Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations RES World Record??

let me start this little topic w/ a disclaimer almost worthy of those penned by "jeffhasapond"

the author of this post does not pay attention to nor follow fresh or salt water angling records, and does not routinely conduct searches of either waste disposal devices or containers used in the tranpsort of waste or recycling materials (otherwise known as dumpster diving).

so my wife and i had a date to recycle my beer cans and other miscellaneous items on saturday morning and as she was dropping newspapers into the recycle bin she spotted a literary work called California Fishing by Tom Stienstra (who we know cause he wrote the bible on CA Camping). she is such a good woman, she couldnt contain her excitement, was going to hide it from me and bring it home to wrap up as christmas stocking stuffer, but she had to share the find immediately

as she handed it to me, the book flopped open to page 718, CA angling records��.and to my surprise I saw that the freshwater �all tackle� record in CA for RES was 5lb 3oz. caught June 27, 1994 by this feller named Jack Johnson in the Folsom canal (which is less than an hour from my place and as I understand off-limits to fishing :rolleyes: ). Flipping a couple pages forward I came to the IGFA all tackle world record list, and guess where the biggest RES (5lb 3oz) in the world was caught??......the Folsom canal but by this other guy Anthony White Jr��same size fish on the same day June 27, 1994�� different guy��curious�..however all this action was right in my own dern back yard and I never knew it!!

a) I need to trespass w/ fishin pole in hand along the Folsom canal ASAP
b) Is this still the world record? The book was written in 1997.

New record is 5# 7.5oz from the Santee Cooper Diversion Canal in SC/GA.

http://www.outdoorlife.com/outdoor/fishing/article/0,19912,443582,00.html

How do you catch a RES that big? Probably with a kyptonite lure.

DIED, yours may not still be a world record, but I'll bet that 2 in one day that size is a record. Some people may not know that when the WR bluegill was caught at lake Ketona in Al., the guy caught another one nearly as big the same day.

Dave, good job on the disclaimer!

Wow, a 5 lb 7 oz RES? What a monster!

I just looked up the world record on Green Sunfish and one site said it is at 2 lbs 7 oz. Jeez, my little Green Sunnies have a long way to go to get to record territory!

nice article sebof, thanks for that, also has a nice write up on GSF

bobad, no mention of line weight or lure used, but i'll tell ya, after knowing that local water produced a WR RES, i'm more enthused about them than ever before.......

..........jeff we need to get together on getting some for our ponds.

some notes about the Folsom canal, to my knowledge the engineers built the thing to supply water from Folsom lake to various areas south of Sacramento and to my knowledge it is not being used but still contains water. most of its length is fenced off and fishing prohibited. i have witnessed large schools of rainbow trout in the section near Sunrise Blvd east of Sacramento along a stretch impossible to access.......these are not planted but have naturalized in the canal in which i did not know until this weekend also contains RES.

Folsom lake is one of many repositories for Sierra snow melt. The water entering the canal system is from the base of Folsom dam, so its COLD and probably borderline oligotrophic.

For the RES experts..........can you speculate on or explain the phenomena and/or any correlation between large numbers of RT (cold water) and WR size RES in these canal waters?

I've studied every conceivable incident of huge fish, like 5 lb redear sunfish and I've found a common thread that is always true.

Low density fish, either through accidental stocking, poor spawning opportunity, or heavy pressure from predators, not man. Man is the only predator that likes to target just the biggest fish.

Huge amounts of forage.

Stable conditions throughout the life of the fish--meaning good forage and water quality from the very first year of life.

An example to produce 5 lb. redears would be as follows:

1. Original stocking of fish or escape from another impoundment to keep numbers low.

2. Poor access for human pressure.

3. Zebra mussels or other relatively unexploited forage base.

I think this is a pretty good match for your situation.

Frankly, I've never even caught a largemouth over 5lbs. I've come close, but not over 5lbs.

I'll go in the corner now and weep silently.

How about this additional hypothesis: the RT are predatory enough to hold down RES numbers, but do not compete for food sources which the RES utilize well.

Sunil, when you get that 5-6lb smallie, post the pic and return the favor

Bruce and Theo, your speculations make good sense. The canal is all concrete with steep sides and a flat bottom....i'm guessing avg water level about 6-8 feet deep....not sure. seems like snails or other mollusks would be attracted to this kind of environment?

Are there any pondmeisters out there lucky enough to have RT and RES in the same pond? i've never seen this discussed anywhere on forum.

and might not this be a unique and potentially awesome stocking strategy for PMs in geographic areas suitable for both fish?

to carry this fantasy dream pond a little further i wonder if it could be enhanced by occassional salting to low ppt levels.......some of the largest trout in the world come out of the big saline lakes out here like Pyramid over in NV.

arrgghh...back to work.

Lots of snails, poor reproduction, low access. Sounds like it meets my formula.

Yeppers, I'll email you. I'm leaving for Vegas tomorrow and will be gone till next Tuesday, so it'll be next week some time.

Note to Vegas. Jeffhasapond will be there Thursday and he's off his meds. Bolt the doors and bar the windows. Do not under any circumstances engage him in idle conversation. You have been warned.

needless to say, but just so yer clear on it jeff, "what happens in vegas stays in vegas"

I've been thinking about this also. There are trout in almost all lakes around Dave and I. Based upon what I've read it's a pain to get trout to spawn (something about running water and sand and building special spawing boxes and playing Barry White cds, etc) but it seems feasible to stock some trout.

RES do not do well in cold water -- RT need cool/cold water. There is a temp. overlap and it might work in the right place. Take a look at the temps of both. My guess is there are not many folks here that have those conditions which would support year round RT and RES. But if you are willing to restock RT in the fall many southern ponds will work.

RT - 10 � 24�C http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=239

RES - NA But not native to upper midwest- http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=3378