Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Corrective stocking Redear failure

Last year I added 100 small redear to a 1/3 acre pond with a snail/worm problem, the problem went away but so did the redear. after stocking I never saw another redear dead or alive. what did I screw up?

thanks in advance

flymoron

RES can be harder to catch than BG. Have you tried fishing on, or near, the bottom with some live bait?

tried everything in my bag of tricks

What size RES did you add and were there other fish already there ?

they were 3-4in RES, and a lot of hybrid Bream

Immature RES can look an awful lot like a BG.... is there any chance of a mis-identification? No insult intended!

no offense taken! They were hatchery bought. I thought about trying again in a pond about the same size that I have removed almost all of the BG.

Sparkplug is right on ... same experience ... thought no RES survival until caught many on bottom with pellet flies and crappie candy.

thanks folks, maybe I will catch one someday, I had never stocked RES so I just thought I might of done something wrong.

They really hug the bottom. I have some in my pond, and I don't believe that I've caught one in the past 2 years. BUT, I see them every year in the shallows spawning.

Did the exact same thing in same size pond a few years back. Never caught one since but snails are still few and far between. Snails were everywhere before stocking so I'm sure they are still there. Haven't tried to target them when fishing.

Our neighbor loves to fish in our pond and is allowed to keep all the sunnies he catches. He kept asking if we really stocked redear, and I assured him that we did and that our kids see them when they swim. Finally he caught a lunker preganant female, which he returned to the pond. We still have explosions of snails and lots of clams though.

My story is about the same as ESSHUP's. I've put them in my pond twice in the last 6 or 7 years. I believe I put 50 in each time. I too thought they were mostly gone. I catch two or three a year, and they go right back in. This year, the few that I caught were huge, and there were a number of really large ones on the spawning beds. I haven't seen a grub in any of my bass or bluegill for several years, so something is working.

Back in September, we put 100 2-3 inch RES in a friend's spring-fed brood pond. We drained and completely cleaned it out earlier in the year, so we feel pretty confident there aren't any large bass or catfish in there. Come springtime we'll see. We are hoping that by the end of June next year, they will have grown enough to safely transfer them into their main pond.

I have always wanted a pond with catchable RES in it, but I am confused and skiddish now. I have a small pond with a few bass,1 grass carp,and a good supply of bluegill(of which I have removed about all catchable sized fish ). I dont have snail problem with this one, but would it be worth it to try to stock RES in it for fishing?

I'd absolutely recommend them. They won't compete with the bluegill. They will add extra forage for the bass. They get really big (for sunfish), and when you do hook a big one, it is a real guessing game of what might be on the other end of the line as it strips line from an ultralight.

Is it possible for there food supply to run out & they will die off?

Possible but not likely. RES eat more than just snails.

If the stock you added in 2010 was mature enough, they may have spawned 2011. Throw a minnow trap into a couple of feet of water along a shoreline with the trap parallel to the shore. Bait it with some bread or similar.
Ya might catch some young'uns.

Hey Fly I also put 75 in 1 acre pond 3 years ago. I now catch about 3 or 4 a year maybe on a hook with worms. I would bet that some of them are still there. My dad caught a real nice one last year it was about 7.5 inches. It hit on a mini hula popper believe it or not. Here is the pic.

I caught one today!!!!!

Pics or it didn't happen lol

Agreed.

Nice to know you caught at least one Redear. I believe you even if you didn't take a picture of it. I usually don't take pictures of my bluegill or redear unless they are better than average size. I have a small pond down in the woods behind my bigger pond and I put 100 redear in year before last. It isn't fished very often, but since N8ly just put in a dock for me I plan to fish it more. I fished about three hours yesterday and caught about a dozen redear, all of which I immediately returned to the pond. I caught as many redear as I did bluegill and that is unusual for anywhere I have fished when both are present.

Sorry, no pictures, (maybe it didn't happen).

Oh man I just caught 2 NICE RES yesterday. I will post them tomorrow. Man the one is 10.5 inches. The other one is real close! I kid you not. They must be from my original stock 3 years ago. I couldn't believe it! Talk about fun and fight! I have the pics on my camera will download them and post tomorrow sometime.

I just caught 35 3lb bluegills. Out of a secret underground pond I built myself with a spoon.. Battery was dead on the camera