Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose New pond & Want Redears as the main??

Ok..just moved to middle Tn and just
dug approx 1/2-3/4 acre pond 9 1/2 ft deep.
Give me starters for wanting to make this
a basic redear pond?? And where would you
suggest that I get these redear?
Thanks!
Kim

Very interesting idea. Lots of people are occupied with thoughts concerning hurricaine Katrina. Keep this post alive and we'll help you out.

Bruce

Kim,
Most of the fish farms carry redear. Just a couple of notes on RES based on my experience. Mine do not take to pellet food which could be a problem if you plan on feeding them. My observations(from both pond and aquarium) are that they only take live food.Their favorite foods are mollusks. They are not nearly as aggressive as BG, which is great for swimming, but are more difficult to catch. Vast majority of the ones i catch are on the beds. Great eating though if that's your goal.

Fishbird is right. Great eating, hard fighting, beautiful fish that also happen to grow larger than any other sunfish if given correct forage. They don't have as much fecundity (reproductive potential) as some other sunfish. That can be a blessing or a curse, depending on your viewpoint. Someone will definitely chime in with information on a reputable supplier.

Russell,

It would probably work, but may require a good percentage of weedy shallows to grow crawfish, snails, grass shrimp, and other forage. I think the number of adult RES per acre will be pretty small, even if you have no bluegill.

RES are one of my favorites. They can really bend a light fly rod. When the big ones are hitting during the spawn, you can have a blast!

I think in the absence of BG, the RES would consume many food items that BG normally beat them to. Catch rates for RES in a no-BG pond could be significantly different than in a pond with BG, too.

Since RES are not as prolific as BG, you could think about an alternate predator instead of LMB. Perhaps HSB - you could feed the top predator in lieu of the forage!

In summary, I like this idea! I'm excited about it! It's about time someone tried one of these ideas I've only been able to think about!

...forgive my ignorance..I figured out LMB, RES & BG...but what does "HSB" stand for. Also as
I am swimming thru various RE posts...I'm assuming snails are the suggested forage...so
how does the snail population come about??

Russell, One other topic that I thought of that you might want people to weigh in on is the activity level of winter redear. Not really an issue in Tenn. i guess. But I'm kind of curious. I don't have a real good catch rate of redears when ice fishing(which is a lot in n. ohio). I don't have BG in my pond, but I've heard others talk of fast BG action through the ice.
If you're wondering why no BG's- we swim a lot and BG can be pests around the inner tube.

HSB are Hybrid Striped Bass

Snails should show up as volunteers, especially in Tennessee (Groans accepted). Our pond had thousands and thousands the first year, before the RES were stocked. Since then, hundreds are all you can see at the most.

RES are very good at eating snails, compared to BG, due to the tooth patches in their throats which allow them to crush the shells. But they also eat the same general invertebrates (insects, worms, etc.) that BG do.

I agree with Theo that in the absence of BG the RE will replace them in the food chain and will eat that which the BG will normaly eat. They will eat a few pellets after they sink but not many and probally a waste of effort to try feeding. They will not alone support a LMB population if the LMB are reproducing. HSB may work well but I would go slow adding HSB in small numbers to gauge population dynamics . This sounds like a great idea and I will be interested to hear how it works.

Two good places to start in looking for RE are Greg Grimes (Georiga} from this forum -- you can email or PM him from this site or American Sportfish ( who have a web site) from Alab. Both can arrange for the shipment of 2in. RE this fall to your house in O2 bags for you to add to pond. The best looking fish I ever saw were an order of 2in. RE and CNBG from American Sportfish. See the sites below.ewest

http://www.telleveryone.com/aeslakes/index.htm

http://www.americansportfish.com/index.php

thanks ewest, where the heck did you find that website? I have not had that one for about 5 years. Where are you in TN? I have a client there that seems to geeting some good fish from a local source that might workout better since I only pass by a few ties per year. If clsoe to Nashville I-24 I can bring some Redear on way to my property in KY. thanks

Greg :

I had a hard time finding both you and AS on the web. In the end the only way I found both was to put in your name + fish or for AS Barry Smith + fish. You both should think about talking to an IT guy who can get your web site high on search engine list if you are trying to market via the web. I hope that site would get them there. ewest

Russell,
Which Hillsboro do you live in, Coffee or Williamson county? I'm in Marshall county and purchased redears last spring from the fish truck that comes by our Co-Op. Don't know how they are doing yet. I have noticed tons of very small snails that have appeared on their own around the pond edges. Hopefully the RE are feeding on them.

