RBC-- I probably have well over 100 of the larger snappers in my 6 1/2 acre pond. Most are too large to fit head first in a 5 gallon pail. Several years ago I caught about 30 of them on a 1/0 hook, a wire leader and a chunk of beef liver hanging below a gallon jug. Prior to relocating them I put 'em in a 200 gallon horse watering tank and put in a few dozen 3"-5" bluegil that I caught in a small wire cage trap. They wouldn't touch the 'gills until they were dead so no, they are not a threat to your fish population.
If I remember corectly you can catch up to 8 on your regular fishing license and up to 25 on a comercial fishing license. But, it's your pond, your rules.
If you do decide to catch them out of your pond, watch your fingers, they can snap a stick about 3 times the size of a pencil without any trouble.
There has been lots of discussion about snappers on other threads,if you use the search function in the upper right you will find loads of information on them.
Dan
