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Hi Folks,

I've been reading stuff on here for a very long time, and I'm happy to finally join and start learning from y'all experts! I have been an avid fisherman literally almost since I could hold a cane pole (my maternal grandparents took me fishing for bluegill and crappie when I was three), and I have had success fishing for almost all North American freshwater species (as well as flounder and sea trout on the coast and some exotic species like the horsemouth perch in China). While rainbow and brook trout are my favorite fish, I am pretty sure I know how to manage a stream and pond for those. However, I have always had a strong interest in crappie over all other warmwater species.

Well, my wife and I are finally looking to get some land for weekend/vacation houses back in North Carolina (we live in northern Virginia and work in DC), and while I know how to get set up for trout on the tract we are aiming to get in the mountains, I have not been able to find any information on how to achieve my dream pond in the warmer piedmont region of the state, which will either be single-species Black Crappie or also have Yellow Perch. We have been so impressed with how good the fishing is in these woods ponds and lakes near my hometown in North Carolina that the landowners let us use, that were built and stocked initially over 100 years ago, and have not been fished at all since, and the ungodly amount of crappie, bluegill, and bass we pull from there, compared to the public lakes we normally fish. We want desperately to recreate this on our own land, but with only our favorite species, which is the Black Crappie (we wouldn't say no to White Crappie either, but hear they are problematic in smaller bodies of water).

We will build a new lake/pond (I'm not sure what the size cutoff is) of between 4 and 10 acres with appropriate deep areas, gravel beds, gravel humps in deep water, and lots of structure. I have never seen any literature on how to make a single species pond for crappie, and I'm hoping y'all will help me out on whether this is feasible, and whether the addition of yellow perch would hurt or help. We plan to fish the pond a moderate amount and keep plenty of fish, but it will only be us, so we shouldn't make much of a dent in the populations.

Right now I am working on the assumption that the size we have in mind will be suitable for single-species crappie or dual-species crappie/yellow perch, and figure I will first stock with fathead minnows and golden shiners, as well as provide them lots of cover in shallow water to hide from the predators and reproduce. Should I also include a species of shad, or will these get too big for the crappie and possibly perch?

I really appreciate y'all's expert advice!

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Welcome aboard AR!
You are right, I don't recall too many threads about a crappie only pond. I don't recall any difference being discussed between the downsides of crappie (whether they be white or black) It seems the same management problems exist for both.

I think it is a interesting idea to have a crappie only pond but several acres of water with only crappie and forage may make it impossible to control numbers and prevent stunting. If the only predator is your family and their fishing poles then you literally would have to be able to reliably catch THOUSANDS of crappie every year to keep up.

You will have to have a predator to the crappie. To help with control, and because you are a skilled angler, you may want to consider using an unusual predator such as pike, muskie, pickerel etc. A LMB/Crappie only pond also brings with it its own management puzzles.

The YP will also have their own management issues without any predators, but I must say it is giving me new food for thought to try to imagine hungry (starving!) crappie and year old YP all filling up on each other's young fish and then trying to figure out which line of young fish will win in that fight. Both YP and crappie can really reproduce, but I'm not sure which would win out..

Some more experts will be along soon to help you with your ideas.

Now, a trophy fishery with MALE or FEMALE ONLY crappie and forage would be quite a cool undertaking.

Since you are in the planning stages, many people are now building 2 or 3 smaller ponds while they plan for the 1 larger pond. The smaller ponds can be grow out ponds for separate species, can also help with keeping males from females, and can also be a forage growout pond.

Also before digging a 4-10 acre pond you need a top notch dirt scientist and pond builder to make sure your pond and dam won't have to be revised or redone. The price can get outrageous on redo pond projects!!

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Hello and welcome to the forum.

If you are considering a lake up to 10 acres, I'd strongly suggest splitting the ponds to create multiple opportunities for specific fisheries and goals. I'd take 5 2 acre ponds over a single 10 acre pond any day based on my personal experience. Managing smaller bows is far easier than trying to to manage a single large one, and if mistakes occur, it's much easier to start over with smaller ponds. You could go even further, and create several small .2 acre growout ponds enabling you to grow your own forage and stocker fish and become self sufficient. With multiple smaller ponds you could create various fishery types - really only limited by your imagination. Once you purchase land and determine what your watershed will support and topography will allow you can make some plans on the layout for your project and we can help with stocking strategies.

