I have (or had) a lot of GSF in my pond when I bought the land last year...literally thousands. All of the articles like SRAC I read said that they were trash fish. What makes them so bad?

I have added about 25 LMB (local catches from ponds, lakes and creeks) to my 2/3 acre pond and now I can't find hardly any GSF...and the bass are like footballs. When I first stuck in the bass, I would leave a fish trap in the pond to catch GSF. All of the GSF that I caught, I would cut their tales off to make them easier table fare for the bass...I think it worked. Now I miss the little buggers.

Trash fish! Now you have done it... Green Sunfish Association incoming...

GSF are considered "trash" fish by most... There are some on here who love their GSF and I too enjoy catching them under certain circumstances. GSF are considered trash fish for a few reasons. First, they don't attain larger sizes like BG do. Even in properly managed ponds, a GSF will struggle to reach a pound. An 8" GSF is big, a 10" GSF is huge. Not the case with BG. GSF also have very large mouths compared to BG. This means they compete directly with young bass for food. This competition is generally unwanted. GSF make excellent forage for bass as they are less rounded and more fusiform than BG. However, their annual fecundity is much lower. These two factors means that in a pond where BG and LMB are also present, they are usually quick to go. The bass prey on them heavily and the BG out reproduce them... Generally in a year or two, they are few and far between while the BG numbers boom. Some ponds will see GSF numbers remain stable, often because they are less prone to fish kills and poor water conditions. It has been my personal experience that GSF tend to compete and do best in small to medium sized streams. There they excel. They can and will survive in ponds with bass and BG. However, their numbers tend to be low and they usually head to rocky areas where they stick close to the rocky crevices or heavily vegetated areas. Are they trash fish? Up to your goals and desires... I think they fight just as good if not better than a similar sized BG. They are easier to catch as they have such large mouths and they taste the same.

We have some good friends a couple of miles away who have GSF in their pond. They also have LMB, bluegill, and several large koi. Now and then, they have put trout in during the winter. It's been this way for quite a while. Somehow all of the fish thrive.

The pond is very fertile, and they have a bad FA problem. They are overstocked with bass, so the bass aren't huge. But, they regularly catch 9-10 inch BG and GSF.

As CJ said above, they taste about the same as a BG. The GSF are more aggressive. An 8-inch GSF will take a 6-9 inch rubber worm.

I have a forage pond that the creek overflowed into and added GSF to the BG, CNBG and RES mix.

I don't cull GSF from my trap when I take fish to the other ponds. Heck, I like them.

In the spirt of this political season I shall offer my well thought out rebuttal:




Yo Mamma!



Our brillance does occasionally touch everyone.





This is a slanderous lie propagated by the hedonistic Bluegill. The Bluegill would have you believe that they are a wonderful fish that can obtain a bountiful size merely by throwing them in a pond and standing back and watching. GSF can and do reach 10 to 11 inches and weigh over a pound. It is just that most pond meisters have been spoon fed the hideous Bluegill propaganda and believe that the wonderful GSF only reaches a size of 3 to 4 inches. Blasphemy I tell you!




All the better to eat you with my dear. Competition is what our nation was founded upon. Competition is patriotism at it's best. Don't let the commie BG tell you any different.




Although we don't know what the word fusiform means it sounds slanderous. Our attorneys will be calling your attorneys.




That is because, unlike the harlot-like Bluegill, the almightly GSF is particular about it's mate. Contrary to the low self esteemed Bluegill, the GSF is not swimming around the pond spawning all willy nilly with any finned creature that happens to swim by.




The GSF is a miracle of evolution. It will show up and thrive where you least expect it.




IMHO, pound for pound the GSF outfights any other sunfish. They'll strike a huge lure and fight like a LMB.



