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#501399 02/01/19 05:01 PM
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curious if theres a lake already with a decent amount of BG,CC and LMB around 9 acres or so if you were to add maybe 30 white crappie around 6 inches or so do you think they would take over? or do you think they would be able to thrive wlel and establish a decent population im just curious how powerful crappie really could b

Last edited by mattmonster1991; 02/01/19 05:04 PM.
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That depends(standard answer) on size of LMB & CC. The only real way to find out a lot of these questions is just do it. I was told if it becomes a problem introduce a couple Tiger Muskie. We had a 30 acre pond and had black and white crappie and the bass and channel cats and hungry fishermen seemed to keep everything under control.

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Crappie are generally unsuitable in impoundments less than 25 to 30 acres. They spawn earlier than bassor bluegills plus have the same hinged jaw of a bass. The result is that when the bass and bluegills spawn/hatch hungry young crappies are there waiting on them.


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I have them in a 5 ac pond and so far no problem.... yet ...... guess it really does just depends

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We have a 10 A. rock quarry that has LMB UP TO 6 & 7 LBS., CC up to 30 in. and 12 to 15 lb., BG that are numerous and healthy, and BCP. We very seldom catch one that is smaller than 12 in. We are considering adding some 10 in. BCP this spring to see if we can have a better survival of young. We have added a lot of structure but as yet no increase. Everything we catch does seem very healthy. The main continuous problem is LMB numbers. With help we do take a lot out each year. I do keep reading about the negatives of BCP it has not been a problem. My wife and I do love to catch the crappies. They are as pretty as it gets. I would say don't be afraid to go for it. We would like to catch more. The LMB is most likely the key.

Last edited by jgr; 02/02/19 12:11 PM.
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can you catch them like crazy or is it hard to find them

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Originally Posted By: mattmonster1991
curious if theres a lake already with a decent amount of BG,CC and LMB around 9 acres or so if you were to add maybe 30 white crappie around 6 inches or so do you think they would take over? or do you think they would be able to thrive wlel and establish a decent population im just curious how powerful crappie really could b


Matt if I was to add some I would add black crappie due to their diverse feeding habits

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i just wana make it a good crappie pond so i can go out and catch 15 crappie on days so i guess ill take my cat net to my local rez toss out cause can catch 50 easily at a time at the spillway and keep stocking the pond to be sure i think ill put about 150 and a few baby cats if i catch some since the lake hasnt been stocked in 20 years or longer the cat populations low prob has 50 cats in the whole lake now


the lakes full of bluegill due to not having any real predators its very hard to catch a bass i fished for 1 year solely with plastic worms and caught only 5 bassout of maybe 40 trips so that lets me know that the crappie should be fine

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Originally Posted By: Pat Williamson

Originally Posted By: mattmonster1991
curious if theres a lake already with a decent amount of BG,CC and LMB around 9 acres or so if you were to add maybe 30 white crappie around 6 inches or so do you think they would take over? or do you think they would be able to thrive wlel and establish a decent population im just curious how powerful crappie really could b


Matt if I was to add some I would add black crappie due to their diverse feeding habits



i would too i prefer black crappie but u cant buy them locally also it cost a good bit of money and they could get eaten is easier for me to use my cast net to catch them at my spillway can catch all the baby cats n crappie i can want and shad

maybe i should add some of the shad to the lake too but i think they will get to big for the crappie to eat. luckly nobody cares for the lake anymore nothing but older people live around it and they dont wana mess with it i dislike bass and bass eat crappie and bluegill so id prefer to have cats n crappie mostly n the lake and take out any bass i see

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Shad will compete heavily for zooplankton which I think all sizes of crappie need at various times of the year for good growth. Crappie smaller than 8" rely more heavily on zooplankton than larger crappie. It is important for small crappie to grow quickly to minimize stunting or slow growth.


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Whatever you put in you are going to need a predator to keep the numbers in balance. Are the shad gizzards or threadfin?

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Originally Posted By: Pat Williamson
Whatever you put in you are going to need a predator to keep the numbers in balance. Are the shad gizzards or threadfin?



not sure tbh some get pretty damn big like 5 pounds iv caught in my nets is it easy to notice the difference in them? so i could possibly look through them and try to only take the threadfin shad

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Originally Posted By: Bill Cody
Shad will compete heavily for zooplankton which I think all sizes of crappie need at various times of the year for good growth. Crappie smaller than 8" rely more heavily on zooplankton than larger crappie. It is important for small crappie to grow quickly to minimize stunting or slow growth.



so in a pond like this what do you think i should try to add to the lake for the crappie t do well? its full of bluegill as is aid not many predators to put a dent in the numbers so id think has plenty of bluegill to feast on should i try to add more bluegill as well so they will make sure t have plenty of forage?


i wana have small eating catfish around the 1-3 pound range channels if possible for eating would b cool to have like 30 monster flatheads around 40 pounds the pond is round 8-10acres so prob could do ok but i dont think ill risk it unless my crappie population went insane over the next few years

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Like Bill said shad compete with crappie for zooplankton that black crappie rely on . If you have gizzard shad I would not put them in.