If you decide you want a single BOW, I recommend stocking hybrid black crappie, not pure black crappie. Also, going single sex fish in a BOW that large will likely be next to impossible. It's a full time project keeping single sex BG and YP stocked in a .3 acre pond - can't imagine verifying sex for thousands of fish and doing it year after year. One mistake and your fishery goals change in a hurry.


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Much obliged, and thanks for the welcome! I was afraid I might need to add a predator species. I particularly want as much biomass that tastes good in my lake, and as such, I wonder about a nonstandard apex predator, like White Bass. I read about how having areas of gravel, particularly "humps" of them in fairly deep water (around 15') allows them to spawn and become established, even in ponds as small as 1 acre.

Does this sound like a viable solution to the problem of crappie overpopulation? In my youth in North Carolina I would fish each spring in the creeks feeding Jordan Lake for the spawning white bass, and although they would sometimes taste a bit muddy (the water from which they came was irremediably so), I liked their flavor a lot better than largemouth bass, which I have ruled out as a species for the ponds we are building.

Also, there is the possibility of smallmouth, which seem to be much better table fare than largemouth. For those with experience eating both, particularly white bass from clean and clear water, does one taste better than the other? I like white bass, but don't have a lot of experience with smallmouth.

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Originally Posted By: teehjaeh57
Hello and welcome to the forum.

If you are considering a lake up to 10 acres, I'd strongly suggest splitting the ponds to create multiple opportunities for specific fisheries and goals. I'd take 5 2 acre ponds over a single 10 acre pond any day based on my personal experience. Managing smaller bows is far easier than trying to to manage a single large one, and if mistakes occur, it's much easier to start over with smaller ponds. You could go even further, and create several small .2 acre growout ponds enabling you to grow your own forage and stocker fish and become self sufficient. With multiple smaller ponds you could create various fishery types - really only limited by your imagination. Once you purchase land and determine what your watershed will support and topography will allow you can make some plans on the layout for your project and we can help with stocking strategies.

If you decide you want a single BOW, I recommend stocking hybrid black crappie, not pure black crappie. Also, going single sex fish in a BOW that large will likely be next to impossible. It's a full time project keeping single sex BG and YP stocked in a .3 acre pond - can't imagine verifying sex for thousands of fish and doing it year after year. One mistake and your fishery goals change in a hurry.



Thanks a lot! I am pretty minimalist with my plans on ponds and lakes, inspired perhaps by the ponds I fished that are so productive even though they were just stocked once before my grandparents were born, and were not managed ever. We will also move between property in the mountains with trout and in the foothills with warmwater species, so we wouldn't be on hand all year in any one location to manage ponds all the time.

I don't plan on more than one fishing lake, as I am really not that interested in many other species, although a large second one (another 4-10 acres) that mirrors the first in which I would have an apex predator and yellow perch instead of crappie might be cool. I will have at least one auxiliary pond, however, in which I will let fathead minnows multiply like crazy with no predation or competition, and periodically net out a hundred pounds or so to feed the crappie and perch.

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You cannot reasonably manage a fishery effectively without an apex predator to control population of other fish. If you don't want LMB present, you could elect to use SMB and HSB [hybrid striped bass] as apex predators to keep YP and HBCP populations controlled. Introduction of Redear Sunfish would also be a good idea to keep snail population managed and provide another species to target. In a bow of that size, some Walleye could also be introduced. HSB and WE should be ladder stocked annually to keep various classes present and population numbers appropriate.


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I don't think you will easily find White Bass commercially available to stock your pond, but Hybrid Striped Bass are available.

IF you still want to stock Crappies, you have to ensure that there will be a constant (i.e. yearly) supply of small fish for them to eat. So, that means making sure that the forage fish in the pond has spawning habitat, and more than enough habitat to avoid predation to keep a viable reproducing population in the pond.


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could the small fish that he needs to feed the crappie be the YOY yellow perch?

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Originally Posted By: teehjaeh57
You cannot reasonably manage a fishery effectively without an apex predator to control population of other fish. If you don't want LMB present, you could elect to use SMB and HSB [hybrid striped bass] as apex predators to keep YP and HBCP populations controlled. Introduction of Redear Sunfish would also be a good idea to keep snail population managed and provide another species to target. In a bow of that size, some Walleye could also be introduced. HSB and WE should be ladder stocked annually to keep various classes present and population numbers appropriate.


