It's something unique, it fills a marketing niche by having something that no one else currently offers. Hybrids with no green sunfish in the mix.
Zimmerman's fish has this description of the Ozark/MO LES.
"Very colorful sunfish but are rather aggressive so best kept in groups of 6 or more or as a single fish with a group of smaller active fish."
Is there a benefit to breeding some aggressive traits into RES? Redears do have the potential to get bigger than all other sunfish.
Whether a LES/RES hybrid has an advantage or not is an interesting question. I have only RES and LES in my pond and see some fish that appear to be hybrids (at least the few I have been able to catch last fall). I'll observe observe this year but I can't really say much to competitive spawning differences, aggressive nest guarding, eating habits etc as I can't really watch them. I never have seen either in the pond EVER by just walking the banks.
Imagine my surprise to know they are in my pond only when one shows up on a hook
