Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Red Ear

RC,

I stocked RES in my new pond 7 years ago as fingerlings. I noticed that there were thousands of tiny snails on my rip rap lining the dam at the time. Two years later it was common for me to catch 2+ lbs. RES resembling small footballs. The very next year large RES were rare to catch and the snails were sparse. I haven't seen a large RES in almost four years now. The snails are now pretty much wiped out. I bet it's not a coincidence. Additionally, many of those large RES had wounds from GBH attacks. Slow grazing habits along with proximity to shoreline probably made them easy targets.