I LOVE that walleye idea, but do you really think they'd be able to survive and breed in North Carolina? I always associated them with much colder, northern latitudes, but would be very excited to have them be apex predators, as they are about at the top of the charts as far as good-tasting warmwater sportish, being tied for first with the crappie and yellow perch (white perch is delicious, but they are not suitable for stocking in ponds or lakes, I hear).

I'm not interested in putting a species that won't be there in 100 years for my descendants though. Is it a reasonable possibility to have walleye breed in a 10-acre lake, and if so, what kind of structure do they need?

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I don't think YOY YP will be enough for the Crappie forage when you consider how prolific the Crappie can be.

Usually WE won't reproduce in a pond.

http://adventure.howstuffworks.com/outdo...leye-spawn2.htm

Without some serious consideration to minimizing organic matter build up in the pond, I don't know if the pond will be viable 100 years from now without draining, removing muck, etc. and renovation during that time.

A local lake was built in the late 1800's. It has accumulated over 10' of organic material on the bottom in most of the lake during that time, and that is with a lot of boat traffic, water skiing, etc.

While farm ponds can yield some fantastic fishing, if you want to keep that fantastic fishing going over the life of the pond, it will take some dedication to fisheries, nutrient and habitat management.

Last edited by esshup; 04/19/16 02:54 PM.

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The nice thing about apex predators is that in a smaller pond you can control the numbers. It is to your advantage that your apex predator NOT reproduce. LMB tend to like reproducing in ponds and thus hundreds of stunted LMB and a management struggle. Walleye can be stocked in a put and take scenario where you can keep your total number in check. If you go into it knowing you will have to add a few stocker fish from time to time then you don't worry about natural reproduction. This also controls growth, the amount of forage available and gives you trophy fish.

This could apply to other apex predators that you would stock on an as needed basis (pike, pickerel, musky, etc)

If you did use SMB as your apex predator it would be to your advantage again if there was limited natural reproduction. This is why many gravitate to HSB as they don't reproduce in most ponds (although there is a link recently on this site that showed reproduction in action). Check if HSB are legal in your state and they can give thrills to anglers better than any walleye ever caught. (think cranking in a underwater tornado (HSB) vs dragging in a slow moving logpile (larger walleye))

a crappie, YP, HSB only pond would be an awesome experiment in a 3-5 acre pond. I would think there would be plenty of forage (even without FHM or GSH) but if you wanted the option for a little extra forage and some built in algae control, think about throwing in some tilapia as well (if legal in your state).

Tilapia would have to be a yearly stock in your area I'm assuming due to winter kill.

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A great thread here. A lot to learn and discuss.

Crappie and YP are similar in several respects and are direct competitors with each other. They spawn about the same time with the YP just before the crappie. The yoy of both will not eat each other but the adults of both will eat the yoy of the other.

Crappie - Spawning occurs from about 59 degrees Fahrenheit to 68 degrees Fahrenheit ( 15-20 C )

YP
Reproductive Habits:
· Mature at ages 1-3
· Spawning occurs around late winter to early summer in water 2-18.6°C
· Occurs at night over vegetation and sandy or rocky bottoms
· Eggs produced in a gelatinous, accordion-like ribbon
· Fecundity is about 2,000-157,600 eggs per female

The yellow perch has the capability to influence recruitment of black crappie (Pope et al. ...
At least two potential avenues for yellow perch influence exist: competition for food
resources and direct predation by perch on the other panfish species. ...

As noted the yoy will compete for forage and the adults will also compete for food.

Both have a history of over populating leading to stunted populations. Both do better (bigger and better condition)in the presence of heavy apex predation (LMB , Esox , WE etc.).

One advantage to YP is the ability to eat pelleted feed easily.

Some good results have been shown in ponds using HSB , crappie , TFS and FH. You could likely halve the #s of crappie used in that plan and replace them with YP. Might get some interesting results.
















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Just to throw this out there a very trusted source that runs a fish farm, rears yellow perch, and also manages ponds, says the belief that yellow perch will overpopulate a pond is horse hockey if vegetation is kept under control and largemouth bass are present.

I don't know of any ponds that have overpopulated yellow perch. Does anyone else? Bill Cody?


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I don't know of any. BUT, all of the ponds that I know of that have YP in them also have either LMB or SMB. All the ponds have diminishing populations of YP, even with adding spawning habitat for YP in the Spring. Also, one particular pond in question (SMB/RES/YP) has roughly 40% underwater vegetation, but it is bladderwort and it STILL is YP light. Before the SMB were stocked it was YP heavy. 2 years after stocking the SMB it was and still is YP light.


