Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations How fast can crappie grow?

I have been fishing my new pond some lately and have a pretty good idea of bass and sunfish. LMB are a fat 12-13" and HBG/BG max out at 7-8", all stocked 1 year ago according to previous owner. I finally caught some crappie a couple of days ago and caught 5 12-14" long, big slabs, in 30 minutes. They were stocked along with the other fish. Can crappie grow this fast? I have caught a couple that are 4-6" also, and some 4-6" bass too. Could these be from this years spawn? Previous owner fished the pond with worms and minnows before stocking and never caught a thing, he owned it for 35 years. Stocking was in 2007 with LMB, WC, HBG, BG, and CC. Size was described by previous owner as "tiny little things".

tiny little things could mean anything and fish have probably been in there for 34 years. Crappie from this years spawn would not be 4-6" yet in a typical pond setting.

Adding more fish to an existing fish community could have increased competition for food which caused food shortages which resulted in fish biting better. Previously not catching fish could be due to angling on a day or two when fish for various reasons were not actively seeking food. How many have gone fishing and catching was poor?. Larger fish in the recent catches were likley older residents.