Originally Posted by ewest


I don't think RES can provided adequate forage for LMB to maintain condition over time. There could be exceptions.


That's been my belief and experience thus far - RES fecundity a fraction of BG [20,000 eggs annually vs up to 100,000 2-4x annually]. This disparity further confuses me when I see RES dominate BG in a fishery...I don't think it's common, but I have witnessed it a few times per my original post.

No one has requested this, but thought I'd share my experience: RES are great companion sunfish for SMB...if RES aren't an option due to N location, BRES hybrids are a great choice I've been using and maybe BPS would be an option as well. I haven't worked with BPS, but believe they would work, and I'll bet they'd be gorgeous fish albeit a tad smaller than BRES. 90%+ F2 BRES offspring are male which accounts for their population management ease - I believe the same would be true for BPS, making them a potential companion species. I would like to start working to hybridize PS in the near future. So many plans, not enough water!

Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after. ~ Henry David Thoreau

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