Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations longear sunfish

A little while back I caught a fish that pond boss members found was a longear. I caught another today and need to know if I should take action.

Are they okay to stay?

I think you need to look at the bigger picture. Are there any other species present that you hadn't counted on? Are you happy with all other aspects of the pond/fish?

Longears don't usually attain a very large size and they wouldn't be my first choice for stocking, but, depending upon your goals for the pond, and unless they are thick enough to warrant a total BOW eradication, I probably wouldn't worry too much about a few.

What are the goals for the pond?


Personal taste here, I like diversity. Look at my signature and see what fish are in my pond.....

Goals Are Walleye And SMB with few catfish and sunfish harvests

My worry is that they seem to not grow big enough for eating and might out compete the redbreast sunfish as redbreast don't spawn as much as bluegill.

Look at them as a forage fish then if they don't grow large. Something different to catch for the kids.

Long as there is no worry about them taking over I agree.

I'm a huge fan of diversity so IMHO more is better as long as you don't end up with something that invasively affects the overall scheme. I can't imagine LES causing too much heartache with SMB and WE present as predators.

I have certainly fished ponds (that also had bluegill) where longear were a VERY significant portion of the sunfish population I caught. And they are pretty, but it's like catching bluegill from a stunted population.

Lots of hybridization with bluegill as well (makes from some pretty fish sometimes though). In natural lakes in the Mississippi drainage that I've fished (in northeast Louisiana), I can't think of a more significantly observed hybrid than longer x bluegill.

I would think they are absolutely fine if your sunfish are just to provide forage for your predators, but I would share in your concern with them (along with the bluegill) crowding out the redbreast due to reproduction.

Redbreast sunfish tend to out compete longear sunfish where the two are found together from man made introductions, Texas for example. Longears were introduced into the Potomac River drainage of MD/VA/WV where redbreast are native. Although, they've established, their numbers are very low compared to the native rebreasts.

They are a beautiful fish. The creeks and rivers around here are full of them. Best FHC bait you can get for the trotline in my opinion.

Those LES eat up snails too.
We caught this FHC off one.

John, it seems a travesty to put a hook through anything that pretty. I've never seen one of those but would love to have some.

Around here, most creeks are full of em'. Between them and the chubs, it's an all out assault on your bait.

Isn't it amazing how one species of fish can be common in an area but rarely seen a few miles away? I'm probably less than 80 miles from you and never caught one in my life. Only one ditch I know of here where you can routinely even catch Pumpkinseeds. Those are beautiful fish. How big to they get? I think I would like some in an aquarium better than most tropical fish, but I think I'll pass on them in my ponds.

A big one from the creeks around here might go 5". Might. And they are at their brightest during the spawn. They are less flashy at other times, and perhaps a regional influence also plays a part. The ones I see have a little more blue to them than the one in the photo that John posted.

They should be all over the trinity drainage and the DFW area lakes if you wanted to bucket stock some.

Best way to get them IMHO is to fish a little shallower cover than you find bluegill, and you catch them scattered about on typical sunfish bait. You never really just hammer a bed of large males like you do on bluegill.

They are all over the rivers in East Texas. Here's one out of a tiny creek on our place that is in the San Jacinto drainage.

Taylor, I've never seen them anywhere here. But, I'd certainly like to.

I caught 4 or 5 in lake Hamilton near Hot Springs on vacay last week; good looking fish! Not sure they'd live in the deep south and it's too bad they don't get as big as BG or CNBG