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Originally Posted By: Pat Williamson
Like Bill said shad compete with crappie for zooplankton that black crappie rely on . .....


Pat,

Wouldn't that be a plus if the concern is BCP would overpopulate?


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Well maybe, but shad compete for food so maybe it doesn’t starve the crappie just slow ( stunt) them .i would think they need all the food they can get and a predator for number controls. Just thinking

Last edited by Pat Williamson; 02/03/19 11:00 PM.
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how about the threadfin shad not sur ehow big they get would they be a decent alternative? fathead minnows would probably cost to much especially for a lake of this size id have put in 100 pounds a year

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Mattmonster, No we do not catch them like crazy. It is more like they are a bonus fish. We have had this pond 10 years and nothing has changed as far as the BCP population. We fish for them but usually catch them when fishing for something else. If we catch 3 or 4 in a day that is good. They are fat and healthy. We have hired pond guys to help but still the same. The BG and LMB have no problem and are also very fat. We may be lite on the zooplankton but I'm not sure. Maybe whatever it is it is a good thing. I have run several water quality tests and they say it is excellent.

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The TFS will grow to the 5 to 6" range and that makes a nice sized forage fish. I would work towards a good TFS population if you can.


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From the beginning: "a decent amount of BG,CC and LMB 'in pond/lake' around 9 acres or so if you were to add maybe 30 white crappie around 6 inches or so do you think they would take over?" Then you say: "the lake is full of bluegill due to not having any real predators its very hard to catch a bass i fished for 1 year solely with plastic worms and caught only 5 bass out of maybe 40 trips so that lets me know that the crappie should be fine."

I think crappie would NOT do fine in this situation. Crappie could easily overpopulate in this fishery balance. Also from your description I do not think there is a "decent" amount of LMB in the pond/lake. We/you need to know why catches of LMB even those 8"-12" are not common. In a balanced fishery in 9 acres one should be able to catch 5 to 6 LMB at 8"-14" long for every 2 to 3 hr fishing trip using plastic worms and/or live bait. When LMB are balanced one/you should catch a few 6"-12" LMB while fishing for just BG and/or Crappie.

LMB or HSB need to be common or abundant for producing a successful crappie fishery. Is this your private pond/lake or just a place you are allowed to fish? We need to know why LMB are not more common in this pond. See more below.

I would not add crappie to a pond where there is an abundance of BG and where LMB are hard to catch,,,, because high numbers of small bass need to be present to control crappie's prolific numbers or reproduction potential because they can easily overpopulate when predatory pressure is not high on the small 1"-4" most abundant size of crappie. The current high numbers of bluegill are IMO already stressing the natural food base of the pond. The pond is currently at fish carrying capacity. I think the current fishery and the existing overall pond habitat needs to be better assessed, evaluated, and put into a better balance before adding another fish species.

Adding artificial structure or encouraging natural structure "might" help improve the fishery.

Adding crappie I think will further limit the amount of natural foods available for small fish and ALL small fish species will struggle to grow to harvestable sizes. From your description so far,, it sounds to me like the pond needs more predators(LMB) not add new crappie. Adding a new fish capable of reproducing abundantly, that you would like to catch, to a pond at already carrying capacity can put the whole pond ecosystem in " fishery balance trouble". Adding the wrong fish species could further decrease the quality of the fishery long term. Adding crappie to a pond full of BG could create a pond full of stunted BG and stunted Crappie; none bigger than 4"-6".

I think you should first be enhancing the predator fishes rather than adding crappie. WORK to get the pond's fishery balanced to where you can regularly catch 8"-10" BG before adding any crappie. It is possible the pond has too many small BG who are,,, or have been limiting the recruitment of LMB which is why you are not catching very many LMB per fishing trip. Consider adding HSB to the fishery to diversify and improve the predator community and feed the BG so many BG grow to big 8"-11" sizes.

Is this a your private pond/lake or just a place you are allowed to fish? Are there fish feeders on the pond?

Last edited by Bill Cody; 02/04/19 11:26 AM.

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Originally Posted By: Bill Cody
From the beginning: "a decent amount of BG,CC and LMB 'in pond/lake' around 9 acres or so if you were to add maybe 30 white crappie around 6 inches or so do you think they would take over?" Then you say: "the lake is full of bluegill due to not having any real predators its very hard to catch a bass i fished for 1 year solely with plastic worms and caught only 5 bass out of maybe 40 trips so that lets me know that the crappie should be fine."

