The feeling of not knowing what's on your line is a thrill of it's own every time.
I feel any negative aspects of Black Crappie will be somewhat reduced once you have larger predator fish in the pond. In that regard though, I'm not sure how much Hybrid Striped Bass will keep Crappie in check. Smallmouth would have a better chance, leaving largemouth out of the picture.
Now, another factor for the early years of Crappie would be the stocking numbers; if you're introducing them when the pond already has other mature predators, I think the lower numbers of crappie you stock, the less chance of overpopulation in the following years.
Since BCP migrate to open water after hatching I would think that hybrid stripers would decimate them since this is their home and feeding area. LMB follow the BCP in my 6 acre pond and have almost wiped out my BCP. That’s why I don’t have any stripers….. would love them but having a hard time getting any recruitment from BCP
