Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Green Sunfish vs. Bk Crappie vs. Bluegill

My pond is on a seasonal creek, below two other ponds that are overrun with Bluegill and Green Sunfish. At least couple of times a year, we have rains that cause all the ponds to flow over the spillway down the chain of ponds, so I am stuck with them. My plan is to stock black crappie and hybrid stripers. I stocked Blue and channel catfish and coppernose bluegill in the last couple of years. What will the Green sunfish do to my pond? I have seen the "start over" advice for bluegill/LMB ponds, but that is not what I am going for. When does the GSF spawn relative to the Black Crappie?

This sound like something I wanting and hoping to do..tell us ...How big and deep is your lake? Also I you did not mention any Bass. If you hav not stocked any bass you really ought to. They realy and "completeness" to a fishery. Regardless if you care about them or not they are some what a must have...

Crappie spawn first each spring, before other fish.
Green sunfish spawn shortly before bluegill, and each species often use the same nests.
Green sunfish spawn once yearly, bluegill spawn several times.
Sheer numbers of bluegill, over time, can race past green sunfish numbers. But, greens have a larger mouth, so can fight their way through to survive.
If there's another predator, such as bass, green sunfish numbers decline over time, compared to bluegill.
I found a lake in the Texas Hill Country, back in 1988 that was overpopulated with green sunfish. Our electrofishing survey showed no other species.
This five acre reservoir sat directly below a defunct turkey farm.
Water was rich and green.
We stocked advanced bass, 12-14" long, and 400 adult bluegill.
The next year, bass ranged from 6-17" (they spawned), green sunfish numbers were down, and bluegill numbers were low.
Year two, bass ranged from 6-19", green sunfish numbers were low, bluegill numbers were up, and we recommended a slot limit on bass.
The third year, green sunfish were rare, bluegill numbers were high, bass looked like footballs.

hey big_pond, why do you say that LMB are a must have? Certainly there needs to be a predator species involved but I would think that it depends on a pond owners goals whether or not LMB are the preditor of choice. For expamle if the primary goal is trophy catfish or trophy walleye or something like that, then I would think that LMB would only be more competition. If the primary goal is large crappie or bluegill than LMB would be an excellent choice to controll thier numbers, but would they be the only choice?

Ed, big_pond is correct, dimensions are rather important (particularly if you are considering crappie). But also providing your goals for you pond is necessary. If you don't know what your goals are than you should sit down figure out what you want your goals to be and prioritize them. You really can't make any good desicions about what to stock or how to manage unless you know for sure what you intend to achieve.
-Scott