I think crappie would NOT do fine in this situation. Crappie could easily overpopulate in this fishery balance. Also from your description I do not think there is a "decent" amount of LMB in the pond/lake. We/you need to know why catches of LMB even those 8"-12" are not common. In a balanced fishery in 9 acres one should be able to catch 5 to 6 LMB at 8"-14" long for every 2 to 3 hr fishing trip using plastic worms and/or live bait. When LMB are balanced one/you should catch a few 6"-12" LMB while fishing for just BG and/or Crappie.

LMB or HSB need to be common or abundant for producing a successful crappie fishery. Is this your private pond/lake or just a place you are allowed to fish? We need to know why LMB are not more common in this pond. See more below.

I would not add crappie to a pond where there is an abundance of BG and where LMB are hard to catch,,,, because high numbers of small bass need to be present to control crappie's prolific numbers or reproduction potential because they can easily overpopulate when predatory pressure is not high on the small 1"-4" most abundant size of crappie. The current high numbers of bluegill are IMO already stressing the natural food base of the pond. The pond is currently at fish carrying capacity. I think the current fishery and the existing overall pond habitat needs to be better assessed, evaluated, and put into a better balance before adding another fish species.

Adding artificial structure or encouraging natural structure "might" help improve the fishery.

Adding crappie I think will further limit the amount of natural foods available for small fish and ALL small fish species will struggle to grow to harvestable sizes. From your description so far,, it sounds to me like the pond needs more predators(LMB) not add new crappie. Adding a new fish capable of reproducing abundantly, that you would like to catch, to a pond at already carrying capacity can put the whole pond ecosystem in " fishery balance trouble". Adding the wrong fish species could further decrease the quality of the fishery long term. Adding crappie to a pond full of BG could create a pond full of stunted BG and stunted Crappie; none bigger than 4"-6".

I think you should first be enhancing the predator fishes rather than adding crappie. WORK to get the pond's fishery balanced to where you can regularly catch 8"-10" BG before adding any crappie. It is possible the pond has too many small BG who are,,, or have been limiting the recruitment of LMB which is why you are not catching very many LMB per fishing trip. Consider adding HSB to the fishery to diversify and improve the predator community and feed the BG so many BG grow to big 8"-11" sizes.

Is this a your private pond/lake or just a place you are allowed to fish? Are there fish feeders on the pond?



heres the thing theres 3 lakes on my road i mostly just fish the bottom the very top lake about 7 acres is horrible the middle lake is decent for blue gill and white crappie at times iv been able t catch like 30 slabs in 2 hours the pond has no catfish and only a few small bass and is only 2 acres which is surprising

the lake isnt mine but nobody has cared for them since 2000 iv been fishing it since i was 10 years old now 27 they dont want anything t do with them put any money or anything they just sit there havnt been socked in decades and allowed me t do what i want to them as far as fish goes since nobody fishes it but maybe 5 people a year

the lake doesnt have small bg it has some big bluegills quite healthy id say i can always catch good sized gills idk tb if it has crappie the second lake does and it does have spillway which when overflow water pours over but iv never caught a crappie in it

instead of adding lmb could i add catfish to use as predators im not a fan of bass id rather grow some big cats than big bass

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yeha id love too too bad they die so fast if i catch a bunch in my cast net im sure 80% willl die by the time i put them in large coolers and drive them 20 minutes back to the lakes

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Only for a reference, this morning I went ice fishing for BG and caught 13 LMB 12 to 15 in. along with several BG in 2 hrs. of fishing. The hard thing for me is to have any idea how many of any of the fish should I harvest. 10 yrs. ago when we got this pond it was full of stunted LMB and we took a lot out. For some reason now we never catch a stunted LMB but there are still plenty of them. I think we may now be riding that knife edge. After I found this forum about 6 yrs. ago I am reading something interesting and new to me everyday. There is a lot of experience on here and it pays to listen but every situation can be different.Just my 2 cents from my experience. We also have added 300 HSB 3 years ago that are now 20 in. so that may also be of some help.

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i just wana have a great crappie and catfishing lake and bluegill so can come out and harvets some good fish when i wana im gonna start pellot feeding too once i add some fish t the pond so the bluegill will beable t eat


also i was told that u can train crappie to eat pellots if so that would b great for hellping them grow

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I have not heard of crappies eating pellets but it may be true. I have always fed pellets twice a day because I'm only a mile away and I am there every day. This past year I bought 2 feeders and fed Aquamax MVP twice a day. I really do like the MVP. There are several sizes of pellets and some smaller ones will sink. I now have quite a large number of LMB that will eat pellets that were raised here. I think the sinking makes non feed trained fish feel more comfortable to eat pellets and smaller BG feel safer if they are not on top of the water. Just my observations in watching them each day. CC are not shy feeders either. Maybe the crappies would eat some sinking but I do not see them near the top. Good luck, this is a blast.

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