Now that's some information I can work with. I think we can get somewhere with that.

There doesn't seem to be any serious problem with your pond other than perhaps the excess overflow. Habitat sounds good and poaching doesn't sound like it could be an issue.

It sounds like you put all the fish in at the same time which is generally frowned upon. But, lots of people do it and some of the ponds turn out fine so it can work.

The thing that concerns me about it though is that lots of fish are stocked in the late spring. Folks get to thinking about it too late. So they stock some 3" bluegill, some 10" catfish, some 2-3" bass (freshly spawned), and in your case, some crappie. If those crappie were 5", they would eat a bass 3" long easy.

I guess the point I'm trying to make is that the small bass available from May on are a risk in my opinion. They are vulnerable to a lot of things a 6" bass wouldn't worry about.

Let me tell a brief story to illustrate my point. Two lakeowners, both stocking their lakes appropriately with one exception . . . they also put in 2-3" bass in the spring. Only 25 to the acre too. Fast forward on one lake 3 years. The lakeowner is upset because nobody is catching any bass and he calls me for an electrofishing survey. After a solid hour of electrofishing (on a 40 acre lake) the bass catch is 2 4-pound fish and 13 fingerlings. Golden shiners and bluegill abound, but nothing to eat them. The other lake posted similar results after two years.

My suggestion? Stock 25 6" bass per acre and monitor closely. Their response? Let's wait and see what happens "because I've already spent $xxxxx.00 on this damm thing and I don't want to spend anymore!" Oh - kaaay.

So, if you stocked small bass fingerlings in at the same time as your other fish, and you are now seeing LOTS of prey (tadpoles, etc.), my suggestion would be the similar to what I told them. I'd recommend you stock 20-25 bass at least 8" long from a reliable source. Don't get them from the overpopulated pond down the street . . . they could be 5 years old.

Now, if you stocked bass 4" or larger in size, I have to believe that they're in there still. A little beatle-spin work is in order.

I can't think of a single lake I've stocked with 6-8" bass in the fall that hasn't turned out great. And I've sure never had anyone complaining that they couldn't catch them.