Redear Sunfish in MLK Pond

Type: Nontidal
Region: Central
Location: Martin Luther King Pond, White Oak, MD

On May 20, I went out for a quick morning run for a lunchtime snack and caught these redear/shellcrackers with an un-weighted line and nightcrawlers. It was very cool to catch these as I have fished this pond since being a kid and never saw these. Did the DNR drop these in for pond management purposes? Anyway, I love 'em as they are nice sized, put up a nice fight on an ultralight and taste good fried with tartar sauce.

DNR Response: Congratulations on the nice catch of redears! We stocked ML King Pond with a mix of bluegill and redear sunfish fingerlings years ago when the pond was first built. Redear sunfish are spawning right now in ponds across central Maryland, that makes them easier to catch than they normally would be at other times of the year. We have seen redears making their nests right against the shoreline on some ponds at this time of year. When spawning season is over, redear sunfish return to slightly deeper waters and spend a lot of time eating snails off the bottom.