Red tail cats are a tropical fish that exist in water temp's from roughly 70 to 80 degrees, no way could they survive a Texas winter, Florida maybe but anywhere else, no chance unless it's a heated pond. I lost a favorite red tail years ago when a heater in my tank, in the house, failed and the water went down to the mid-sixties, the fish was then attacked by a major fungus episode (typical in cold water) and died two days later. There are other catfish species from temperate zones around the world, as opposed to tropical, like the European Wels cat that could survive cold water but would be considered an invasive species and would likely be illegal as well as irresponsible to introduce anywhere outside of an aquarium. That said, I get it, I fish too and would like to catch a big red tail or other giant catfish without going to the Amazon or Thailand to do it. If it were my pond/lake, I would stock it with more prey species like crawfish, bluegill or other sunfish to feed the flatheads. Most fishermen would be content to catch bass and flatheads in their private pond….
