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Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 131
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OP
Joined: Jul 2014
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I have a five acre pond max depth of 15 feet lots of stone and gravel. I have just stocked 500 redbreast sunfish and 200 redear sunfish. The forage is fathead minnows and crayfish. Next summer I am adding 125 Smallmouth. I read that smallmouth only eat about 30% fish and most of that is YP even if there is BG and other sunfish in the pond. How many should I add. Goals are smallmouth and a few pan fish harvests.
3 ponds mountains of NC. One 5 acre and two 1/4 acre ponds. SMB Redbreast sunfish LMB YP CC brook trout WE and warmouth perch
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Joined: May 2009
Posts: 5,726 Likes: 285
Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 5,726 Likes: 285 |
It will be interesting to hear what the experts think about the redbreast sunfish relative to the SMB. Most here do not recommend BG with SMB. I am hoping to add my first SMB this fall after adding a few larger YP and small RES last fall.
Last edited by RAH; 08/25/14 04:24 PM.
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Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 131
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Joined: Jul 2014
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Redbreast spawn less than BG and I caught them growing up is why I chose them. LMB eat up the redbreast to quick and than got skinny.
3 ponds mountains of NC. One 5 acre and two 1/4 acre ponds. SMB Redbreast sunfish LMB YP CC brook trout WE and warmouth perch
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Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 20,043 Likes: 1
Hall of Fame Lunker
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Hall of Fame Lunker
Joined: Aug 2002
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Do they have a larger mouth gape and are they more predacious? They may be an added predator if so, and can upset your plans.
If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.
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Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 131
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Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 131 |
No they have a small mouth gape just like BG. How many YP would be safe. May not answer for a while going to wyolming for a funneral.
3 ponds mountains of NC. One 5 acre and two 1/4 acre ponds. SMB Redbreast sunfish LMB YP CC brook trout WE and warmouth perch
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Joined: May 2011
Posts: 733
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Joined: May 2011
Posts: 733 |
Dave Willis had a graval pit project with small mouth and pumpkin seeds. Pumpkins reproduce much faster than RES but I dont know how they compare to BG. I talked to him about a bond I was putting together with RES and Small mouth and he liked the idea of adding perch. This pond is eventually getting walleye too.
"No they have a small mouth gape just like BG" which fish are you taking about? LMB SMB RES YP or your redbreasts?
comparativily dont YP have a larger mouth gape than BG?
Water is the basis of all life, by design!
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Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 131
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Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 131 |
3 ponds mountains of NC. One 5 acre and two 1/4 acre ponds. SMB Redbreast sunfish LMB YP CC brook trout WE and warmouth perch
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Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 20,043 Likes: 1
Hall of Fame Lunker
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Hall of Fame Lunker
Joined: Aug 2002
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No they have a small mouth gape just like BG. How many YP would be safe. May not answer for a while going to wyolming for a funneral. Are you sure? Looks bigger than a bluegill to me. Looks more like a green sunfish gape.
Last edited by Cecil Baird1; 08/26/14 08:21 AM.
If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.
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Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 131
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Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 131 |
They seem to grow into their mouth. At full size they look like a BG mouth
3 ponds mountains of NC. One 5 acre and two 1/4 acre ponds. SMB Redbreast sunfish LMB YP CC brook trout WE and warmouth perch
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Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 131
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OP
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 131 |
3 ponds mountains of NC. One 5 acre and two 1/4 acre ponds. SMB Redbreast sunfish LMB YP CC brook trout WE and warmouth perch
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Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 131
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Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 131 |
I don't know why they start with a large mouth but they do there is a adult.
3 ponds mountains of NC. One 5 acre and two 1/4 acre ponds. SMB Redbreast sunfish LMB YP CC brook trout WE and warmouth perch
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Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 131
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OP
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 131 |
So with these fish would 200 yp be right.
3 ponds mountains of NC. One 5 acre and two 1/4 acre ponds. SMB Redbreast sunfish LMB YP CC brook trout WE and warmouth perch
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Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 15,154 Likes: 492
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 15,154 Likes: 492 |
Yellow perch numbers of 200-300 are okay. You may eventually need to manually thin RBS numbers due to SMB selectively preying on minnows, YP and crayfish. It will be an interesting fishery to sample in 4-6 yrs.
Last edited by Bill Cody; 08/26/14 04:00 PM.
aka Pond Doctor & Dr. Perca Read Pond Boss Magazine - America's Journal of Pond Management
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Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 131
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OP
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 131 |
Thanks I hope to eat a few sunfish and still get smb
3 ponds mountains of NC. One 5 acre and two 1/4 acre ponds. SMB Redbreast sunfish LMB YP CC brook trout WE and warmouth perch
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Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 2,058 Likes: 7
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Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 2,058 Likes: 7 |
Yes I think yellow perch and crayfish habitat in the north is a nice combo for natural feed. Our perch have left the feeder the first week of June and have not gone back on it. We have 1.5" crayfish under every rock you turn over in the pond.
Good thing is only $100 in feed and I still have half of it this year.
Cheers Don.
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Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 10,458 Likes: 2
Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame Lunker
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame Lunker
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Of the thousands of RBS I have handled from fry to 10"+ over the years, I have not noticed them growing into their mouths. It's been my experience, they have a larger mouth than BG, but not nearly as large as GSF. They are a bit more piscavorous than BG but not nearly as aggressive as GSF. Because they are more fusiform in shape and have a much lower fecundity than BG, I think they make one of the better sunfish species candidates to stock with SMB. I especially like the golden morph form of the RBS.
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Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 131
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Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 131 |
I stocked a few gold color but the seller said they will have normal fry when they breed with normal redbreast because of it being recessive. Thanks for input I meant by growing into it that as they get older the mouth seems to be more like a BG.
3 ponds mountains of NC. One 5 acre and two 1/4 acre ponds. SMB Redbreast sunfish LMB YP CC brook trout WE and warmouth perch
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