A few nights ago.
From last night. (Just in case anyone asks, the red spots are blood from where this redear poked my palm.)
WOW!! I'm hoping mine get to that point one day! Great looking fish! Thanks for sharing!
One more from last night.
Shorty, what did these fish bite on last night?
1" piece of nightcrawler on a 1/80th oz. micro jig under a slip bobber.
your sechi dish looks like mine. I made mine. If anybody wants to make their own... The bottom of a 5 gallon plastic bucket is the exact size you need. Tape it off and paint,drill a hole in center and install a I-Bolt. Tie a white cord to it and mark each inch with a majic marker. At the 1,2,3,4, ect. marks I put a easy to see yellow zip tie on the line. Works great for me.
Nice! well done. I wish I could have them in Wi.
woodster, why can you not have them in WI? No source to purchase? they aren't an approved species? or you are afraid of winter kill? They survive in Michigan lakes and have made it 2 winters in my pond, I can't imagine they wouldn't do OK in WI too?
From last night.
What's the length and weight on that one Shorty?
I didn't take a measurement as I thought she looked just a little bit shy of 10", she might have made 10" by pinching the tail. With as warm as it is I didn't want to keep her out of the water very long. A couple of quick pictures and back she went.
The one I am really after I saw a couple of night ago eating pellets, I am guessing 12", maybe better.
I used to have res like that and then nothing... I can't seem to catch them. I can catch smaller 4 inch ones around the bank but no big ones.
RC
Man, isn't there a forum rule about taunting other forum members with pictures of nice fish like this? Wish I had some like that.
MAN, once again I'm in aww from your pics. Great looking fish!!
Our of curiosity, how long have you been growing them? Those are some of the prettiest colors I have seen!! Thanks for sharing with us!
I hope my RES get that big. About how old would you say they are?
They look great.
A few more from tonight, the first one might be the one of the RES I started this thread with.
Wow! You the RES PBF King Shorty! I hope to raise some just like that. I've only caught one 10 incher about a year ago from my very first very low number of stockers. I hope to get the numbers up to where I can catch them on a regular basis like you are.
Shorty,
Do you keep any RES? Just curious. I've not kept any of mine, but they are still pretty small. 3-4" stockers in the pond for 16 months.
I would assume that someday I'll keep a few. Are they good eating? What's the best way to clean them?
I hope these questions aren't breaking taboo with a RES master, such as yourself. Maybe nobody, ever eats one. I have no idea.
Thanks
Jeff
Not to answer for Shorty but I think they are very good eating, almost as good as crappie.
RES are good eating, I have only kept a handful of smaller ones that swallowed the hook but they are good. SMB are delicious as well, sorry Sunil.
RES are good eating, I have only kept a handful of smaller ones that swallowed the hook but they are good. SMB are delicious as well, sorry Sunil.
Thanks! How are you cleaning them? Scale them, fillet them? I tried filleting some HBG the other day. Took a while, and didn't yield much.
Caught a couple RES last night. First one out of my main pond and the second one out of my forage pond where I am raising RES. I think this puts my RES catch rate at about one for Shorty's every 1000.
RES is laying on a 2x6 in first picture for a size estimate. Neither one very big.
Description: RES from main pond
Description: RES from forage pond
Whoohoo! Glad to see you are catching a few snrub.
I believe I've caught 2 in the last 20 years.
Shorty, everytime I see the pics of your res it makes me wanting mine to grow bigger faster. The ones @ my place grow way slower than the cnbg, but I hope someday they will outgrow those cnbg. Please continue posting your fish pics along with your experiences.
Thanks
Tracy
One from tonight on a piece of nightcrawler, micro jig, and slip bobber. (female RES)
What a chunk, nice!
Love the micro jig!
Great Shorty!
Keep it up!
You da redear king!
This upsets me. LOL.... I have done what I think as a pretty good job taking care of my pond sense I bought it in 2009. I got over a pound BG I have 4 to 5 pound HSB, I have almost 5 lbs bass..... But these fricken RES are killing me...... We can catch 3 and 4 inchers on worms but I haven't caught a nice big one in 3 years I bet.... I can't figure out if I've lost them all to the Heron or if I just can't catch any in my 1 acre pond.... Ughhh
RC
10-7/8" RES caught by my oldest boy. His first master angler.
