Here we go again, did I miss something ?
Doug said he has a "good" crappie pond and is not satisfied with the size of his LMB
ML chimes in with "Your pond is way too small for crappie(black, white or purple),unless you can intensively fish/remove and keep their numbers in check...and very few can do that."
ML's next statement is "Sorry, but you will not find many fans of crappie in small ponds herein simply because of the problems you have described."
Why do you continue to make such statements ? Did you read Grimes post on the ponds he manages ? There is no reason Doug can't have decent LMB and crappie. I'm going to write a simple fact book with the A,B,C's of crappie management disproving misconceptions like yours. My second lmb/hsb/crappie pond is well underway with a sufficient documentation trail for others to follow is they so choose.
Doug, it sounds at though you do need adjustments to get your pond back on track. A weak bgill base is the root of your problem. To improve the LMB habitat, start pulling as many crappie as you can, rebuild the bgill forage base that is lacking. I would immediately stock 200 5-7" adult bgill. You do not need to overstock predators as ML suggests, you need overstocked bgill. Also, I do not think you need to worry about the water overflow, you will always lose a few smaller fish when the gullywashers hit, but for the most part, your general fish population will remain in your pond.
