Just got done reading through this post and just wanted to say congrats on the progress. I think you have inspired me to start a thread to follow my new pond's progress rather than posting here and there in the different forum categories. After reading this thread I'm considering taking a harder look at RES for my new pond. I'm not sure why I haven't seriously considered them already. They've always been one of my favorite fish to catch.
I know there has been some discussion on the challenges of catching RES so I'll share a tip that I stumbled on many years ago. I was fishing a well stocked 2 acre pond and stumbled on a technique while going for the plentiful bullhead cats. I was fishing from the dam area in 6-8 ft water with chicken livers on a carolina rig. Believe it or not, we caught more RES slabs than cats. I wouldn't have known they were in the pond at all were it not for that experience. Worth a try if you are having trouble with the RES bite.
Excited to see your spring progress! Keep us updated.
