with a pole that is.

I just feed 'em up next to the bank and net them with a long handled dip net.

:wink:

works as long as their owner doesn't catch you at it, eh Mike?

 

[Mike]

That looks like the perfect place to spend a sunny afternoon with a fishing pole.

That's too much trouble.......fishing with a pole that is.

I just feed 'em up next to the bank and net them with a long handled dip net.

:wink:

works as long as their owner doesn't catch you at it, eh Mike?

I know you are saying that for a joke but............catfish rustling is an art here down south. My cousin had a whole pond (10-12 thousand lbs.) stolen a couple of years ago after he had fed them all year.

I guess we need to start branding 'em. :wink:

 

[Anonymous]

That's too much trouble.......fishing with a pole that is.

I just feed 'em up next to the bank and net them with a long handled dip net.

:wink:

works as long as their owner doesn't catch you at it, eh Mike?

I know you are saying that for a joke but............catfish rustling is an art here down south. My cousin had a whole pond (10-12 thousand lbs.) stolen a couple of years ago after he had fed them all year.

I guess we need to start branding 'em. :wink:

Longroping Catfish-- Now thats a new one :lol: :lol:

 

[the_jersey_lilly_2000]

Mike,
Are yours trained to the horn? ours are....drive up to the tank and honk.....you can see all the V's swimmin towards ya. Then throw out the feed, looks just like your pictures.

 

[Mike]

Mike,
Are yours trained to the horn? ours are....drive up to the tank and honk.....you can see all the V's swimmin towards ya. Then throw out the feed, looks just like your pictures.

I don't even have to blow the horn. :???: I guess they can sense the vibrations or something.

What's funny is to not feed them for a day or two and pour some feed on the bank just at the waters' edge. They'll actually come out of the water to get it.

 

[the_jersey_lilly_2000]

Yeap

 

[DOC HARRIS]

A few Cats eating their feed.

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More of the same

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:shock: :shock: Good Grief!! That looks just like a school of Piranha in the wilds of the Amazon! Those 'suckers' can strip an Alligator bare to the skeleton in 15 -20 seconds!

DOC HARRIS

 

[the_jersey_lilly_2000]

Stick yer big toe in DOC.............................. :shock:

 

[DOC HARRIS]

Stick yer big toe in DOC.............................. :shock:

I am afraid the whiskers would tickle!

DOC HARRIS

 

[baling wire]

Whats the rate of gain? I have heard the feed eff. is real good.

 

[Mike]

Whats the rate of gain? I have heard the feed eff. is real good.

BW,
When they are fingerlings it is said that they will put on a lb. of gain for each lb. of feed. As they get larger the efficiency goes down exponentially.

Problem is................the processors (packers :wink: ) have figured out that it takes just as much labor to process a small fish as it does a larger fish, thereby wanting the producer to grow them to larger sizes taking much more feed. The feed is a 36% floating feed that's around $350.00 per ton.

The Vietnam fish exported here have all but killed the catfish market in recent years.

Doc,
That's exactly what it looks like. A school of Pirhana. There's a guy down the road who has a Jack Russel Terrier that will dive in when he is feeding his and catch them. It's a funny sight! That poor little dog has holes all in his mouth where the fish have "finned" him, but he keeps going back in!

When a catfish farmer gets ready to sell a pond of fish, the processor sends a representative out to catch a couple, skin them on the spot, set up his cooker and cook some for a "flavor test", right there on the pond bank. They pay according to the sweet flavor of the grain fed fish. "Off Flavor" fish get docked a bunch.

 

[jigs]

we have built a pond in the back of our yard and are currently dipping fish out of the canals to stock it. how much would it cost to get 50or so of the cat fish from a supplier?? or do they just do bulk ??

so far we have only got blue gill and crappy in the pond.... a few small cats, but they are hard to dip.

just curious on the price.

 

[Mike]

we have built a pond in the back of our yard and are currently dipping fish out of the canals to stock it. how much would it cost to get 50or so of the cat fish from a supplier?? or do they just do bulk ??

so far we have only got blue gill and crappy in the pond.... a few small cats, but they are hard to dip.

just curious on the price.

The fry are from ten cents quarter each. You could get a thousand in a gallon bucket. If fed properly, they will get to about a pound in a growing season. Bigger fish are obviously more expensive.

Unless you can aerate a pond don't put but about 500 to an acre.

By the way, those bluegill will eat feed right alonside the catfish.

 

[Maple Leaf Angus]

Last time I talked to my catfish farming buddy in Misissippi, the price of catfish was around $.70/lb., if I'm not mistaken. Is that about breakeven?

What's the price now for your finny friends?

 

[Mike]

Last time I talked to my catfish farming buddy in Misissippi, the price of catfish was around $.70/lb., if I'm not mistaken. Is that about breakeven?

What's the price now for your finny friends?

Average price for 2005 has been .72 cents/lb. Just about breakeven.

 

[DOC HARRIS]

Whats the rate of gain? I have heard the feed eff. is real good.

BW,
When they are fingerlings it is said that they will put on a lb. of gain for each lb. of feed. As they get larger the efficiency goes down exponentially.

Problem is................the processors (packers :wink: ) have figured out that it takes just as much labor to process a small fish as it does a larger fish, thereby wanting the producer to grow them to larger sizes taking much more feed. The feed is a 36% floating feed that's around $350.00 per ton.

The Vietnam fish exported here have all but killed the catfish market in recent years.

Doc,
That's exactly what it looks like. A school of Pirhana. There's a guy down the road who has a Jack Russel Terrier that will dive in when he is feeding his and catch them. It's a funny sight! That poor little dog has holes all in his mouth where the fish have "finned" him, but he keeps going back in!

When a catfish farmer gets ready to sell a pond of fish, the processor sends a representative out to catch a couple, skin them on the spot, set up his cooker and cook some for a "flavor test", right there on the pond bank. They pay according to the sweet flavor of the grain fed fish. "Off Flavor" fish get docked a bunch.

When I was a little kid, we used to "sein" fish for catfish in a tributary of the Missouri River in Mo. (against the Law! but this was during the Depression - and we liked to eat once in a while!). I stepped on a gunny sack full of cats and stuck one of those 'needle sharp' whiskers in my bare foot!!! :shock: Sucker hurt for two weeks. But I like grilled catfish the way Ruthie fixes it!

DOC HARRIS

 

[the_jersey_lilly_2000]

Any of ya'll ever done any grapplin?