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.
