Reply With QuoteThey could reproduce if you had male and females, but in a small body of water like that, you may not catch any big ones unless it is properly managed.
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Trophy King
Small pond crappie
A friend of mine has a small pond about 1 and 1/2 acres or so. It is very old and has some monster bass and lots of bream. About 3 years ago, I dropped about 9 or so decent size crappie in after a day of fishing. The fish were still very lively. My question is not knowing if the fish were male or female, would that few fish reproduce in an already established pond? There is lots of cover for them to hide. To my knowledge, no one has fished the pond since the fish went in. Just wondering if I might go catch a state record out there.
Buzz
Crappie.com 2K Star General
They could reproduce if you had male and females, but in a small body of water like that, you may not catch any big ones unless it is properly managed.
Trophy King
Would the bass eat the small crappie and keep the population down saying they are reproducing?
I've caught several bass over 5 pounds and been broken off lots of times with 12lb test. It hit the worm and never stopped.
Later,
Buzz
Crappie.com 2K Star General
If there's enough bass, they may keep them thinned out enough. Have you tried to catch any of the crappie since you put them in?
Trophy King
Nope, I haven't been back since. The last time I fished there I used minnows and the bass tried to snatch the rod out of my hand. The cork would go under so hard it would shoot water 10 feet in the air.:D
Buzz
Crappie.com Legend
try them this winter when the bass are more lethargic. CF
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Crappie.com 2K Star General
LOL. Sounds like fun anyway!Originally Posted by Buzz
Trophy King II
i also wouldn't be surprised if the crappie had taken over the pond...i've seen it before at my uncles pond...
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Buzz ....
In a pond that small, the biomass and eco-balance can be upset pretty easily. You could have ruined the pond for the "monster bass" and Bluegill, or not have affected it at all. Only way to tell would be to fish it some, and see what size fish come out of it. Three years is a long time, to a small pond of that size.
The Crappie would have "tried" to reproduce ... given there were, at least, one or two mature females in the 9 you stocked. How successful they were, would depend on a lot of factors ... none of which are currently known, since you haven't been back to check on it.
Most biologists will warn against putting Crappie, as a stock fish, in any body of water less than 50acres. They just don't do so well, in small waters, or for very long (before overpopulating). White Crappie are the least desirable for small waters, but Black Crappie are only a little bit better.
I wouldn't expect a "state record" to come from there, unless you're talking about the Alpha Female Bass in there (provided she's still alive). :D
.... cp
Crappie.com 3K Star General
If the pond has been fished, after three years you would know if the crappie reproduced. You would be catching alot of crappie on live bait or even bass lures in a pond this small over a three year period. Alot of times small ponds are not deep enough to sustain crappie in my area of the country. We seem to need at least a 7 foot depth around here. If managed BLACK CRAPPIE do great in ponds. I would reccomend at least a 3 acre pond though.
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