I stocked 100 redears, along with 50 3"LMB, 500BG's, and 25 channel cat's 2 years ago, in a new 1 acre pond. Caught 1 about 6" last spring. Do I need a redear call or just understanding that redear are not sociable? I luv redear's, but they don't luv me in my own home! I hate redears!
http://forums.pondboss.com/images/icons/default/laugh.gif
Would Dr. Phil have me and a redear on? Just asking........

Try fishing at dusk.

I have SMB, RES, GSH, and YP, my RES despise me too.

You're pretty far North man. Are you sure the RES survived and are still in there?

Hey Mike - many here feel your anguish! If you want the best shot at sampling your RES, try when they are bedding - they become very aggressive and will strike when baits approach the nest site. Also, RES are more benthic feeders than BG - so try fishing with a 1/32 oz jig/crawler nub combo and keep contact with the bottom. I catch most of my RES during the spawn and near bottom.

TJ,

Help me out here. How far North can RES survive? Literature I read from the IL DNR seems conflicting. One article says not recommended North of highway 88. Another article says they stock them in Rock Cut State Park (about as far North in IL as you can get). I would like to have some if they can survive N. IL.

Bill, the RES may not become monster "trophies" that far north, but I don't think they will have any problem surviving. I am making a run near your neck of the woods, hopefully near the end of March with 4"+ RES, HSB, FHM, GSH, HBCP, LMB and SMB (if I can find some smallies). I'd be happy to help you discover survival rates

That would be awesome! I am game to give it a try! Let me know if you get as far north as Bloomington and I'll drive down to meet you if you think they will survive my 2 hour trip home. Might even buy you a greasy burger if we can find a suitable greasy spoon diner or truck stop! My puddle is not big as you know, but I would love to have your minimum of RES, HBCP and GSH to add to my mixed up pot! Shoot me a PM when your plans firm up.

It's quotes like this from Bob Lusk that really makes me curious! Yet, I see others saying RES can take it.

"Redear sunfish, also called "shellcracker" in the southeastern states, or "chinquapin perch" in Louisiana, and heavily utilized in southern and southwestern states, and up into warmer regions along the eastern seaboard and Midwest. Redear eat macroinverte-brates, especially snails. They live in a different niche than their bluegill cousins. Single spawners each year, redear are an "insurance" policy as a forage. Like bluegill, redear have tiny mouths, limiting their ability to compete with game fish. Plus, where redear grow, they thrive, some as large as 14 inches, pushing a pound and a half. They don't like cold water, or ice."

Bill, I will be going through Bloomington/Normal. RES may not "like" ice, but they survive and even thrive in many ponds that are heavily iced over at least a couple months of every year...like in Lincoln, NE...

See you there! Shoot me a PM when your schedule firms up!

Mike, aside from spawning season, my best luck with RES is on firm soil (or small rocks) using tiny crawfish as bait. I'm talking craws under an inch, if possible. I used to catch bait in drainage ditches and use them on False River, Louisiana. Sometimes bass or BG would whack the craws, but the RES seemed to particularly love 'em.

Of course, if you have grass shrimp, everything will hit it, including RES. But if you want to target RES, hard to beat little craws!

Mike is too far North for Redear to survive the winter. I have RES in my pond, and he'a at least 5 miles further north than my pond.

Mike, try fishing with a small leadhead jig, tipped with a worm, bounced along on the bottom of the pond.

I do have four RES currently in an aquarium and think that they "may" love me, but only because I feed them. They wag their tails like little puppy dogs and jump against the glass when they see me across the room slicing up nightcrawlers.

The RES in my pond still despise me but last year I did set a pond record and actually caught 18-20 of them.

Scott - plagiarism is not a victim-less crime. "Also, RES are more benthic feeders than BG - so try fishing with a 1/32 oz jig/crawler nub combo and keep contact with the bottom. I catch most of my RES during the spawn and near bottom."

I have the same issues. I know they are in my two main ponds. I see them spawning every season. Several times I've added several hundred. One time I kept about 100 of them in a cage from May to August -- hand feeding them worms and bugs. About 25 survived to about 4 inches. The were turned free.

I only catch a few per year. All get quickly returned to the water.

The only thing I can say is that they must be doing their job. I've not found a single white or yellow grub in any of my BG or LMB in many years, while I have a lot of feathered visitors.

I have had the best luck catching RES fishing 4-6ft deep using crickets or bee moth.

Live grass shrimp or cricket fished on a miniature Carolina rig near deeper structure. In summer, I fish just above the thermocline. RES love to hold near bottom structure right at the thermocline. In aerated ponds, they could be anywhere...

My wife's grandmother taught us how to catch redears. Small hook with red worm fished on sandbars on the bottom. Small weight it works

T - what type/size hook are you using with that rig? Kahle 10 work?

I like a size 8 Kahle for the grass shrimp and 6 for crickets.