Awesome!
Outstanding!
I want some of those!
10-1/8" and 1lb 3oz caught by my youngest boy. Also his first master angler.
Errrrrr.......
Those are some nice RES guys !!
One more from tonight, this might be same fish from 8/17 on this thread.
We are looking forward to your RES growing to 11". Nice fish indeed!
Well done Corey! Awesome and impressive
Here is the crazy part. I caught this RES and a couple others just like it in 2013... Now I can't catch a big one. If these few are still in my pond they got to be big! This was 3 years ago... I just cant find em... I know they spawn very shallow so I wonder if my bigger ones got nailed by the GBH.... I don't know...
Shorty, can you explain how you set up that slip bobber to catch the red ears? I have never used one before and would like to try and catch some of the red ears I stocked in my pond a few years ago. Pics would be helpful if not too much trouble. Or if their is a thread on the site already, maybe someone can post the link to it.
The basics, it works very well on BG and Crappie too.
I am using a clear casting bubble half filled with water as a slip bobber.
The rig:
Micro jig---20" to 24" leader----
swivel---bobber stop/bead--casting bubble--bead/bobber stop. The beads and bobber stops allow for adjusting the depth of the micro jig. It doesn't need to be all that fancy, the key to catching RES is fishing on or near the bottom slowly.
It is a variant of the rig pictured on top with a micro jig replacing the fly and bobber stops/beads added to make the casting bubble into a slip bobber.
What Shorty did not say is he takes the big plastics in the picutre and cuts them up into the small plastic that is on the jig head.
A small pair of sharp scisors works well to cut the plastics up.
I started doing this after Shorty showed this a while back and like it. I do not use the stop beads but think I need to. I just bounce it off the bottom but I think at times I need to be leaving the bait stay still longer or positioned just above the bottom. The stop beads properly positioned would allow me to do this.
The advantage to this as opposed to just casting the jig head alone is that the casting bubble allows the light bait to be cast almost anywhere a person is capable of casting a heavier bait. I also cast just the jig as pictured without the casting bubble, but a person is highly limited as to where the small, light bait can be cast. Also with the casting bubble acting as a slip bobber, it is heavy enough that you can let the bait sink, then slowly work it towards the shore by lifting the bait off the bottom, repeat as it moves toward shore. The casting bubble half filled with water is heavy enough to allow you to "work" the light jig off the bottom without it coming directly back to you.
Thanks for the info Shorty. How far apart do you typically put the bobber stops?
That's the exact rig Shorty hooked me up with, and although I've not targeted the RES yet, it was LETHAL on my BG! And that's just using a piece of plastic as seen in his photo. Caught over a dozen before having to replace it,,,, with just another piece of plastic
.
I now refer to it as "Shorty's Rig"
I'm going to pick up the stuff to make up the rig and give it a shot. I'm just really curious if any of the red ears have survived the past couple of winters in my pond. My pond is pretty blue gill heavy, so hopefully I can sneak this past them and catch a red ear or two if they are still around. Thanks for the advice guys.
I think you nailed one problem catching the RES. If you have a healthy population of BG for LMB forage with all class sizes, getting the bait past the hungry BG so a persnickety RES has time to decide to take it is a major problem.
One female tonight before the storms roll through.
Side view.
Wow that's an incredible fish.
You grow some awesome re, Shorty!
Beautiful RES Shorty. If I may ask, what did you catch her on?
Nothing else to say but *~*~mouth open with a little drool~*~*
WOW!
I caught her on a 1" piece of nightcrawler on an 1/80th oz. micro jig and a casting bubble that I rigged as a slip bobber. It is slick pan fish rig.
Thanks Shorty. I've never put a hook in one. I think it's time I try.
Shorty, what a nice fish u have
What would you guess the age of this fish is? Is it a shooter or like many others in your pond?
Tracy
What a chunk!
Nice work, Shorty!
