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Forum nameFreshwater Fishing in California
Topic subjectCrappie/Small Pond Myth
Topic URLhttp://www.calfishing.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=3&topic_id=18455
18455, Crappie/Small Pond Myth
Posted by jigndoublewide, Mon Dec-17-12 06:47 PM
Whenever there is talk about small ponds and stocking, this myth always come up. "Never stock ponds with crappie if you want good bass never stock crappie, they stunt bass" "Crappie are death for a small pond" "Crappie and bass in small ponds cannot co-exist".

I can never get an uniform acreage size range for when crappie stunt bass populations. I have heard 20 acres and down, 10 acres and down, and 5 acres down.

Now I know this myth to be false, or at least unreliable because I fish a two acre pond that has a strong average size fish of 2.5/3lbs, with some big ones and during the spring and summer unless you start throwing trick worms it is almost impossible to catch a bass smaller than 2lbs, the fall is a different story. This pond has a large amount of grass, with a species list of largemouth, jacks, crappie, bluegill, and a few channels.

I also fish a pond between 15-20 acres that has a great average size bass, with a large amount of 5lbers and a good amount of top end fish. This pond also has a bunch of grass and supports a good crappie population.

Is there some truth to this myth, if so is there any data supporting this? I do not think grass is the key because I also fish a pond with a lot of stunted bass and crappie that is loaded with grass.

Also are there any true rules about small ponds and species of fish co-existing?
18456, RE: Crappie/Small Pond Myth
Posted by Tm Customs, Mon Dec-24-12 12:36 AM
I have fish a pond which was probably around 15 acres although it had more shoreline than most "ponds" it had a huge crappie population. On a good day you could probably get 100 or more on a slip float with a crappie jig. That being said there was also a huge number of large bass, I had caught one which was spawned out weighing 9lbs3oz there. I had also observed alot of crappie tails in the basses mouths aswell, I also noted that the best baits while fishing this lake were usually swimbaits. Just my .02
18457, RE: Crappie/Small Pond Myth
Posted by jigndoublewide, Fri Dec-28-12 05:32 PM
That's exactly what I think, the more sunfish, the more forage for bass. Even the pond I fish with a lot of crappie and small bass still has a good amount of big fish, just not as many as the other ones that also have crappie.
18458, RE: Crappie/Small Pond Myth
Posted by Slough Crew, Wed Jan-16-13 07:05 AM
I live on a shallow (maybe 9' during the summer)54acre lake surrounded by houses, it has tons of crappie and bluegill in it. The lake gets a little grass in it during the summer although the people that manage the lake did a good job at keeping the grass to a minimum last summer. Other than the summertime grass there is minimal cover in the lake. There are a few spots where they put in concrete irrigation pipe for cover and I may or may not have put some more cover into the lake. The rest of the lake is just a mud bottom with nowhere for the baitfish to hide. Even with the lack of cover when I take a flashlight out back at night the shoreline is covered with small BG and/or crappie. Some of fish are only an inch long which leads me to believe that they may have spawned again in the fall. With a lack of hiding places and the amount of panfish I see in there at night I don't think they are causing a problem with the bass population or bass size. I started tagging fish in the lake in the summer of 2009 and I'm now up to 500 fish tagged. Some of the bigger females have grown just over a pound per year. I went four years without catching a fish over 6lbs and have already caught a 6 and two 7s this year. Friends have also caught one over 6 and one over 7. I'm not sure if the lake is coming into a good cycle or if it's because I haven't thrown anything but swimbaits since early December. Anyhow, I don't see how more food for the bass can be bad but what do I know.