If you are fishing from a boat and can get right on top of the structure, I also love drop shot rigs. Just down size from what you'd use for bass. I really like a size 8 VMC spinner drop shot hook. Usually a 1/8-1/4 Oz drop shot weight. Place the hook 12"-18" above the weight. This is where grass shrimp are hammers! You'll be amazed at how large of an LMB will hit this setup as well.

I also put 100 in my 1 acre pond 5 years ago! I consider them a bonus fish! It's funny how hard they can be to catch. Like TJ said I seem to catch more of mine in the spawn time. I know I still have them cause last year I caught about 8 or 9 four to five inchers. And one was about 8 inches. Funny thing is I caught some 2 years ago that were already pushing 8 inches so I should have some monsters in there I just cant find them! They are a loner fish man!! They are doing the job they need to do though. I have not had any snails or black pepper spots on any of my fish or anything! So they may hate me but I cant get mad at them!

Thanks for the tip. Put 175 RES in my sediment pond late last summer so need to learn to catch them effectively. Most of the guys on here are long time anglers and probably know what a drop shot rig is. I did not, so looked it up. Here are pictures for the other fishing dummies like me.

Drop shot rig pictures

There are video's within those pictures also.

Oh yeah drop shot rigs are awesome specially if you have a lot of muck on the bottom of your pond and you want to keep your bait out of it. Let that sinker fall to the bottom and keep that worm or whatever else about8 to 10 inches up the line and hold on! Remember though with drops shot rigs it's best to set the hook nice and smooth like and to the side don't yank it straight up!! Kinda side pull it fast but smooth.

RC

I know they are in my ponds. They seem to spawn every year -- at least the males make and guard beds. I just don't catch many of them. Maybe 2-3 per year. As I stated above, I throw back nearly all that I catch.

Here is one that didn't go back in because it seemed very lethargic:

Cat

Wow what a hog! If I was that phat I would be lethargic too.

Pat

Pat,

Yer not really buying into the whole lethargic story are ya? All fish appear lethargic if yer hungry for a nice fish sandwich and haven't had lunch!

That fish is two maybe three sandwiches!

Not for a second! RES are very tasty- close to white perch.... Nah

I told the wife I am going to get a line wet this weekend, I went outside, and from a distance, I was sure a redear was giving me the fin! I know its early, but I gotta try!

That's awesome.

perfect!

I caught two small RES this morning. Maybe they are warming up to me even with the cold water temps.

I went out and fished for 25 minutes after lunch and caught three more RES.



The bigger one was thick and healthy but had some cold water fin rot.

Shorty, I am jealous. Congrats...No redears this weekend, but a lmb out of my 2.5 year old pond, weighing in at just under 4 lbs!!!! It made my weekend. Blue 1/8 oz jig head with a white tube body. All the other lmb I caught were still plump too, after a long winter.

All of those RES were caught on a micro jig (1/80th oz) rigged 24" below a swivel and a casting bubble. All of them were caught in less than 3 ft of water. I also caught about three dozen GSH, two were over 9", and one 14-1/2" SMB, all on the same rig.

Shorty
Can you post a pic of the micro jig, please
I love them redears


Pat

Pat,

I found this in another thread.

Thanks Shorty
Gonna get some

Wow short, your RES have very vivid yellow pelvic and anal fins. I've seen some with, some without - those are almost blinding! Beautiful coloration.

I am pretty sure males will darken up once spawning time gets closer.

I also have reduced water clarity from last summers gully washers and an overabundance of GSH, my reduced water clarity might be playing a role in coloration. I find it interesting that the 4 RES I have in my aquarium are no where near that vivid in coloration.

Below is one caught early spring.

Caught nine more RES in 45 minutes tonight.

Shorty

Good looking fish... They my fav. Besides crappie

Pat,

Remind me to send you some YP fillets!
Better yet, you guys come up for a visit and catch yer own dang YP!

Mike, that is quite an accomplishment in your neck of the woods. Sounds like you have good RW, too. Way to go!

I'll take you up on that Bill

Very good condition Shorty !!!!!

My larger 8-9" RES are in great condition coming out of winter, not sure what the have been eating over the winter but the ones I have sampled are thick and in very good condition.

My smaller 5-6" RES are just more average in condition, I have caught a small number of YP and SMB in the 5-7" range and they seem to be in below average condition right now. At the moment I do have a very large year class of 5-7" GSH that most of my smaller fish are all competing with.

I have wondered about this as it seems lots of folks have GSH in their ponds. How do you manage GSH once their size out grows your predators's mouth gap?

I do have a small number of SMB in the 15" to 16-3/4" that can eat that size of GSH but I may need to add some HSB or simply remove some of the larger GSH by angling. The rig I have been catching RES was originally set up to primarily catch GSH to use for bait on the larger SMB, catching RES was a pleasant surprise.

