Any reason to choose one of these for stocking a pond over the other? Taste, size, ability to survive in shallow water, etc.?
The pond is about 1/4 acre, 9' deep, and typically goes dry during droughts (about every other year around here). So I'm not going to a lot of trouble or expense to stock it. This year its full and weather appears wetter than normal so should have water in the pond for a couple of years.
Have access to both of these fish. Aim was to provide some limited fishing and keep mosquito populations down.

Why not put both in then?

i know the greenie is a hardy little guy, i only find them in ponds also stocked with channel cat. im not sure if that was a fad years ago or what.i have seen them survive in just inches of water all summer then the little water that was left froze over winter and next spring they were still there.

In a stocking with cc, it may have been hybrid bluegill and over time, some Fx offspring will look a lot like green sunfish.

scotjute, you can actually get these species for stocking, or just catch/net some from another BOW? If you have to buy any, why not stock hybrid bluegill? Agressive for fishing, will not overpopulate as pure breeds will, will control skeeters, will have more meat on them. Take handsfulls of feed chunked at them.

scotjute,


I have GSF in my pond and I can tell you they fight! JHAP is the ring leader for GSF, but I do have some that are pushing 9 inches and they are fun. I have read they taste pretty good but have never ate one at this point. They are hardy and WILL hold there own in a pond! A lot of guys on this site will frown on you wanting to stock GSF, as they have gotten a bad rep for being the ugly ducking of the sunfish family but you can't beat it if you can get them for FREE! We caught about 10 this last weekend and my buddy swore he had a bass on one time and it was a 8 inch GSF! They have some fight in them for sure!

scotjute:

JHAP will want to induct you into the GSF Club Hall of Fame if you do that, immediately!

Don't let him see this, I don't see anything wrong with your plans.

I'm actually either a GSF fan or at least don't see a problem with them. They seldom grow as large as a BG but will out fight them.

I'm with Sunil... Stock 'em both.

With that said, sure would be an interesting fishery... You may want to toss 1 12" or so LMB in there with them to help keep their population under control so they don't completely breed themselves silly and stunt before the next drought kills them all.

It's obvious Scotjute that you are extremely intelligent and have impeccable taste.

I don't have any experience with Warmouth. As for Green Sunfish, they are a magnificent species. Very hardy - they will survive almost any conditions. Their beauty can only be rivaled by a Pumpkinseed or some species of trout. Pound for pound IMHO they fight better than BG or RES.

If you were to introduce GSF to your pond and bless yourself with their presence you would be forever regarded as a friend to the GSF and the GSA would hold you in high esteem. In fact you would be eligible to join our ranks and stand against the under-informed masses.

Stock the Green Sunfish, it's the right thing to do.

I should take this opportunity to point out that herpes is also free, equally hard to control as green sunfish, and elicits the same degree of disapprobation in some circles.

Ouch!

That's funny! I don't care who you are...

Hmm, well both are fun to catch but it's much harder to release herpes.

JHAP you are stupid funny. I didn't know accountants could be funny. Mine sure isn't.

i cant imagine drought ever being perscribed as a cure for herpes,and as the greenies go,i thought the pond i fished did dry up that summer and the ice that was on it over winter had so many dirt mounds from the cattle coming thru it i walked across the whole pond without worrying about losing traction. when the water came back up i stocked if with cc, thinking they were the only fish in the pond. i feed the cc and thought"i didnt stock that many cc did i", so i thru the casting net out and it was full of greenies. no pond upstream and nobody but me even knows the pond is even there

GSF have high tolerances to low DO, warm water, turbidity, pollution and who knows what else... They have adapted to living in environments where other fish can't. That's why they tend to be out competed in a LMB/BG pond. They biologically evolved to live in sub par habitat that other fish can't survive in.

OH!! Snap! I never thought of it that way!! Too Funny!

JHAP don't like me. So to get on his good side, I say Stock GSF and count your Blessings.


 



 

"GSF have high tolerances to low DO, warm water, turbidity, pollution and who knows what else"

herpes

true on the comment about not being able to compete with bg,lmb. another cc pond with greenies i used to fish had so many gsf u could just dangle a small lure out from the end of ur rod, no cast needed. we stocked 20 small bass and 2 years later we stopped catching gsf and havent caught one since

Some pretty funny stuff there!

For safety's sake, anytime you stock those "other" fish you should wear a condom. Your mom would be proud...

Fortunately they have a high tolerance for under-informed masses.

Why can't you people realize that the GSF is the chosen fish. They can probably live in a pond filled with tapioca pudding. Let's see a LMB or BG do that. They are very temperature tolerant, low oxygen tolerant, heck they'll live almost any where.

...which they were probably exposed to by those harlot bluegill.

I believe everything you said JHAP and are 100% correct. That is why I am on your side to advocate the stocking of GSF.

 

JKB,
There's no need to ingratiate yourself to the GSA; you're safe as long as you wear your tinfoil hat and mylar boxers.

Oh my, what answers!

"Why not put both in then?"

I'm afraid of what might happen! Will they interbreed or destroy each other in a quest for dominance? What kind of hybrid would that produce?

Only have 3 Warmouth left. I'm inclined to put them into the pond as I still have GSF in the creek. Perhaps I could add a GSF or 2 just to be sure both sexes are represented.

I've eaten Green sunfish. They're good. Don't remember trying Warmouth. Has anybody eaten them?

The creek that flows thru the property went dry last summer. At the end we fished out 2 small bass and 5-6 large GSF, the rest, small mudcats and GSF, were left to their fate. Threw net in the creek last week and caught about 20 GSF, so they've returned! There are 2 ponds above me that could be their source, or else they burrowed into the mud and awaited the return of water!

The pond is a seep-spring pond off to the side from the creek flow.

I have neither , so as embattled as I am, I must bend a knee to the GSA.

Shhhhh!
 

I don't think GSF are quite that tolerant to be able to burrow into the mud and survive. Most likely they came from down stream. I have eaten warmouth and they taste the same as GSF if they come out of the same waters. There are several reservoirs near my house that hold both in decent numbers.

GSF are not a bad sportfish. I used to catch them all the time in non-maintained ponds and back creeks in Texas when I was a kid. Never knew that they were GSF until I found this site, I thought they were Pumpkinseeds. They're quite willing to grab a small roadrunner or beetle spin.

I wonder if GSF + a few HSB would be a viable stocking strategy for smaller ponds.

I think the HSB would have a hard time keeping up with the GSF reproduction but it is possible. I think HBG would be a better option but you won't know until you try it...

My son was quite impressed with the "GSF burrowing into the mud to survive the drought" until I started laughing! But hey I've never actually dug down into one of the crawfish holes to see what was at the bottom!

well it happened, it took a few years before i had the guts to admit that i was the one that ruined the only good cc pond around, the pond now has hundreds of 3/4 pound bass, and a few cc still

I would go with the GSF!