Does anyone know whay catfish would not reproduce, spawn in a pond? They have in the past, but did not notice any pods of fish this year.

What might cause then to not spawn?

Rick,

In my experience, which is limited w/cats, they have to have perfect conditions to spawn, i.e. spawning is the exception rather than the rule in ponds. Channel catfish are cavity spawners and will spawn only in secluded, low visibility areas. Most folks I know who get them to spawn in ponds have spawning containers to mimick the natural cavities they want. In most ponds, cats are "put and take".

Even when they do spawn, recruitment(survival) is very low. The slow swimming fry move around in schools and are picked off by bluegills.

Thanks Guys.

Put some tires half filled with concrete in there. They will use that to spawn in. Make sure it is in 3-5ft of water and preferably close to a "mud flat"

Is your pond muddy or clear? Lots of grass/weeds? Shaded by trees on the shore?

Other options would be to put a ton of timber into one corner for cover. The small cats survive better with something like this.

Also, it is just now time for channels to spawn (give or take a month) you might just have a later spawn than usual. Cooler water temps, lots of cloudy days, and no current (running water from a big rain) COULD delay the spawn.