Osage tends to be correct for the fecundity of the crappie. The Handbook of Freshwater Fishery Biology reports the following for numbers of eggs of white (WCP) and black crappie (BCP):
6.2"-8.5" WCP=32,000-208K; BCP 11,000-48K.
8.7"-11" WCP= 40,000-123K; BCP 30,000-66K.
11.5"-13" WCP= 77,000-496K; BCP 77,000-188K.
The general health and food conditions where the crappie are living will significantly affect how many eggs will develop in the females. Also crappie can have extended spawning periods where they will lay eggs over days, weeks or even a couple months. This feature will strongly affect how many eggs a particular female will have in her at one time.
In my PBoss Mar-Apr 2013 article about crappie I note that whites thrive better in more turbid water compared to BCP who 'prefer' clearer water of visibilities 2ft to 5ft. After 3 to 5 yrs you will know the average pond clarity of your pond, then stock the appropriate specie of crappie. Also if you do or don't want crappie, I suggest that you stock some hybrid striped bass before the pond is 1-2 yrs old so when you stock crappie the adult HSB help prey on the young crappie who live in the open water habitat until they are larger 3"-5". HSB live primarily in the offshore, open water habitat. My crappie article (Pond Boss Mag Mar-Apr 2013; Crappie As A Bonus, Plus Growth Rates and Sexing) discusses all this. Choose and pick a predator that lives where the prey items are most common.
Last edited by Bill Cody; 03/28/13 09:05 PM.