Let me break it down for you. This is a case of follow the money.
Have you ever asked yourself, who is funding the war on GSF?
Russia?
China?
Big Blue Gill dot com?
Evil doers are conspiring against the magnificent GSF. They would have you believe that a single GSF will ruin your pond. It's lies, based upon falsehoods, sprinkled with rumor and innuendo. The arrogant BG will stop and nothing to corrupt your mind.

They don't want you to know the truth.... that left unchecked the Bluegill will over populate your pond and turn it into a vanilla wasteland.

Rise up I say, stand and be counted. Do not buy into the imperialist propaganda.


And remember we are watching. We are always watching.

Is there really much more to say about this post than, "wow?"

I see your "wow?" and I raise you an LOL WTF AWESOME.

Crazy stuff right here. When you sell it like this makes me wonder if I still want to add BG to my pond or not.

I have 1000's of GSF in it (and of course they mysteriously appeared).

And now they are fat from eating the feed.

Plus they will hit a lure 3 times there size.

Improving the country.

One pond at a time.

We are the..

I wish they made some kind of feed that the GSF wouldn't eat. I'm sick of feeding them when it's intended for the catfish. Heck, they go after the biggest of feed varieties!!!

Jeff,

You have too much time on your hands brother! LMAO!!!

seantOH

It's probably just me but does anyone else hear the A-team theme song in the background?

Thank god, I thought for sure you were going to say the theme song for
The Pink Panther.

Personally I hear the theme song for Mission Impossible.




Why does everyone keep telling me that?

Caught a nice 9.5 incher the other day, sure wish the camera would not have been dead. He was released to grow one more year before being tossed in the grease.

A 9.5 incher is a good sized GSF, not enormous but good sized.

What would you consider enormous for a GSF?

A GSF that was over 11 inches and/or over 1.5 pounds would, IMHO, be considered enormous.

Is that what size you have in your ponds?

What is the largest GSF you have caught?

I don't know what the maximum GSF is in my pond.

The largest GSF that I have caught was between 9.5 and 10 inches long.

DIED has caught GSF in his pond that are larger than mine. IIRC (I'll look for the photos) he caught one that weighed over a pound.

DIED's lunker GSF

It would be interesting to see pictures of large GSF. I present the challenge. NO photo shoppers allowed.

catmandoo, Where do you get rubber worms? Mine are all plastic!

Uff da! I'm old. I'm grumpy.

I own a Green Hornet. I still call the refrigerator an "ice box." I still slip, now-and-then, and refer to aluminum wrap as "tin foil." I still refer to Thunder Bay as "Fort William/Port Arthur." When I buy rubber worms, I buy rubber worms, no matter what they are made from!

But, it isn't just me. Even the high-end experts, like Gamakatsu, know a rubber worm, no matter what they are made from. The Big $ Experts still make hooks for rubber worms, so they must still be as real as Santa and the Easter Bunny.



No matter what my rubber worms are made from, I'm still going to call them rubber worms!

Good Fishn'
Grumpy Olde Ken

Yep, the fish don't care what you call them.

MRHELLO,

Here is one I caught this last spring. I have it laying on a 12.5 inch long cooler. I did not have a tape on me but I know this one had to be 10.5 or real close!

Nice greenie, RC!! Wouldn't you think that would make as nice an aquarium fish as many of the South American and African imports?

Hey Dave,

Thanks,

Yeah but they have attitude baby!! So not sure what else you could put in the tank with them! You would have to be careful! And have a decent size tank depending the size of your GSF. And remember they eat other fish!! They have the mentality of a bass when it comes to eating!

Here's a couple we caught back in May. Caught them on bass lures!!!

Those are some egg fat GSF! Pretty fish...

I have found GSF get beat up by BG of the same size when in the same aquarium together. Some have more spunk than others, by in general BG are much nastier. Pumpkinseeds are even more timid. RBS are sorta middle of the road.

I had some Longears two different times and had to get rid of them both times. They remind me much like the Tilapia I have now.

The longears are now in my pond, I guess we will see if they made i or if their bright colors made them an easy catch for a LMB.