Pond Boss Magazine
https://www.pondboss.com/images/userfiles/image/20130301193901_6_150by50orangewhyshouldsubscribejpeg.jpg
Advertisment
Newest Members
Shotgun01, Dan H, Stipker, LunkerHunt23, Jeanjules
18,451 Registered Users
Forum Statistics
Forums36
Topics40,899
Posts557,082
Members18,451
Most Online3,612
Jan 10th, 2023
Top Posters
esshup 28,414
ewest 21,474
Cecil Baird1 20,043
Bill Cody 15,110
Who's Online Now
9 members (Freg, Jared015, Justin W, LeighAnn, Donatello, Theo Gallus, Sunil, homewardbound, DenaTroyer), 729 guests, and 217 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
#385888 08/25/14 03:50 PM
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 131
T
OP Offline
T
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 131
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
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 5,714
Likes: 281
R
RAH Offline
Lunker
Offline
Lunker
R
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 5,714
Likes: 281
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.
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 131
T
OP Offline
T
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 131
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
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 20,043
Likes: 1
Hall of Fame
Lunker
Offline
Hall of Fame
Lunker
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 20,043
Likes: 1
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.






Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 131
T
OP Offline
T
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
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 733
F
Offline
F
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!
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 131
T
OP Offline
T
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 131
Redbreast


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
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 20,043
Likes: 1
Hall of Fame
Lunker
Offline
Hall of Fame
Lunker
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 20,043
Likes: 1
Originally Posted By: troutmaster
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.






Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 131
T
OP Offline
T
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
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 131
T
OP Offline
T
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
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 131
T
OP Offline
T
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
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 131
T
OP Offline
T
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
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 15,110
Likes: 478
B
Moderator
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Lunker
Offline
Moderator
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Lunker
B
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 15,110
Likes: 478
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
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 131
T
OP Offline
T
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
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 2,058
Likes: 7
D
Offline
D
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.


[Linked Image from corvettejunkie.com]
http://www.pondboss.com/subscribe.asp?c=4


7/8th of an acre, Perch only pond, Ontario, Canada.
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 10,458
Likes: 2
C
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Hall of Fame
Lunker
Offline
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Hall of Fame
Lunker
C
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 10,458
Likes: 2
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.

Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 131
T
OP Offline
T
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

Link Copied to Clipboard
Today's Birthdays
Bob Lusk, GaryK, GrizzFan, PhotographerDave
Recent Posts
Happy Birthday Bob Lusk!!
by Sunil - 03/28/24 12:39 PM
New 2 acre pond stocking plan
by Sunil - 03/28/24 12:39 PM
1 year after stocking question
by esshup - 03/28/24 11:01 AM
Paper-shell crayfish and Japanese snails
by esshup - 03/28/24 10:39 AM
Brooder Shiners and Fry, What to do??
by Freg - 03/28/24 09:42 AM
Relative weight charts in Excel ? Calculations?
by esshup - 03/28/24 08:36 AM
Dewatering bags seeded to form berms?
by Justin W - 03/28/24 08:19 AM
Reducing fish biomass
by FishinRod - 03/28/24 08:18 AM
Questions and Feedback on SMB
by Donatello - 03/27/24 03:10 PM
2024 North Texas Optimal BG food Group Buy
by Dave Davidson1 - 03/27/24 08:15 AM
Freeze Danger? - Electric Diaphragm Pump
by esshup - 03/26/24 09:47 PM
Newly Uploaded Images
Eagles Over The Pond Yesterday
Eagles Over The Pond Yesterday
by Tbar, December 10
Deer at Theo's 2023
Deer at Theo's 2023
by Theo Gallus, November 13
Minnow identification
Minnow identification
by Mike Troyer, October 6
Sharing the Food
Sharing the Food
by FishinRod, September 9
Nice BGxRES
Nice BGxRES
by Theo Gallus, July 28
Snake Identification
Snake Identification
by Rangersedge, July 12

� 2014 POND BOSS INC. all rights reserved USA and Worldwide

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5