I fish many smal ponds that are stocked with crappie, gill, and bass. I do not put a crappie back in the water when I am fishing the ponds.
I have many land owners that have set rules for the pond where bass over 14 inches do not come out of the pond. This helps thin the panfish herd.
I will return gills over 10 inches back into the pond. Want those genetics.
Three of my favorite ponds get from 400 to 500 panfish a year taken out of them.
Fish size is still increasing and the numbers of fish have not decreased.
There are 4 to 6 pound bass in the ponds also.
It will take about four years of removing small crappie before the size increases alot. This also depends on bass being left in.
Hope this does more than muddy the water.
Rick