Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations observations 5-10 acre ponds with crappie, BG, LMB

Here in south carolina it is generally suggested not to have crappie in waters less than 100 acres. A lot of ponds have crappie in them here regardless of the size of the pond. For a while, I was in the mindset that if a pond had crappie, it was probably not a good place to fish especially under mild fishing pressure.

Over time, two of the older ponds i fished have convinced me otherwise and can produce outstanding fishing year around as i'll get to later...

That being said, the ponds i have fished under 3 acres WITHOUT any deeper water (12-20 ft usually around the damn) with crappie have been poor. The shallower the water the smaller the crappie. The fish are plenty but the size are quite lackluster. I quickly started to believe the notion that crappie in a pond is disatorous.

Enter two of my favorite ponds. Pond A- 9 acres Pond B- 7 acres

They are both different, but the major similarites are as follows (which I also believe are needed to have good crappie, bream, and Bass)

- Deep water around the damn
- Bass and Bream were well in place and crappie where added years later (exact numbers of fish added i dont know, but probably a few here and there from the lake)
- Both Ponds have structure but not much, and a lot of open water
- Both Ponds have had periods of fishing and none to very little fishing
- Both Ponds have nice catch size of all fishes (except small, dont catch a lot of small fish with the exception of a smaller crappie than what youd like occasionally)
- Monster Bass lurk

The only downside to these ponds is that you have to fish the crappie. I almost always keep everyone. But if you like fishing in the late fall or winter and catching fish, crappie are fun to find and sit on. Also in the summer when nothing else is biting, you can usually find them in deeper water too.

Im not saying put crappie in your pond, but if your gonna fish it alot, and dont mind keepin the ones you catch, id say add a few adults (10-15 fish) to an exsisting pond. In a few years they will be there ready to catch.

It depends on your goals for your water as always, but ive been impressed with the balance, size, and numbers of fish you catch. But if you like fishing and not just catching........this is not such a bad route

The key variable in my opinion is an already established bass community. Numerous bass over 15" are needed to keep the crappie in line. Even then I'm not so sure though...