If using GSH as forage in a pond not being stocked with LMB, I'd be very careful to not over stock them. Stocking a smaller number of brooder size GSH that are just big enough to not be eaten by your largest predator fish is a good plan to avoid GSH over abundance. You can control the GSH numbers by selecting the numbers stocked. 50 to 100 brooders per acre. All YOY GSH will be vulnerable to predation. The original stocked GSH will remain your baby markers but in the controlled numbers you first stocked. If you go by stocking fry or smaller 1"-2" fish in larger numbers, before predators go in, you could see a high percentage survive and have an over abundance of adult GSH competing with your preferred species.

CJ, I stocked 3 dozen 2-3" GSH in June along with 5 dozen FHM, SMB were stocked in October, my RES were late and got stocked in December. The GSH only had a 5 month head start on the SMB.

I caught two more RES last night and one GSH.

I might have figured out my RES, I caught 19 of them tonight which about matches my entire total from 2014.

I have a strong year class of this size.


and a few bigger ones...






I also caught 2 SMB and 8 GSH.

My bet is your GSH pulled off at least a couple spawns before the SMB were stocked. That first spawn probably had high survival rate and growth. What size were the SMB when stocked?

The SMB were 5 to 8" when stocked in late October and they were large enough to pull off an unexpected spawn the following spring six months later.

It's a game of balance... Quite a challenge at times.

Yep, I have seen a lot of boom and bust cycles since my little pond filled 4 years ago. Most of my initial stocking fish are difficult to catch but some year classes of offspring do have a lot of competition now. In particular small YP seem to be in the worst body condition, yet I have only seen a few of them. Nature also likes to throw some unexpected curve balls too that affect the balance, I have had my share of those.

I did catch 5 more RES last night. All caught in less than 3-4 ft of water. I think I have finally figured them out, I have caught more RES in the last two weeks than I have in the last 3 years combined.

From last night, probably hatched in 2012 and not part of my initial stocking of RES. I am guessing this one is a female.

The key to catching the RES in my pond seems to be a very slow stop and go retrieve and letting the micro jig suspend near the bottom in shallow water. The less windy it is the better.

Make sure the small casting bubble is half full of water. A bobber stop above the casting bubble is a must. Casting parallel to the bank and slowly moving the rig 6-12", letting is stop and sink a few inches, then slowly moving another 6-12",is triggering my RES to bite.

The rubber on the micro jig is nothing more than a small section from the upper looped arms cut off of a Zoom Brush Hog, I can get three pieces per side off of one Brush Hog. A black color works great, green pumpkin or watermelon should work well in imitating a damselfly nymph, I will try those colors next.




This rig should be a killer on BG at more normal retrieve speeds.

Nice work, Shorty! Figuring anything out having to do with RES is quite an accomplishment.

I like RES. They just don't like me.

Gonna have to give those techniques a try!

Gave it the ole' weekend college try.....no RES. A positive note, my grandson caught many nice BG and my son, his two biggest LMB. 3 LBS, 15 ozs and one just under that.....good time had by all.

After work tonight I caught 29 RES, 1 YP, 1 SMB, and 4 GSH.

Shorty, you are an inspiration to those of us trying to raise RES.

Same bait?

Same bait, 2 to 3ft of water along to edge of the pond. If I throw it out farther over deeper water I'm more likely to catch a GSH.

A male!

If we go by bright yellow bellies are males, and creamy colored bellies are female, then I have been catching more males than females.

I go by the color of the margin on the opercular tab. Bright red being male indication, fainter orange being female. I don't know how reliable this method is...I know I've been right more than wrong with it. I often find tweener fish that just don't fit in either category without nagging doubts.

A little better picture of what I have been using to catch my RES.

Shorty, I have all but given up on RES in my puddle. But wait! Those showoffs have 3 beds about a foot deep, 3 feet off shore, and spaced 2-2.5 feet apart! Them little criminals are the most aggresive nest guards I have witness.
So to them I say" I'LL be back, ......back with nuclear weapons!

Mike, if it makes you feel better, once my RES began spawning they started given me the fin and became very unsociable with me. I guess they have other things on their mind.

I think RES are far more devoted parents than BG's will ever be. When our RES commit to a nest, they commit. A BG can be spooked off much easier, and I believe is more affected by temp. swings. Our RES can be frightened off, but they come right back, whereas the BG will languish out in deeper water and observe for a spell. BG's are easier to entice to strike while on the nest in my opinion, often hitting topwater. I have found that it takes live bait squirming in the bottom of the nest most of the time, to tempt RES in the same fashion. I think that could be due to general feeding habits also, however.

I just put some res in my forage pond it has minnows and crawfish plus a few crappie to try for a spawn. The minnows will eat bread and fish food, have not seen the crappie at all. The res don't appear to be eating anything but they spend a lot of time in the vegetation on the bottom. What can I use for supplemental feed for my res. They are about 1"-2" is it too early for an automatic larva feeder?

While swimming in the beach area Sunday, after a very long Saturday :), all of the fish were swimming around me like I was in an aquarium. The prettiest RES swam bye and shook her tail. She wouldn't let me catch it though...

Is it wrong to love a RES?

Just don't let your wife get wind of it.