crappie in small ponds

[turkeyfootnc]

I have a 1/2 acre pond with bass and bream(it seems like mostly bream)I have heard crappie and bream can work in small ponds unlike crappie and bass. I was wondering if anyone has any info,experience on this subject.

Thanks for any help!

[CrappiePappy]

most of the "experts" say that any pond less than 50 acres is not a good candidate for Crappie. They reproduce so well, they'll crowd out the other species and become stunted and thin. The best pond setup is Bass, Bluegill, & Channel Cats ... but must be kept in a proper ratio to each other, as well as total numbers/poundage per acre. They all feed on each other &/or each others fry .... keeping the numbers down and still allowing growth to the survivors. If you're catching lots of small Bluegill from this pond ... don't throw them back. Thinning out the masses of Bluegill will allow them to grow bigger - but still not out-compete the Bass for food sources. Eventually, in a couple of years, you should start catching some decent sized Bluegill and Bass from the pond. I suggest keeping the Bluegill and smaller Bass - but, returning the larger Bass back into the pond ... they're top predator in there, and will help keep the Bluegill population under control. ....luck2ya ...cp