Red Tailed Catfish in Grandbury TX

[thebiggerthebetter]

The RTC will not survive TX winters. Please, don't place it there, it'd be cruel. Plus the Fish and Game Service would not give you a permit for it anyway.

The RTCs failed to establish a sustainable population even in southern FL (released by the State to tickle fisherman's fishing bone). They die back during cold winter spells. All of FL is still subtropical, except the keys.

You need tropical. Which in the US is

FL keys
US Virgin islands
Hawaii

See last link in my signature for a database of the largest f/w fish in the world (with a few exceptions, like I didn't pay attention to stingrays but sturgeons are there! and I indicated which ones survive in all f/w.)

 

[amazonfishman]

Edit. Double Post

 

[amazonfishman]

Would it be realistic to keep a RTC in a huge pond on our ranch? It used to be a frac pond but not anymore. I have personally stocked it with native fish. They've been in there for years. At the deepest part it's 30'. I was just thinking would it get too cold for it? I know this pond is DEFINITELY big enough. I would put 2 or 3 of em in there. Also, the pond is completely sealed so they wouldn't be able to get out. I'm worried about the RTC's eating everything else and also it being too cold in the winter. Also I'm brand new to the forum!

Definitely not on the RTC in Granbury. I'm from DFW and the winters are way to cold for it to make it, pond temps on that size will drop deep into the low 50's or high 40's and you'd see the RTC die off in any sustained water temps below high 60's. Believe me I've been trying to find a way to keep a pond 68 degrees or higher without breaking the bank and thus far no success on the scale your talking about (2 acre uncovered). If it was smaller and had substantial heating even something like a hot water discharge that would heat an area of the pond consistently...maybe...but the amount of solar you'd need for it or electric running major heaters would break the wallet unless you could cover the entire pond somehow which on 2 acres is unlikely.

I would recommend improving the stocking of bluegill or tilapia in the summer months if you really want to put some size on those bigger cats in a hurry. You can get a Blue to 100lbs in 10 years with enough forage and that pond can support a fish of that size even though it may seem far fetched. Other local ponds have in the metroplex. I've personally caught Blues to 47" and est 60lbs out of a sub 3 acre pond near my folks place and many over 40lbs. The problem you'll run into is when the cats get big you'll have to start supplemental feeding to maintain any number of them because the baitfish can't keep up in a smaller pond. If you're wanting more sport and don't care about the size as much I'd consider trying to find some Bowfin locally off the river because they are amazing sportfish and typically grow larger than Largemouth Bass plus the fight is WAY more explosive and they are excellent sight fishing targets. My pb is 12lbs on them but they have them to 20lbs in parts of east Texas like Lake Fork.

A full grown flathead will eat a full grown RTC

Simply not the case. I've seen full grown Flatties/Blues and the average RTC is larger than most trophy Flatties/Blues. They have RTC to 150lb+ even though IGFA recognized world record is 123ish because not many people claim IGFA records on those beast SA Catfish. Case and point I crushed the world record Dourada Catfish in Suriname last year on my trip beating it by over a foot in length and close to 20lbs but wasn't on light enough line or official scale to submit it.

Goonch would definitely survive! -)

I looked into this before and I think they MIGHT survive the winter but you'd run into dissolved oxygen issues and excess heat in the summer that would become problematic for them.This is the same sort of issue you'd have with the Sturgeon some people suggested. Yes they can handle the winter but they'd never survive the TX summer with 90+ degree water temps.

Wels are illegal period. You can't import them

Also not true. There have been vendors selling them on here and aquabid in the recent past so unless the legislation changed recently it's still doable.

How big do blue catfish and flathead catfish get? I wasn't aware that they could get anywhere near the size of an RTC. Jeremy Wade caught an RTC on one of his shows that was about 5ft. I have no doubt that they get that big.

Also, are the blue and flathead catfish as aggressive as the RTC? I know that the RTC's have been known to take down some large prey and a lot of it.

TX record Blue Catfish is 121.5lbs and 58" caught out of Lake Texoma on Rod and Reel, I've seen this fish in person when it was at the Athens Wildlife Fisheries center before it died and was caught by Cody Mullennix who guides out there still I believe. Flattie record for TX is 114lbs and 56.5" on a trotline. I would say that Blues are not as aggressive as RTC at all but Flatties I would put close to it. They've found more than a few Flatties with ducks in their stomachs...

