Dear Mr. Green Sunfish:

Pond professionals much prefer stocking bluegill and redears over green sunfish. Several reasons:
* Adult green sunfish have a large, hinged jaw, which allows them to compete in the food chain with your predators. They also can eat your juvenile bass.
* Greenies are prolific spawners, which, without sufficient control pressure from adult bass, they can ruin the population balance.

In recent years, we've had several articles on the green sunfish, quoting various fisheries professionals. To a man, they were negative about greenies.

One last thing you might want to know . . . Green sunfish and their hybrids are quite hardy. They tolerate confinement and transport better than other species.

This does not make them a better fit for your pond, but it makes the green sunfish and their hybrids profitable for fish dealers and haulers.

Fill in the blanks yourself.

Mark McDonald
Editor, Pond Boss