My 1 3/4 ac pond had (has) a similar problem. Bought the property last year and it was full of 8-10" crappie but bass fishing was slow and most of bass caught were small 10-12" tho I did catch a handfull of better bass in the 3.5 - 5lb range.
I took out 125 crappie last year and added more bluegill (575 medium size and 600 small ones).
This year I can see bass cruising the shoreline on sunny days. The bass seem to be putting on some size and looking healthier. Can also see lots of bluegill fry in shallows (something I did not see last spring).
My theory is that the crappie overpopulated and ate up most of the bass fry and young bluegill. The few bass that got some size must have fed on crappie and other bass. Pond is on clearer side in winter 3'-3.5' visability - 2'-3' visability in summer with lots of weeds.
I would like that if you fish your crappie hard you might be able to turn things around by adding forage. I've also been clipping fins on small crappie and throwing them back so bass can eat them.
My question is how do the crappy eat up the bass fry when as soon as the BCP swim up they head for open water to feed on plankton? Where bass stay close to shore.
