The S.C. Department of Natural Resources stocks redbreast sunfish in several rivers, including the Edisto, which has been stocked annually since 1995.
Redbreast have always been one of the most sought-after fish among Edisto anglers, but the numbers caught sharply declined in the early 90s.
While many anglers blame this decline on the flathead catfish, anglers like Billy Garner disagree, and his line of thinking is backed up, at least in part, by biologist Chris Thomason of the SCDNR. Thomason said that while flathead catfish certainly do eat the brightly-colored sunfish, other factors have combined to hurt the fish over the years.
With the number of droughts South Carolina has endured over the past two decades, Thomason said the Edisto has experienced many changes in habitat that have taken a toll on a lot of wildlife.
“Maybe the redbreast is a little less adaptable to those changes,” he said.
For decades, the daily creel limit on redbreast was 30 per person. A few years ago, SCDNR changed that to 15 per person. Along with a couple of back-to-back years with above-average rainfall, anglers like Garner believe that helped the redbreast. He said 2013 was one of the best years for catching redbreast in a long time.
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