Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Corrective stocking Crappie in Pond

A buddy of mine has a pond full of big bass and bluegill. Last summer he stocked about 15 five inch crappie (both white and black),however I've heard that crappie can overtake a pond. So my question is will the bass eat all the little crappie and will the crappie eat enough gills to starve the bass?

You didnt say how big the pond is. The general concensus is that no pond 25 acres or less should have crappie. Due to crappies early spawning compaired to all others they get a head start on the small forage. Depending on how many lmb are "really" in the pond will depend on if the crappie will survive or not. Since its a done deal all the owner can do is wait and see. If lots of small crappie start to show up he will have his answer. I am not the expert or even one of them, however these are standard rules i have read over and over here. Someone else will chip in im sure.

Well the pond is about three acres in size. And untill he stocked the crappie, the bass were the only predator fish in the pond and there are alot of bream and other food. I just can't see the crappie overrunning the pond because there are so little of them compared to the bass and they were perfect food size..

There is a decent likelihood that if he only stocked 15 5" crappies, they were all eaten before they could pull off a spawn this spring. Particularly if there are a large number of 15" plus bass in the pond. However, it only takes two to tango... If a male and female crappie did survive and managed to find each other, you can almost guarantee they spawned. How the crappies will affect the pond will be interesting. I sometimes feel that stocking crappies after the largemouth bass population has been given a chance to establish and get 20% of the bass population into the 15"+ is one way you MAY be able to get around some of the issues that crappies can cause in ponds. However, I still think it is risky and your buddy should closely monitor his pond for signs of the crappie spawning. If they did, he needs to vigorously fish for them and remove ANY and ALL crappies he catches.

Ok, I guess he'll have to wait and see. Thanks for the Information.

Do crappie like cover from moss and weeds? Because the pond's main cover is from moss and weeds. Also would it be harder for them to hunt in the weeds (I have alot of questions about crappie)?

Black crappies tend to relate for to aquatic vegetation than white crappies which prefer more woody cover, but that is just a rough generalization.

Too much cover can make it more difficult for crappies to prey on forage. It generally depends on the type of cover and how thick it is. Some aquatic weeds are easier for crappies and other species to forage in, while others are so thick it is near impossible.

I just got back from fishing at the pond, and I caught three 9 inch crappie. I talked to the pond owner and he said I could kill the small ones, but he really wants to keep the black crappie because he thinks they won't do as much damage as the white crappie.Is that true???

Well, that's what the fish sellers say. Don't believe it. Look them up and you will find that they have about the same number of eggs.