Crappie v/s bluegill in a farm pond?

[poke flyfisher]

Thanks for the comments so far...appreciated.

I'm of the school "never stock crappie in a small pond, they will take over".
Just from the fishing experiences I have had in this regard.
It is no fun catching crappie after crappie that run about 8 to 10 inches.

It would also seem that the largemouth are stunted to some small length when this is the case?

Stocking crappie in a farm pond is risky business. They are terrible about raiding bass spawns and overstock easily. I would not hesitate stocking bluegill or redear. Even though bluegill will also do their fair share of raiding bass nests, they seem to be much more compatible with bass.

[HOSSCOOPER]

Love all the comments and agree with most all of it. I would steer clear of crappie as well. I will however add one bit info I read in The Sunfishes by Jack ellis, different ponds seem to sustain different fish. Just because you stock what you want to catch does not mean they will automatically thrive there. As has been suggested your best bet is to talk with you local county rep, and that will be a good place to start, but don't hesitate to change it up if need be to get a positive result. If your set on one particular species then much like in gardening it comes down to how much work are you willing to put into it to make it happen? It can be time consuming and expensive. Best of luck. HOSS