Been sampling the recruitment from the sediment pond and my forage pond. Not getting anything other than FHM from the forage pond (also should have RES reproducing), but the sediment pond is going gangbusters with reproduction.
RES and CNBG in the sediment pond. Been moving what I trap over to the main pond. Figure there will be lots I don't catch that will grow up to a bigger size and can seine and move them probably next year.
I think I'm getting about 10% RES and the rest mostly CNBG. Kind of hard for me to tell with the fish so small. But occasionally I get a fish that looks distinctively different and sometimes (on the larger size fish) can see a small orange spot on the margin of the opercular tab. Also get an occasional either GSF or a hybrid with GSF in it. So some how either there was contamination within the fish stocked, of a GSF or three snuck into the pond somehow.
Funny, there are lots of FHM in this pond, but am getting very few in the minnow traps. Mostly the small sunfish. I have found that if I bait the trap and check it 10-15 minutes later I get the most fish. When I let it sit over night, will be a few in there, but they mostly find their way back out. I caught and transferred probably a few hundred fish today with three minnow traps and checking them several times throughout the day.
Minnow traps work good to see how your YOY sunfish are doing.
Edit: the food pictured in the traps is dog food. It is large enough in size it stays in the trap. Fish food drops right through the mesh in the trap, thus the reason I'm using dog food for an attractant.
