Pond Boss Forums FISH & FISHING Sunfish-Including Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass Stunted crappie

So I have 7 ponds and I am in the process of revamping two. I Want to make a 1-1/2 acre pond a hsb, hbg, bcp pond. My question is I have a canal with tons of stunted bcp that is connected to the creek during high water. Can they come out of this stunting enough to warent moving to the new pond?

Cray
I also am interested in all things crappie . I am a year into this and I'm thinking that HBG aren't going to reproduce enough offspring to feed the BCP and HSB. Prob would stock BG or CNBG for forage. Just a thought.

Will they add size on, sure they will. Will they reach their full potential? Nope... How little of their full potential they reach, well that depends on how stunted they are. If it was me, I'd drop the cash into buying quality fingerlings, they're not that expensive.

As far as the HBG, HSB, BCP combo, with a feeding program, keeping cover and vegetation to a minimum and the addition of GSH, it could produce a decent fishery. There will be some competition between the HBG and the BCP. Pellets will help keep it to a minimum.

My thoughts were to have golden shiners, and gams. I have a bait pond that I will supplement the ponds forage with. I will also feed pellets.

I wouldn't intentionally add gams. I realize they often show up on their own in the south, I wouldn't help them out though.

You have a problem with gams? Do tell!

Just think there are better species out there that don't have the associated problems that gams do. Gams are extremely aggressive and nasty fish. I'd rather have banded killifish or golden topminnows. Even least killifish or sailfin mollies... I left them out of my experimental forage pond for a reason.

I wish I could get rid of all the gams I have. They offer me little value as a forage fish due to the small size and the shallow water they inhabbit makeing them hard to be preyed apon. They are very agressive little things and feed heavily on freshly hatchted fry if not the eggs of any fish that do not protect the eggs such as GSH. I feel I would have a lot more recruitment from the GSH if I did not have the GAMS, ultimatly resulting in more valuable forage fish.

My YOY LMB work the gams over keeping them knocked down they don't venture out into deep water or the bass and crappie will get them

Ps I like having them as thy are the only minnows that will survive in my pond
Pat