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Crappie Management
We do not advocate stocking crappie in ponds smaller than 50 acres. But many ponds have crappie already, and many people do not wish to renovate the pond and stock the recommended species. Although bass and bream ponds may produce good fishing with crappie for several years after stocking, the eventual result is a pond with small skinny bass, small skinny crappie, and small skinny bream.
If you have a pond with crappie, you can manage it to produce decent crappie fishing. The secret is to maintain a population of many small bass, which eat most of the crappie reproduction. Thus, the few crappie that survive can grow to larger sizes. But you will not grow many large bass using this approach. Catch and remove all largemouth bass that are longer than 15 inches, and return all smaller bass to the pond. Fish for crappie often, and never throw a crappie back in the pond. If bass catch rates decline or crappie appear skinny and slow growing, stock 35 to 50 bass (10 to 12 inches long) per acre to eat more crappie. If possible, use a drawdown every winter to concentrate the fish and make it easier for bass to catch and eat crappie.