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There is extensive research/data on YP overpopulation in the absence of strong apex predator populations (LMB and or possibly others).

Last edited by ewest; 04/20/16 11:31 AM.















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Originally Posted By: canyoncreek
The nice thing about apex predators is that in a smaller pond you can control the numbers. It is to your advantage that your apex predator NOT reproduce. LMB tend to like reproducing in ponds and thus hundreds of stunted LMB and a management struggle. Walleye can be stocked in a put and take scenario where you can keep your total number in check. If you go into it knowing you will have to add a few stocker fish from time to time then you don't worry about natural reproduction. This also controls growth, the amount of forage available and gives you trophy fish.

This could apply to other apex predators that you would stock on an as needed basis (pike, pickerel, musky, etc)

If you did use SMB as your apex predator it would be to your advantage again if there was limited natural reproduction. This is why many gravitate to HSB as they don't reproduce in most ponds (although there is a link recently on this site that showed reproduction in action). Check if HSB are legal in your state and they can give thrills to anglers better than any walleye ever caught. (think cranking in a underwater tornado (HSB) vs dragging in a slow moving logpile (larger walleye))

a crappie, YP, HSB only pond would be an awesome experiment in a 3-5 acre pond. I would think there would be plenty of forage (even without FHM or GSH) but if you wanted the option for a little extra forage and some built in algae control, think about throwing in some tilapia as well (if legal in your state).




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Our pond is 2.5 acres, ave 8 feet deep, heavy silt bottom, 40 years old (highly eutrophied) and is BCP pond primarily. Forage is BG based. I have no minnow production that I've found or seen. I have crawdads as well (re: bull frog volcano thread from last year). I have caught a single LMB in past year (11 inches, didn't get a weight). I have been planning to shift the fishery to something other than BCP, and the idea of YP and HSB sounds intriguing. I have air in the pond now, to help offset a higher biomass as well. And despite many threads discussing BCP needing larger BOW to do well, ours seem to thrive in this 2.5 acre BOW. We can easily catch 11-13 inch fish, with largest 14.25 inches to date. I may be crazy to contemplate fiddling with the fishery, but more species is appealing. Any thoughts?


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Originally Posted By: ewest
There is extensive research/data on YP overpopulation in the absence of strong apex predator populations (LMB and or possibly others).


But how many ponds out there that are not specifically managed for single sex perch don't have an apex predator like largemouth or smallmouth bass with their yellow perch? Most of the DNR websites and handbooks on pond management warn that they will overpopulate regardless, which I believe is flat out wrong. And obviously we know better.

And then you have Michigan's DNR that says it's just a matter of time before bluegills will overpopulate a pond so they advocate only hybrid bluegill.

I realize that they need to keep pond management "keep it simple stupid" for the average Joe, but I have to wonder how much knowledge SOME of these people have regarding ponds. I know when I studied fisheries the only pond management education I remember was hatchery production ponds. I do remember a text from Bennet that had some pond recreation information in it, but it was not emphasized.

The great thing about this site is so many folks thinking outbof the box.

Last edited by Cecil Baird1; 04/20/16 12:13 PM.

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It would be interesting having only a BCP pond but with that be said if you want your crappie to get somewhat big you would of course have to have an apex predator. I wonder if the pond could be balanced by putting muskie or pike in it. I would assume the muskie/pike would control the BCP numbers but idk since I've never tested it. Also it would be neat to see a self sustaining white bass population. I've heard Norm had white bass but i don't believe his was self sustaining . Definitely something I will try to do in the future.

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Thanks so much for all the great replies and everything so far! As usual when I talk to real experts, I am exposed to new directions and possibilities I hadn't imagined. Seeing as how I really only want fish that taste good in my lake/pond, my wife and I are thinking more having the crappie lake also be on the property in the NC mountains, so we can have the apex predator be Walleye. I have somewhat of a walleye inferiority complex, as they, along with Lake Trout, are the only North American freshwater game species I have never been able to pursue.

Although I am a trout guy first and foremost, I gather that walleye and crappie are the absolute, undisputed kings of good-eating freshwater fish. The yellow perch were more of an afterthought for me, as I was speculating that perhaps they and the crappie would control one another's numbers, but it seems one needs a bigger species to thin out the small crappie.