Coach B,
I live in Coffee County...so how far are you to
Hillsboro?
Kim

With RES only, would common shiner be a forage option? My BG just love the 1 to 2 inchers that abound in my small pond. No LMB or channels yet, until I get the water level stabilized. Are RES good predators of small fish? When I feed, 5 or 6 shiners munch on each pellet, and the BG attack them when vulnerable; wondered if RES would do the same.

Burgermeister,

I'm pretty sure redears are more predacious than bluegills. That's partly why they are hard to feed train. I don't see why a forage species that is relatively small wouldn't work.

BM :

I agree with CB1 that as long as small fish will fit in BG/RE mouth they will eat them. They may not be their first choice but BG/RE are opportunistic feeders. If the shiners get a little larger and start to exhibit speed in open water the BG/RE will not be very efficient predators on them. BG/RE are predators with an attitude limited only by a small mouth size. ewest

The biggest bluegill I've ever seen alive was a giant specimen kept in the Cabela's aquarium in Kearney, NE. This fish was 2.75 pounds and it ate ONLY fathead minnow. It would stay in the corner of the big display tank and lurk. The other fish (LMB, WAE and other predators) would feed on the released minnows, but the few minnows that escaped would invariably dive down to the corner to hide. There the bluegill would pick them off one by one. It was a sight to behold.

Beware of buying your redear from a truck at the local co-op. You have a very good chance of getting unwanted bgill or hybrid bgill contamination with the purchased fish. If you want a pond with only RES, be sure to buy them from a very reputable hatchery and explain to the owner why you want him to carefully sort your fish so you only get redears. Contamination of other sunfishes will eventually ruin your predominate RES fishery.

This is a neat idea of stocking only RES and another predator. I am not sure of which predator would be best. If you were in OH I would have you consider SMbass. HSB may also work good for you as a predator. At least you have very good control of the number of predators present. I think it would be a good idea to initially stock two or three sizes of RES; 1"-1.5"; 2"-4", and some 5"-7". This way you will have several year class right away and you can start fishing / harvesting quicker.

Snails can be introduced into your pond as forage items. I recommend you chose at least two or three different species. Start with Physella, Physa, and Gyraulus or Amnicola. Physa and Physella have the thinnest shells. Stay away from the snails with the thickest shells such as Pleurocera, Elimia, Valvata, and Helisoma. Helisoma is a very common snail but be sure RES will readily eat them before stocking Helisoma.


Crayfish may be another good item to stock as forage.

Without Bgill present, the invertebrate community should provide an abundance of additional natural food sources for the RES. Without bgill the larger forms of zooplankton should also do well and help to keep your water filtered and clearer so the RES, as sight feeders, can more easily spot the snails as forage items.

Bill, in the southeast, the major Arkansas hatcheries send trucks to the local co-ops on a regular basis, but, as you said, a careful hand selection would be required, even if you pay to have it done.

It has been discussed before about obtaining grass shrimp. Has onyone found a source for them and/or a small crayfish species?

BM,

I'm not sure but that you want an "environment" for grass shrimp before you seek a stocking source. They like to hide in aquatic weeds and they seem to ocurr in my ponds naturally as long as there are suitable homes for them. What I'm trying to say, that one could "stock" them and they would disappear very quickly, even faster than a fathead, but if one has the natural setting preferred, stocking isn't required, in East Texas at least....build the setting and they will come.

I may be out of the mainstream on this point but I agree 100% with Bill. I don't want fish off a truck. I want them from someone I know and trust and I want to look at them before they go into the pond. I want a hatchery that has a trusted reputation that is more important to them than selling me a few fish. I would rather pay more for the fish and for the service of sorting and be sure.ewest

ewest or others the website is under my profile. It is frustating with website search engines. I have indeed spend quite a bit of money (shy of paying web search engines) to try to get it to popup.

Anyway I second ML on grass shrimp. Also agree with Bill and Ewest on Arkansas pond stockers. Sometimes they are good fish sometimes they are not. IF they die two days later good luck gettng money back. They sell fish in my back yard certain times of the year. If I can find the time I want to have fish days and provide some of the money to feed store but can not find time to do it. FOlks get excited when they here the fish truck is coming.

PS I just took 250 3 inch redear right past Nashville last week.

.....PS I just took 250 3 inch redear right past Nashville last week.
Remember...I just dug this pond...completion just
happened 3 days ago. So I'm not ready for fish
yet...just pondering as what to do prior to if and using the RE as my main...so far you all have
been very RESOURCEFUL...I always look forward to
seeing what everyone's input on here has been.
Kim

kim, no problem just letting you know I actually do go thru that area at times. Let us know if we can help you in anyway. thanks