Dear 1morecast:
Crappie make a poor selection for stocking in a small pond because they tend to ruin the population balance between species. Here's how:

* Crappie have a hinged jaw that allows them to swallow sizable prey, which puts them in competition with bass and catfish.
* Crappie tend to spawn earlier in the spring than do bass, so the juvenile year-class feeds on fry and fingerlings hatched by the largemouth. Again, we see competition with bass.
* With adequate predation by large bass, the crappie capitalize on the first two factors above to over-populate and outstrip their own food supply. "Stunting," it's called.

Crappie CAN be managed effectively, but within a few years, they get to be a lot of trouble. Now you see why most pond professionals are reluctant to stock them in lakes smaller than about 20 acres.

Merrry Christmas, all!
Mark McDonald
Editor, Pond Boss