Good points. Come to think of it, my observations were always just before dusk and sometimes getting dark enough to use a flashlight for positive species ID. That is when I spent a lot of evenings capturing RES to transfer to other ponds. So your comment makes a lot of sense. I was also feeding mostly Optimal in that pond although some AM MVP too.
The few times I used a cast net mid day my take of RES was much less. Not worth the effort. By feeding in one area just before sunset or about sunset, then throwing the cast net in a few throws I could have 50 3" RES to transfer.
some results of cast net throws This starts at 2017 and I no longer dump the fish on the grass to ID and sort them. Didn't take many pictures in 2018 but caught and transferred hundreds and hundreds of RES fingerlings. Now I dump the fish from the cast net directly into one 5 gallon bucket and immediately sort into other water filled buckets.
If I want to catch RES I use the cast net. If I want to remove GSF or hybrids, I use a minnow trap or minnow trap with enlarged opening. I keep a couple of minnow traps in most of the summer.
