Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose Crappie subject again

Most of the posts about stocking crappie appear
equavalent to pouring DDT in the water. So, what
is really the problem with crappie in smaller
impoundments. They tend to over populate and
out compete bass for forage fish. So what,
don't stock bass. I'd rather catch crappie
any day. I hear that black crappie are not as
prolific producers as white. Maybe they CAN be
managed in 3 plus acre ponds !

There always a few folks who have to learn by doing. So stock your crappie and forage fish in your 1 to 4 acres of water. For a little back ground info: for both white & black crappie, and for each fish to grow large, each one needs to eat about 8 to 10 lbs of minnows over a 3 to 4 yr period to gain one pound of weight (1 lb=12"-13" and 15"=2 lber). So, keep proper sized forage avaiable and enough of it should be present to keep all the crappies in the pond growing. Also keep a fairly good estimate of crappie numbers present; and thin their numbers when they are common to abaundant. The hard part will be to keep ample amounts of minnow forage available for the total number of fish eaters and you'll have a great crappie "fishing hole". Sounds easy enough. Come back in several years (abt 6 yrs) and let us know what you have learned and how it is working.

For some more helpful background information about how to raise crappie in ponds see http://www.conservation.state.mo.us/fish/aquaguides/
Click on the box on left side titled "Managing Crappie in Small Impoundments".

I've sampled what seems to be countless ponds that contain crappie. The good crappie ponds always seem to have the following characteristics: high bass densities, fairly clear water, decent amounts of submerged aquatic vegetation (10-20%), and the crappie are generally black crappie. Crappie are an extremely prolific fish. The clear water and the high densities of bass help to "control" the crappie numbers (i.e. lots of bass need to be able to see the crappie in order to eat them).

Without the bass, you have a good chance of seeing your crappie numbers explode. If this happens, you can probably expect poor growth from the crappie. Lots of folks around here love crappie, and it takes a devoted pond owner to establish and maintain a good crappie population. I generally recommend a "catch and release" bass fishery for these folks. I say let the bass overpopulate, so that they are able to help you keep the crappie numbers under control which will inturn provide better crappie growth.

You don't want to run into a situation where your crappie become overpopulated- unless you don't mind fileting 6-7inch crappie. All in all, I see poor crappie populations more than I see good. The poorest crappie populations almost always have poor water clarity and few bass.

There are always exceptions. If you love crappie, my advice to you is to go for it but keep good records and realize that it will take some work to keep things going.

I agree with Shawn. Bass heavy is a key to good crappie growth. It is funny some folks just don't want to listen to science. Here the DNR will tell you if you have small pond with crappie to drain it, it is ruined. Many times they are right. However, if you apply some science you can have a good crappie fishery in a pond. Also I have not noticed a diff. in black/white crappie success I have seen good and bad in both species.

Greg you say You have seen good and bad in both black and White Crappie. I know the good in black crappie...but what's the good in white crappie??

If you want to try and roll the dice with crappie, should you not harvest any small bass?

I would lay off the small bass. You want a large abundance of bass. Often times, I recommend a 15" minimum length limit for the bass. The reality is that a stockpiled bass population rarely has bass over 15" so putting this limit on is essentially the same as a "catch and release". If a few bass sneek past the length limit then I say go ahead and harvest them. Chances are it's old and won't live much longer anyways. Keep in mind this situation applies to a stockpiled bass population. Oh yeah, the sizes I'm talking about are typical for midwestern ponds. Perhaps the southern states could raise the minimum length limit a couple of inches?? Bottom line is that good bass recruitment and high densities are needed.

The only exception I can think of is if there is an overabundance of prey for the crappie (minnows and shad). If this is the case, you could probably have more room for error when it came to harvesting bass. But a lack of sufficient prey is usually the case, so a reduction in crappie numbers is needed. This is done by making sure the bass eat the heck out of them, and that the angler keeps his/her freezer full.

As far as white crappie go, I have seen them do well in ponds, but this seems to be the exception rather than the rule. Just remember that black crappie do better in clear water (say greater than 18-20" visibility) than whites. Since you need bass, you therefore need the water clear enough for the bass to efficiently prey upon the crappie. Since the water needs to be clear, you're best bet is to go with black crappie.

