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![Oak-Grove:-Carpenters-Catfish-Farm_01aaa.jpg Oak-Grove:-Carpenters-Catfish-Farm_01aaa.jpg: grace, kaye, catfish farm, catfish pond](/photos/Oak-Grove:-Carpenters-Catfish-Farm/thumbs/Oak-Grove:-Carpenters-Catfish-Farm_01aaa.jpg.width.200.c.jpg)
Grace takes a rest with her mother, Kaye Perry, George and Martha's daughter.
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![Oak-Grove:-Carpenters-Catfish-Farm_01c.jpg Oak-Grove:-Carpenters-Catfish-Farm_01c.jpg: hook, line, sinker, mouth, catfish, whiskers, farm, catfish farm](/photos/Oak-Grove:-Carpenters-Catfish-Farm/thumbs/Oak-Grove:-Carpenters-Catfish-Farm_01c.jpg.width.200.c.jpg)
Donnie Waters is extracting the hook from the mouth of the catfish with the assistance of George Carpenter.
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![Oak-Grove:-Carpenters-Catfish-Farm_03.jpg Oak-Grove:-Carpenters-Catfish-Farm_03.jpg: catfish, hook, fisherman, catfish farm, lake, pond, rod and reel](/photos/Oak-Grove:-Carpenters-Catfish-Farm/thumbs/Oak-Grove:-Carpenters-Catfish-Farm_03.jpg.width.200.c.jpg)
Mayor Bennie Barnes hooks a large catfish. He and Donnie Waters are planning a fish fry for Margorie Waters who is retiring from her job with the City of Century. It takes about an hour for the Mayor and Donnie to catch 20 fish.
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![Oak-Grove:-Carpenters-Catfish-Farm_04.jpg Oak-Grove:-Carpenters-Catfish-Farm_04.jpg: mayor barnes, catfish, rod and reel, catfish farm, catfish pond](/photos/Oak-Grove:-Carpenters-Catfish-Farm/thumbs/Oak-Grove:-Carpenters-Catfish-Farm_04.jpg.width.200.c.jpg)
Mayor Barnes carries his fish to the scales for weigh-in.
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![Oak-Grove:-Carpenters-Catfish-Farm_04a.jpg Oak-Grove:-Carpenters-Catfish-Farm_04a.jpg: weigh-in, catfish farm, scales](/photos/Oak-Grove:-Carpenters-Catfish-Farm/thumbs/Oak-Grove:-Carpenters-Catfish-Farm_04a.jpg.width.200.c.jpg)
Mayor Barnes has the prize catch of the day.
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![Oak-Grove:-Carpenters-Catfish-Farm_07aa.jpg Oak-Grove:-Carpenters-Catfish-Farm_07aa.jpg: cleaning catfish, gaffing hook, silo, catfish farm](/photos/Oak-Grove:-Carpenters-Catfish-Farm/thumbs/Oak-Grove:-Carpenters-Catfish-Farm_07aa.jpg.width.200.c.jpg)
George Carpenter begins a demonstration of cleaning catfish by cutting off the spiny central fin.
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![Oak-Grove:-Carpenters-Catfish-Farm_10.jpg Oak-Grove:-Carpenters-Catfish-Farm_10.jpg: skinning catfish, cleaning catfish, silo, catfish farm, farmer](/photos/Oak-Grove:-Carpenters-Catfish-Farm/thumbs/Oak-Grove:-Carpenters-Catfish-Farm_10.jpg.width.200.c.jpg)
The silo in the background holds 15 tons of catfish food. Catfish food is fed in pellet form. It is a high protein diet composed of fish meal, soybeans, corn, and wheat. In the summer, the catfish at the Carpenter pond consume a ton of food each day.
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![Oak-Grove:-Carpenters-Catfish-Farm_20.jpg Oak-Grove:-Carpenters-Catfish-Farm_20.jpg: decidious trees, pecan trees, sunset, catfish farm](/photos/Oak-Grove:-Carpenters-Catfish-Farm/thumbs/Oak-Grove:-Carpenters-Catfish-Farm_20.jpg.width.200.c.jpg)
This specatular sunset can be seen from the Carpenter's kitchen window.
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![Oak-Grove:-Carpenters-Catfish-Farm_25.jpg Oak-Grove:-Carpenters-Catfish-Farm_25.jpg: net, seine, rowboat, fishermen. catfish farm](/photos/Oak-Grove:-Carpenters-Catfish-Farm/thumbs/Oak-Grove:-Carpenters-Catfish-Farm_25.jpg.width.200.c.jpg)
There is about 3,500 pounds per basket or 1,167 fish are retrived with each scoop.
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![Oak-Grove:-Carpenters-Catfish-Farm_26.jpg Oak-Grove:-Carpenters-Catfish-Farm_26.jpg: catfish farming, catfish harvest, pond, lake, seine, rowboat, loading, 18 wheeler](/photos/Oak-Grove:-Carpenters-Catfish-Farm/thumbs/Oak-Grove:-Carpenters-Catfish-Farm_26.jpg.width.200.c.jpg)
There are no chemicals used in the pond. it is a totally controlled environment. A sample fish is sent to the processing plant for assessment. Tasters at the plant decide when the fish are ready for harvest. A select few fish from each load are ground up and anaylzed for chemicals by the USDA.