I cant catch the big ones

[jdw123]

i have a 20 acre lake that is 45 years old. i been setting trotlines out for the last couple of years and cant catch any big blues or channels. i have caught alot of nice size channels and blues 5-10 pounds, and plenty of bullheads. ive never caught a flathead any size out of it. the biggest blue i ever caught out of this lake was 21 pounds, but i can never catch the bigger ones. ive used all kinds of bait and the one i found works best in my lake in cut bluegill. i got lines out in different sections of my lake. do i need to set these lines everyday and maybe a big blue or channel will get on it, i dont get it. maybe theres not alot of bigger ones?

jdw

[droptine77]

The fish you are catching may be as big as they get. The pond may not be big enough to support fish any bigger. Too many cats and not enough forage.

[yeppa]

Welcome to the BOC, And also welcome to my Can't Catch Big'uns club.

[wolfman]

Sounds like a over population of fish. Another thing is ,if there are flatheads in there, most likely they would wipe out the bullhead population. Blues,channels and bass are competing for the same food supply, so their growth rate might not be as fast.

[jsthumb]

21 lbs is a nice fish. You said the lake was 45 years old. what other type of fish are in there? How long ago where cats introduced into the pond? Is there plenty of food food for them to grow larger? You may want to start feeding them if you want bulk them up as there may not be many larger than that in there YET. Dog food is cheap if you buy the large bags and they will grow faster. If you feed in the same spots on a regular basis then you can go and have a blast with fishing by rod and reel in that same spot. Just a thought.

[AwShucks]

Justin, I'll throw my two cents in with Justine77. 20 acres is really not that big, in the general scheme of things. It will support a few large fish, but you can't expect the same thing you'd get out of Texhoma or Toledo Bend. But welcome to the B.O.C. while your waiting for those fish to grow. LOL

[crazy]

Well, I'm going to say you don't have blue cats in the lake! Are you sure there blue cats and just not channel cats? Most people just can't tell the deference. Channels will loose there spots and turn a blue color. But hey it's your lake I'm sure you know whats in it right?

[jdw123]

they are blues, you can tell the difference because the anal fin is straighter than the anal fin of a channel which is more rounded. I have some crappie in it which ive only caught a few and they were small. there is not an abundance of crappie. I caught a 8 1/2 pound largemouth bass today on a trotline baited with goldfish, my biggest bass out of my lake was 10 pounds. plenty of sunfish, plenty of carp, and plenty of dang turtles. i set out 15 traps this past spring and caught 65 turtles most being red ears, and some softshells. i dont think i have any flatheads, ive never caught one and there is plenty of bullheads. my lake bottom is muddy with some few white rock ledges on the banks and one big drop off that i know of. well thats whats in my lake.

jdw

[TX Fisherman]

if youve got a good supply of bait fish you should be good to go, it sounds like you have some monster fish in there, a 10lb bass is a nice fish, and 5-10lb channels and blues are nice too, but i wouldnt expect an abundance of monster fish in a 20 acre lake, agreed this is a big lake but when a fish starts gettin that big it will feed off your other game fish, i could see a monster fish in a 20acre pond if you feed them with pellets, that way the big fishes dinner get bigger, do you feed em pellets?

[AwShucks]

Another way to tell the difference between a blue and a channel is to stick your finger in its mouth... LOL. A blue will tell you in a hurry.

[yeppa]

Now Lawrence==That's just plain mean. I luv it!

[Cattoo]

are you sure your not misidentifying these "blues". they could be some really big channels.

[jdw123]

here is the pic of the 21 pound blue out of my lake. i not sure how to post pics but hope it works.

http://www.catfish1.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=31230&stc=1&d=1192309601

[jdw123]

i cant believe i have to have 10 post before i see pics of fish.

[cumberlandcat]

I would be pleased with fish like that outa a lake that size heck I live by a lake that is 25 miles long and those would still make me happy. It all depends on the body of water you could be catching the best fish in the lake.