The cool thing about fish management- particularly pond management- is the experimental side of things. If you have an idea and after you've done your homework, then go for it. The worst thing that can happen is that you start over. This can be expensive depending on the the size of the pond, but it's an option. Otherwise, you can be safe and do what's been known to work. I learn more from ambitious pond owners than I ever have from reading books.

Having said that, I would personally make sure my pond had suitable habitat conditions and then I'd stock black crappie.

My father has been stocking black crappie in his pond for years now, here's how it works for him. In a 2 acre pond he established a heavy bluegill/bass mix before introducing crappie. Every other year he now adds 100. Not all survive, but there are NEVER any little ones caught. Either his environment won't produce a hatch, or the spawn/eggs are devoured before they're ever seen. Much like catfish, we only catch what we stock.

I guess it all comes down to what you want, I hear the same horrific tales about trying to have a pond full of forage and perch only but I have never met anyone who wanted crappie or perch in a pond for any other purpose than to have tasty fish fry's every week, any of the bass to me is just a fun fish to catch, taste like an old fishermans socks to eat though, and I wouldn't consider stocking them in my own pond. Everyone has a slightly different goal in mind here and you may be surprised at just how many fish one man will harvest in a years time helping to keep the balance in his pond. Personally I can make good use of 200 to 300 perch or crappie a year. Combine that with the YOY that get eaten by the big breeders I plan to leave (since larger fish are more fun to catch and release and eat more YOY helping to keep that balance), I really can't see how things could go that awry. In any case, I would like to see more posts on how folks manage their ponds for fish fry fodder than for trophy fishi anyway, the proof to me is in the fish you get to eat.

Totaly agree!! I wish there were more people with crappie senerio's as well....

JoeG, we definitely have similar intrests in the types of fish we prefer. I'm a consumptive angler and love nothing more than dipping fresh filets into some hot oil. I've got high cholesterol to prove it!

As far as panfish, my personal favorite is yellow perch, but we don't have them where I'm at. My second choice would have to be bluegill. They are awesome to eat and they are true warriors when it comes to catching them. My favorite bluegill pond has the same scenario as my favorite crappie pond. We catch and release all bass and selectively control the vegetation. We consistently catch bluegill greater than 8" year after year, with some hitting the 10" mark. If the gills are between 7.5" and 10" then they just found a new home in the bottom of a cast-iron skillet. I don't get a chance to fish the pond that often so I'm not too concerned with overharvesting. The pond is shy of 3 acres.

My favorite crappie pond is 7 acres. We remove between 300-600 black crappie each year (8-11")and the fishing seems to stay the same from year to year. Again, we release all bass, although some of my friends do occassionally eat the things. I'm like you, I'd rather eat road kill than a bass. The nice thing about stockpiled bass is that you can almost always catch them. Some of my closest friends (my dad included) don't enjoy panfishing and would much rather catch monster bass. I guess we just agree to disagree on how we want our favorite ponds managed. Generally speaking, you manage for either panfish or big bass- which ever you pick is usually at the expense of the other.

Gotta run. I have a musky meeting to attend.

Glad to see there are some "eaters" among us here, heh heh. I don't even look at my cholesterol Shawn, I just keep the oil hot and the breading fresh. I am heading to Ontario this weekend to fish Lake Simcoe, one of the finest perch fisheries in North America.

I was ready to go ahead with the crappie / overpopulated bass experiment BUT when I measured the water clarity in my mudhole - 6".

The water clarity of ponds 100 yards above and 10 yards below mine is about 2' ( I will measure it to make sure ), so I expect mine to clear up with time and lime. Before that happens, I will have a track hoe enlarge my existing pond, so that will add turbidity.

What to do now! Should I stock the crappie, and bass now, because year's worth (maybe two) of slow growth is better than no growth? Or should I wait until the conditions are there? By that time my bluegill population would overpopulate and stunt - kind of like all you can eat buffet for the crappie and bass that will come later.