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We have a small 2 acre lake or so in salem arkansas I was thinking of adding some crappie to,,, It was build in the early 60's by my wife's dad and doesn't have but bass and brim in it now,,,, deepest part is around 10 ft deep with list of shallows along with a deep end with a drain tube at the levee,,, so if I did add crappie!!! what type of things Woukd need to be done besides some cover? Or Shoukd I do it at all with such a small pond? This is what it looks like,,,,
BTW,,, farm is now for sale if anyone's looking for some prime deer, turkey , rabbit, habitat or just somewhere to build that perfect getaway,, Just 3 miles from downtown Salem,,,,,it has ,245 acres with a small fishing pond and mostly hardwoods with a few pines,,
AGFC does'nt recommend stocking Crappie in smaller waters.
What Nimrod said. This is nearly universal among state agencies, and beyond that, most private pond management companies. Crappie are prone to extreme overpopulation in ponds; you may go along just fine for three or five years, you think you're having success, and then they have one big spawn and the pond is overrun with tens of thousands of 4" crappie so thin you can almost see through them. This is common even in larger lakes up to 50 acres or more - I have personally seen it happen more than once in larger lakes, including a 77-acre lake that received a good bit of fishing pressure.
There is way to do it involving very high numbers of predators, but I would not recommend it without the regular monitoring of a consultant.
Do not stock crappie in a 2 acre lake, period!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Cricket knows what he's talking about, I would definitely heed his advice!!Quote:
Originally Posted by cricket george
Have to agree, DO NOT do it; after just 1 REALLY successful spawn you might regret it, sir...and there will be NO way of ridding the pond of them other than to DRAIN it...
Remember, there are 2 different kinds of Crappie...one will over populate and stunt a pond quickly... and one, that if managed, has been successfully introduced into smaller ponds with success. First you have to decide what you would want, because it would take too much work to try and have a Big Bass pond and a fresh slab pond.
Again, the forage base would need to be built first, with Cover, cover, cover, and then Black Crappie could be added. You would have to take smaller Bass the first year, and then start taking Crappie the second....you better love eating Crappie....and find Bubba Gump's book on 101,000 ways to fix Crappie!:):):)
Black crappie can still overpopulate. Even hybrid crappie have been reported to overpopulate in some situations - just read as much yesterday.
As stated before, it can be done but it requires work....there are many many articles like this! Do your reading and see if you are able to devote the time!
Black Crappie Pond Stocking Recommendation
The Black Crappie option is the most complicated of pond stocking combinations. Crappie are a favorite of many fisherman and most pond owners wish to stock crappie in their ponds. However, crappie can be difficult to manage in small ponds due to their ability to reproduce rapidly and overpopulate. Successful crappie ponds are greater than 1 acres with abundant habitat and numerous small (less than 1 pound ) largemouth bass. Black crappie do not produce as many eggs as white crappie and are therefore better suited to fishing ponds.
Black crappie serve as both predator and prey because they feed on small fish and produce large numbers of offspring. Bluegill, redear sunfish and fathead minnows should be stocked as forage for black crappie. Largemouth bass should be stocked at increased numbers to control the crappie population. Black crappie handle best in cold temperatures and therefore should be stocked October through April.
A successful black crappie pond must be stocked in the proper sequence to ensure the development of the predator/prey relationship. Small (1-3 inch) black crappie, bluegill and redear can be stocked into new ponds during fall or spring (October –March). Black crappie will begin to spawn in April and bream will begin to spawn in May and June. Once bream spawning has occurred, small (1-3 inch) largemouth bass may be stocked during that summer or fall (May-September).
Fathead minnows should be stocked with the black crappie, bluegill and redear to serve as forage. Once bass are stocked minnows will disappear quickly. This is ok because the bass will feed on the young crappie and bream. Minnows can be stocked periodically in the spring and fall to supplement your forage population. Channel catfish can be stocked if you desire to fish for catfish. Catfish may compete with crappie for food so they should be stocked at low densities. Grass carp should also be stocked in fall or spring to control aquatic vegetation before it becomes a big problem.
Mature black crappie can be expected to grow 1/2 to 1 pound a year with bass staying in the 1/2 to 1 pound range to control crappie populations. Mature bluegill and redear should grow 1/4 pound per year with many younger bream staying in the 1-2 inch size range to feed the crappie.
Feeding ponds stocked with black crappie/bass/bluegill/redear allows bluegill and redear to grow larger, produce more forage and grow bigger crappie. Bluegill and redear should be fed a high protein feed with at least 38-40% protein and 8–10% fat. Ponds without aeration should not be fed more than 10-15 pounds of feed per acre per day. Aerated ponds may be fed up to 20-30 pounds of feed per acre per day.
Hybrid bream are not good forage for black crappie and will breed with other bluegill and redear producing inbred fish that do not grow. DO NOT stock hybrid bream in black crappie ponds.