I don't have pictures, but I fished my pond for the first time today.
It was first stocked with supposedly 6-8 inch CC last September and October, but most were in the 4-6 inch range.
Using a 12 foot ultralight crappie rod and a yellow 1/64 oz jig tipped with a yellow "Gulp Alive" waxie, I quickly caught two CC. The first one was about 16 inches and maybe 1.5-1.8 pounds. I quickly put it back in the pond. The second was 21 inches and 3 pounds 14 ounces. I kept it to eat. I guess that one was a "shooter". It was a female containing partially developed eggs. Maybe my feeding program has been about right. I was afraid of feeding too much and spoiling the water. I will try to take some more out if this one tastes good enough at tonight's meal.
Sure was a tussle catching it on that UL crappie pole with 6 pound line.
Both CC were over 100% RW.
Edit: It tasted really really good!
I don't have pictures, but I fished my pond for the first time today.
It was first stocked with supposedly 6-8 inch CC last September and October, but most were in the 4-6 inch range.
Using a 12 foot ultralight crappie rod and a yellow 1/64 oz jig tipped with a yellow "Gulp Alive" waxie, I quickly caught two CC. The first one was about 16 inches and maybe 1.5-1.8 pounds. I quickly put it back in the pond. The second was 21 inches and 3 pounds 14 ounces. I kept it to eat. I guess that one was a "shooter". It was a female containing partially developed eggs. Maybe my feeding program has been about right. I was afraid of feeding too much and spoiling the water. I will try to take some more out if this one tastes good enough at tonight's meal.
Sure was a tussle catching it on that UL crappie pole with 6 pound line.
Both CC were over 100% RW.
Edit: It tasted really really good!
That's awesome John! I know you posted a while back that your CC were only (I think) 14 to 16 which seemed low for being fed and their age. My money says you have male CC over 4.
Bill,
I have three albinos likely over five lbs, one of them may be six. I put them in last winter as brooders at two to 2.5 lbs. Don't know if they spawned or not....no fry have been seen or trapped yet. They are pellet hogs for sure! My wife named the biggest one "Vacuum".
Shorty mine don't match yours but the one I caught tonight out of my 1/20th acre forage pond lets me know I'm getting there. This guy was a tub. He is one of my brood stock raising the babies I have been trapping out of this pond and transferring to my main pond.
The smaller fish was about 7.5" but not nearly as robust. The last picture is the jig I caught them on.
I don't fish this pond much because I basically want to leave them alone so they will reproduce. But I do try to sample them a couple times a year just to see how they are doing. This is the largest RES to date out of this tiny pond.
Edit: I just looked at the eurogenital opening in the picture again and seen the short fins. Maybe this is a female???? Sure had a bright red opercular tab flap.
Description: My brood stock male RES
Description: Maybe a hair over 10"
Description: A male I think. Looks like it has been eating well.
Description: Another smaller one caught right after the above about 7 1/2"
Description: Jig and Gulp bait
Fished a total of 40 min the last 2 evenings. Caught 11 redears. 3 of which were over 10".
My daughter was the last one to get a redear over 10" and then did it twice in a row.
My nephew getting his first master angler.
Wow! Nebraska must be the RES capital of the world!
I am impressed Nedoc. This gives me great hope that I can also do this some day.
I like the expression of the little guy on the right. Got a little bit of Bobcat Goldwaith going on there.
Awesome!
Awesome!
We're gonna have to make this a race to a 12" redear. Although I'm guessing we've got a mutual friend who has already done such!!
Good job guys, outstanding!!!
I think I have a few 12" RES already, I just need to figure out how to catch them.
It seems I have some 11+ but pretty sure I don't have any at 12" or more. I stocked them 2 yrs ago, so they were hatched spring of 14. Doubt they'd be 12" by now. But who knows. It'll be fun to compare since our ponds are so similar.
My original 4" to 6" stockers went in December 2011, I caught one 8" female 7 months later in 2012. My original stocking was also on the light side too, just 110 RES. I suspect that biggest RES in my pond will be female as males spend significant time bedding during the warm water months.
