I'll throw in a topic for discussion. I've read in a few places that HSB and crappies MAY be a "marriage made in heaven." It seems there is some data that, do to the pelagic nature of both small crappies and HSB, that HSB are very effective at controlling crappie populations in smaller BOWs which in the past were considered too small to maintain a crappie population without stunting. I don't have a dog in this fight but I found the data intriguing. Comments?
I added HSB to my big pond 3 and 4 years ago (2 stockings) for this very purpose. At that time (and now as well) I didn't have any overpopulation/stunting issues, but with all the negative comments around BCP and that possibility I was trying to manage proactively.
As of today I STILL have exactly zero issues specific to BCP. I catch them regularly and have never caught a stunted one. All the BCP I catch are healthy, thick specimens. I keep track of every fish removed from the pond, and last year (2016) we took 263 BCP out. They taste awesome, are loads of fun to catch and at least in my case are a phenomenal pond fish.
Back to the point, I don't know if the HSB were necessary and if so how much they helped. When I look in the shallows around the pond I see plenty of YOY and Y2 size BCP as well as BG, but not what I'd call an 'overabundance'. The rare times I catch a HSB they look good - not great but good. I also have a healthy population of LMB so I believe I'm covered in the top end predator arena.
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