Wow one guy can't get his crappie to grow at all in a 20 acre pond and Wyatt here has big crappie in a 5 acre pond?
Lets see for a sec. If you had nothing but BCP in your pond what would you put in there to help control them? You guessed it LMB.
You say you haven't taken any LMB out in 8 years?? There has got to be some whoppers in there! I agree with CJ you can't really take enough out and here is why! You know some are gonna make it and guess what next spring there gonna have more little ones and some of them are gonna make it too and the cycle begins again!!
Bill D's suggestion sounds good but in the long run if you only take out lmb over 14 inches you will be right back in your current situation a lot faster as you will have just that many more bass spawning the next spring again! And you pond is just big enough for some of those baby bass to escape and hide long enough to get bigger!
Here is the difference. Lets compare.
My pond is 1 acre. I have bass I have not kept but few each year for the last 4 years. I noticed last year I had a spawn cause I saw a bunch of little ones swimming around, but in my one acre pond I don't have to catch all of them bass cause I have 3 pound HSB and several 15 plus inch LMB and they are doing it for me cause in one acre you can only hide so much!! There just not enough room.
Where in your pond at 5 acres there is enough room for them to hide and grow up or at least a lot better chance!!
Hope that makes sense.... And that's just my 2 cents!
And like Bill D I am no expert that's for sure just voicing M.O.
RC
RC