Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose red ear sunfish

Hi John

You're right to be concerned stocking RES at that size. I would strongly recommend growing them out behind a net. Eric West is the local expert on this subject - and it's been a feature article in Pond Boss Magazine. You can call PB directly and request the article if it isn't available already somewhere in here. Basically you net off a small, necked down area of your pond that has depth required for fish to go through the season. Since RES are hard to pellet train, growth will most likely be slower than with other sunfish species, so you may want to keep that net up until Fall and consistently sample their growth rates. I think at 6"+ they should be ready to roll, but again, Eric is an expert in growing out panfish in a BOW with LMB fishery.