Crappie v/s bluegill in a farm pond?

[Gandolf]

Hi All,

I've heard similar comments, no crappies in anything but huge ponds or lakes. However, I too am looking forward to Rick chiming in on the keys to good pond management.

Thanks and regards,

Gandolf

[bobbyg]

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?

[rainbowchaser]

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...45580626,d.b2I

[James Smith]

It is my understanding that Crappie also are somewhat limited in the prey that they can eat because their mouth isn't wide enough to easily swallow a 3-4 inch sunfish. Therefore, they need to be limited to large bodies of water where shiners thrive and act as a food supply for the crappie. Otherwise, the crappie end up targeting small bass that are long and thin enough to fit into their mouths. I live on a beautiful 50 acre lake where well intentioned people have release crappie but there numbers are not too bad. That said this evening I was fishing and my neighbor down the lake informed me that they just stocked the lake with black crappie and Georgia Giant hybrid bream. The person in charge of "managing" the lake is not a fisherman and has no fisheries biology background so I'm guessing he just went on someone's opinion; perhaps the guy selling him the fish. I'm very unhappy about the crappie and I have mixed feelings about the hybrid bream. This lake is already a terrific bream fishery where I can catch 11-13 inch bream on any given spring or summer evening. Looks like I'll have to start targeting crappie and thin them out as fast as I can. Jim Smith

[Uncle Jesse]

James, There is a private lake, probably 25 acres or so, back in north MS the owner allowed most of us who asked to fish the lake and several friend left boats on the bank for convenience. The crappie in the lake were stunted, several friends began a campaign removing every crappie they caught. Over a couple of years they had improved the "herd" to where the primary catch was good sized fish. The lake still held good bream and monster bass. That was probably where I caught my first fish on a flyrod.

If I were stocking a lake, first I would talk to my county agent and find out what worked best for the area. I would want to know about coppernose bluegill and F-1 bass. This is a Coppernose Bluegill, the guy holding it sell fish to stock ponds. If you can make the total photo 15" wide it will be about life size.
Coppernose Bream 23 oz001.jpg

[quivira kid]

Gills and bass is the route I would go.

[CoachBob]

Crappie compete with bass and will overpopulate.
Bass and bluegill are the way to go.

[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