For those of you who have experience with walleye in ponds, how have you gotten them to spawn. I hear that getting the fry to survive is one of the harder parts, and that having a rock bar out towards the middle of the lake where wind can keep silt away (as well as being away from overhanging trees that will deposit leaves) with both small field stones and larger boulders from 15 to 3 feet is ideal for spawning and survival of young. I would also make sure there are good-sized areas with structure below 30 feet so the adults would have somewhere to hang out below the thermocline in the summer when it's hot.

Does this sound doable to y'all?

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Most biologists recommend against stocking crappie in ponds. They are in most ponds here in KS. For the first few years you get nice big crappie. Then in subsequent years you can watch the size diminish. It doesn't seem to matter how many we try to take out. Eventually you end up with a pond full of 4-6" fish. To end my post, great grandad always used to say "You never throw a crappie back in a farm pond, they just take over too quick".

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Agreed crappie tend to over populate quickly although I've heard larger sized ponds/lakes are able to handle crappie without them over populating. But its very likely that crappie will end up getting stunted unless if you harvest thousand(s) of crappie. Also I wanted to ask why can't AR-Tenner not have a pond that could last up to 100 years? I know that's a very long time and lets say you build the dam in very good condition and you you put aeration to prevent muck and perhaps put bacteria to control perhaps any excess muck. Idk I feel like if you have the ambition you could make it work but I could be wrong.

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Lots of time to figure out stocking strategies - IMO the real key at this time is finding that ideal parcel whose watershed will support a lake of this size; where other ponds aren't draining into and infesting with unintended species; and whose soils are appropriate upon which to build a pond. Those are 3 biggies in your cross hairs right now. Fulfilling those criteria sometimes takes years. Remember, all it takes is two BG, BH, etc to escape from upstream and your specialty fishery is altered significantly and permanently. Be deliberate and thoughtful with the land selection considering your fishery goals.


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Also about your walleye question, it is not very likely that you will get enough recruitment from the walleye. Although there have been cases where they have retained substantial recruitment but most of the time its not the case. Also having walleye control crappie number seems like a bad idea. Walleye probably won't control the crappie and walleye might have a hard time time consuming the saucer shaped crappie unlike the torpedo shaped YP. Most likely I could see most of the walleye being stunted and you having a ton of stunted crappie. if you stock the walleye at low rates you will have probably of few good sized walleye and still a bunch of stunted crappie. I'll let some other people chime on as well.

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Originally Posted By: teehjaeh57
Lots of time to figure out stocking strategies - IMO the real key at this time is finding that ideal parcel whose watershed will support a lake of this size; where other ponds aren't draining into and infesting with unintended species; and whose soils are appropriate upon which to build a pond. Those are 3 biggies in your cross hairs right now. Fulfilling those criteria sometimes takes years. Remember, all it takes is two BG, BH, etc to escape from upstream and your specialty fishery is altered significantly and permanently. Be deliberate and thoughtful with the land selection considering your fishery goals.


You make a good point TJ, finding a place to support a pond that size will be tricky and you of course don't want other ponds draining into your pond as well.

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Cecil, Bill,
I right now have a YP only pond (maybe a few other trivial fish and some unwanted fish) but no predators. I had a few egg strands this spring and most appeared to be coated with fungus after the crazy weather we had (very hot, then a week of cold, snow, and now hot again) I may not have so much recruitment this year but if by this time next year I have millions of stunted perch then I'll know if it is possible for perch to overpopulate...

I would second the notion that the advice I got from the MI DNR was textbook knowledge based on teaching from the 50s and 60s and had I followed it would have been a disaster (starting with the advise to stock channel cats in quantity to control my bluegills which likely would stunt without adequate CC)

Recently in the news a local lake had a parasite vector spread by snails that was killing swans. I emailed the DNR and advise they stock RES in that BOW to help control snails. The DNR folks emailed back and really didn't know if RES would control snails or not and said they would look into it. They thought maybe RES might not make it in our area although there are good studies done by their very own MI biologists that proved RES did do well in SW MI lakes.

Dr. Luke,
I'm sorry I can't help you with how to switch a current BOW over from BCP to something else. However if you are allowed to stock HSB, i would consider doing that first. It would start the process of balancing the BCP by adding one apex predator that you can control the numbers on. You can feed pellets to the HSB and you can learn over time if they are putting a dent in your BCP populations or not. Certainly it is easier to manage your pond with HSB as the apex predator than LMB due to issue with LMB finding it easier to reproduce in your pond.


Last edited by canyoncreek; 04/20/16 02:50 PM.
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