![\"Family](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Holub2.jpg\" "\\"Holub2\\"")
<\/p>\nBy Shelby Shank
Field Editor<\/p>\n
For more than two decades, Chase Holub has built his life around aquaculture.<\/p>\n
What began as a high school job in 1999 eventually became a career and later a family business.<\/p>\n
After gaining experience working at several fish farms, Holub and his wife, Meredith, started Holub Fish in Blessings, where they raise catfish, hybrid striped bass and tilapia across 160 acres of water.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur ponds range from one to seven acres,\u201d Holub said. \u201cWe originally started with 10-acre ponds and started dividing them because it was easier to manage the farm and harvest fish.\u201d<\/p>\n
Raising fish from fingerlings
It begins with fingerlings brought in from out of state. Holub receives the young fish, ranging from an inch to six inches long, that are ready to be moved into grow-out ponds.<\/p>\n
Holub stocks them at different densities, or numbers of fish per pond, to manage their growth and maintain a variety of fish sizes throughout the year.<\/p>\n
The farm produces over 1 million pounds of fish each year and harvests year-round, allowing Holub to provide fresh fish to consumers throughout the year.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is one thing we pride ourselves on is being able to harvest fish year-round,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are able to get our fish into the market so that people can have fresh fish available.\u201d<\/p>\n
It can take 16 to 18 months before those fish are ready to harvest.<\/p>\n
Before a pond is harvested, Holub samples two fish to check for any signs of off-flavor, which can be caused by algae. He microwaves a small section of each fish without seasoning, checking the smell before tasting it.<\/p>\n
Fish selected for harvest are graded by size and moved into small ponds and above-ground tanks supplied with fresh well water. This makes them easier to access and helps clear their digestive systems before harvest.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy favorite part of the whole process is being able to do it with family,\u201d Holub said. \u201cThat makes it enjoyable. Otherwise, I probably wouldn\u2019t be doing this. They make it worth it.\u201d<\/p>\n
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From pond to plate
Harvest begins with a large net stretched across the pond and pulled toward the opposite end using two tractors. As the net closes in, the fish are gathered into a concentrated area.<\/p>\n
The fish are then caught into a basket and loaded onto trucks for delivery. The process is designed to keep the fish alive and minimize stress.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur fish get delivered to grocery stores weekly,\u201d Holub said. \u201cWe have a truck that goes two days a week into Houston and delivers live fish to Asian markets. We have a handful of restaurants we sell fish to, as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Holub also ships live fish out of state.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe ship into Louisiana and have gone as far as Arizona with our fish,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Some fish are delivered to lake management companies that use them to stock lakes and ponds for recreational fishing.<\/p>\n
Managing the ponds
Water quality is one of the most important factors Holub monitors on his farm.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe monitor our water quality weekly,\u201d he said. \u201cWe make sure that our fish have adequate water and that our water quality is acceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n
The ponds naturally lose water through evaporation, but the amount of water the farm uses is efficient with how many fish they raise.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt takes less water to raise fish than it does cows,\u201d Holub said.<\/p>\n
Oxygen is also critical. Aerators supplement oxygen in the ponds when needed. During the day, algae produce oxygen through photosynthesis, but at night, it consumes the oxygen, which causes levels to fall.<\/p>\n
Feed also contributes to algae growth, making oxygen management an ongoing part of fish farming. Rather than relying heavily on chemicals, Holub prefers to let his ponds naturally cycle out.<\/p>\n
![\"Family](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Holub3.jpg\" "\\"Holub3\\"")
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Growing Texas seafood
One of Holub\u2019s biggest challenges is competition from imported seafood.<\/p>\n
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. imports roughly 6 billion pounds of edible seafood each year.<\/p>\n
Holub wants consumers to know that seafood doesn\u2019t have to come from overseas.<\/p>\n
\u201cCatfish is everywhere throughout the South, but it\u2019s rare to see restaurants that actually know where the fish they\u2019re serving comes from,\u201d he said. \u201cWe want to show consumers that fish is grown right here in Texas and that Texas aquaculture has a lot to offer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Growing food for consumers is at the heart of what Holub does.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s by God\u2019s grace that we\u2019re able to do what we do here,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is all I\u2019ve ever done, and I like providing fresh fish for consumers.\u201d<\/p>\n
But his favorite part of the operation isn\u2019t the ponds or the fish. It\u2019s the people beside him.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Shelby ShankField Editor For more than two decades, Chase Holub has built his life around aquaculture. What…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":432870,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[150377,150378,150379,27,29,28,150380],"class_list":["post-432869","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-aquaculture","tag-holub-fish","tag-hybrid-striped-bass","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news","tag-tilapia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/432869","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=432869"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/432869\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/432870"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=432869"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=432869"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=432869"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}