Mr. W -- I've posted my opinion about crappies in the past, and usually try to stay out of these arguments. :-) Humor intended, guys! Some folks have obviously had some bad experiences with overpopulated crappies, and others have read the old pond management books that say no crappies in small ponds.

That 3-acre SD pond had a high density of mostly small LMB (most were less than 12 inches long). I'm very conservative when it comes to crappies in ponds, and thus prefer the crowded bass population. I also always use black crappies in ponds, rather than whites. Blacks are better suited for the small waters. Big blacks can live on aquatic insects and zooplankton when overall crappie density is kept low by bass, while white crappies don't do as well. In that 3-acre pond, we consistenly produced 12 inch black crappies. I use the past tense on this pond, as it winterkilled a couple of years back despite the aeration unit. It was a sad day that spring to walk the shoreline and see all those dead 12 inch crappies. Beauties.

When I worked in KS, we also managed a pond there for black crappies. Again, the pond primarily had small bass (on purpose) that were less than 12 inches, but some reached larger sizes down there with the longer growing season. You can still get an occasional 5 pound bass in a pond that mostly has smaller, crowded bass. The few that pop through that feeding "bottleneck" always get big!

OK, that's my 2 cents worth. I'm not saying you can't manage for larger bass and still get some decent crappies. I will say that the safest crappie pond management strategy is to accept the crowded largemouth bass population.

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From Bob Lusk: Dr. Dave Willis passed away January 13, 2014. He continues to be a key part of our Pond Boss family...and always will be.