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

Definitely not on the RTC in Granbury. I'm from DFW and the winters are way to cold for it to make it, pond temps on that size will drop deep into the low 50's or high 40's and you'd see the RTC die off in any sustained water temps below high 60's. Believe me I've been trying to find a way to keep a pond 68 degrees or higher without breaking the bank and thus far no success on the scale your talking about (2 acre uncovered). If it was smaller and had substantial heating even something like a hot water discharge that would heat an area of the pond consistently...maybe...but the amount of solar you'd need for it or electric running major heaters would break the wallet unless you could cover the entire pond somehow which on 2 acres is unlikely.

I would recommend improving the stocking of bluegill or tilapia in the summer months if you really want to put some size on those bigger cats in a hurry. You can get a Blue to 100lbs in 10 years with enough forage and that pond can support a fish of that size even though it may seem far fetched. Other local ponds have in the metroplex. I've personally caught Blues to 47" and est 60lbs out of a sub 3 acre pond near my folks place and many over 40lbs. The problem you'll run into is when the cats get big you'll have to start supplemental feeding to maintain any number of them because the baitfish can't keep up in a smaller pond. If you're wanting more sport and don't care about the size as much I'd consider trying to find some Bowfin locally off the river because they are amazing sportfish and typically grow larger than Largemouth Bass plus the fight is WAY more explosive and they are excellent sight fishing targets. My pb is 12lbs on them but they have them to 20lbs in parts of east Texas like Lake Fork.

Simply not the case. I've seen full grown Flatties/Blues and the average RTC is larger than most trophy Flatties/Blues. They have RTC to 150lb+ even though IGFA recognized world record is 123ish because not many people claim IGFA records on those beast SA Catfish. Case and point I crushed the world record Dourada Catfish in Suriname last year on my trip beating it by over a foot in length and close to 20lbs but wasn't on light enough line or official scale to submit it.

I looked into this before and I think they MIGHT survive the winter but you'd run into dissolved oxygen issues and excess heat in the summer that would become problematic for them.This is the same sort of issue you'd have with the Sturgeon some people suggested. Yes they can handle the winter but they'd never survive the TX summer with 90+ degree water temps.

Also not true. There have been vendors selling them on here and aquabid in the recent past so unless the legislation changed recently it's still doable.

TX record Blue Catfish is 121.5lbs and 58" caught out of Lake Texoma on Rod and Reel, I've seen this fish in person when it was at the Athens Wildlife Fisheries center before it died and was caught by Cody Mullennix who guides out there still I believe. Flattie record for TX is 114lbs and 56.5" on a trotline. I would say that Blues are not as aggressive as RTC at all but Flatties I would put close to it. They've found more than a few Flatties with ducks in their stomachs...

Seriously awesome post. Thanks!! Yes, after a long consideration since the early 2000s, the legislation changed this summer of 2017. Wels is now federally banned.

Surely you got pics of that dourada cat, right?

 

[amazonfishman]

Seriously awesome post. Thanks!! Yes, after a long consideration since the early 2000s, the legislation changed this summer of 2017. Wels is now federally banned.

Surely you got pics of that dourada cat, right?

I stand corrected and my apologies to J.H. with my post. I've been out of the game for a while and starting to get back on here and into the hobby more aggressively again. Pics are in the other thread on Rosseauxii

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

I stand corrected and my apologies to J.H. with my post. I've been out of the game for a while and starting to get back on here and into the hobby more aggressively again. Pics are in the other thread on Rosseauxii

Which is here, for those who are not in the loop and for posterity: https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/threads/brachyplatystoma-rousseauxii-growth.693493/

 

[Drstrangelove]

I looked into this before and I think they MIGHT survive the winter but you'd run into dissolved oxygen issues and excess heat in the summer that would become problematic for them.This is the same sort of issue you'd have with the Sturgeon some people suggested. Yes they can handle the winter but they'd never survive the TX summer with 90+ degree water temps.

Thanks for correcting me. I've only lived around bays and lakes, where water temps don't change drastically in the summer. I completely forgot that after winter comes spring and then comes summer... which with enough Texas days is pretty darn warm for a pond.

Simply not the case. I've seen full grown Flatties/Blues and the average RTC is larger than most trophy Flatties/Blues. They have RTC to 150lb+ even though IGFA recognized world record is 123ish because not many people claim IGFA records on those beast SA Catfish. Case and point I crushed the world record Dourada Catfish in Suriname last year on my trip beating it by over a foot in length and close to 20lbs but wasn't on light enough line or official scale to submit it.

Nice! I never thought too much about it, but it's obvious that the biggest fish that are caught aren't always recorded.