The fish he caught all had very prominent red ear-marks (maybe 10 of various sizes). It just does not show in the pic (my bad). The fish also were very soft at taking the bait which I believe is typical of RES. They were not aggressive at all, but in the past catching only one or two has been the norm. No fish have been added to the pond in the last ten years, but RES/BG hybrids are certainly possible. The percentage of large BG were also much higher than normal during this fishing session. The RES were all released, but 60 eating-size BG have been removed each year for about 5 years now (along with 10 LMB per year under 12", also for eating). The intent is to improve the size of the fish. The size has improved, but I cannot claim the removal of these fish is the reason. I think he kept 19 BG during this fishing session which completes the 60 BG target from my pond.
