each time i stocked either of my ponds the people selling the fish said i was getting 85% bg and 15% res. does anyone just sell res? and how do they know the percentage they are actually selling. i assume the fry come from the same pond. i havent heard of anyone just selling res in this area.
a few times i restocked larger bg after otters hit the pond. i dont think there were any res in the mix.
Most times when fish people are selling BG+RES as a grouping the percentage is an estimate. On fish farms pond space is limited so some fish may be raised or held together until they are sold. In your case both BG+RES were possibly raised/hatched together in one pond, or both stocked together as small stocker fish to be raised to larger sizes. Many fish farms that I am aware of usually offer either BG or RES as separate items and not mixed together.
Your fish seller is probably 'marching' to his own method for selling BG-RES. Shop the web for examples. Fish farms deal with lots of fish and often they will get a few of another species mixed in with a one specie tank for sales. If a single species purchase is absolutely necessary it is best to hand sort the fish as you stock them. For small sized fish this requires detailed knowledge of individual features of each fish species.
Scott this doesn't sound right to me. Are you working with American Sportfish?
Bill is correct and often it is hard to find just small RES. You can usually find , with some effort, a few larger RES. 10 to 15 % is what is normally sold when mixed.
american sportfish and s.e. pond both said the same thing. also the first man i bought my fish from in lee county stated the same ratio back in 2008
FWIW From ID folks gave me a few months back on my minnow trap catch photos, apparently last fall I stocked a few RES mixed with my planned PS. I am ok with that and actually consider it a plus.
News to me - I've never purchase mixed sunfish species up this way. Thanks for sharing - did not sound right to me, but apparently that's how some hatcheries operate. For cool water species ponds where the goal is to omit Bluegill, this obviously wouldn't be a good scenario.
Like you TJ I don't prefer the mixed method. Hatcheries don't much care what I like however.