Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose Adding crappie from another pond?

Hi all,

My 1/4 acre pond is 1 1/2 years old. Initially, I stocked 100 CC (6"), 100 BG (2-3") and 10 LMB (6"). I haven't had any floaters and the CC average 1 to 2 lbs and the BG flourish. There are plenty of frogs and one little turtle. The pond is aerated and we feed with floating fish food pretty regularly because it's fun.

Over the year and a half, we caught 3 of the LMB while they were really small. They swallowed the hook badly, but we threw them back anyway, hoping they would survive. I caught another bass the other day and it was fair sized, about 8 or 9". It also swallowed the hook and I threw it back in. The bluegill seem to flourish, because they are always aggressively eating the fish food (fun to watch them skip across the water like rocks). I caught a good sized bluegill the other day.

My question is, could or should we add some more LMB to the pond? If so, how big? Also, I've never added any minnows other than leftovers after fishing awhile. Should I get some minnows?

Also, our neighbor has some good sized crappie in his pond and I wondered if we could fish his pond and add our catch to our pond.

Your thoughts?

Thank you, Janan

If your bluegill are becoming too plentiful you will start to see it in their body condition. They will start to get skinny and unhealthy looking. If they are getting too numerous you will likely need to add some largemouth. I don't see what you could hurt by adding five or so fish right now to make up for some mortality that you may have had. You can always take them back out.

Why do you want to add crappie? The more fish you add, the more "management" you have to do. I would only move them in if I felt I had thought through all of the possible ramifications, including overpopulation by prolific crappie. Is there a chance that you could fish your neighbor's pond right as the fish are about to spawn and only add females to your pond? If you teach yourself to identify gravid (with eggs) fish then maybe you could get a few bonus fish without the concerns of overpopulation.

Thank you for the quick reply.

The only reason I thought of adding crappie is that I like the taste. If it's not a good idea, I don't want to mess up what appears to be a good pond. Otherwise, I would add a few. What do you think?

If I add LMB, how many and how big should I go? Minnows, too? Or let them eat the BG??

I reread your post. When do crappie spawn?

Earlier than your other fish. I'm not sure when they spawn in Texas. Here in Nebraska it's early May. I'll bet they're already gearing up for spawning in your parts.

I have crappie in one of my ponds and if having healthy bass is some thing you want then I wouldn't put any in. They will compete with the bass for food. If your pond was much larger then it wouldn't hurt anything but I wouldn't add them to a small pond. The pond I have them in is 3.5 acres and I have been trying to get them out as much as I can.

If a LMB swallows the hook.Cut the line and the turn the hook thru side of gills and then push up and it hardly does any damage.Hope this helps if you ever have this problem again.good fishin to ya.

Chandler, I too like crappie and give a little LMB growth to have them. In a pond your size, they won't overpopulate over time if you manage it just a little. Also. if you have seen or caught a LMB smaller than you stocked, do NOT add more. One spawn will give you 100's of 1-3" LMB, that's when the crappie balance would become beneficial.