hi guys, im a newby here. hope to be able to share wit hyall thru the years. im building a 1 acre pond. im going 16' deep with it. im going to put cat and black crappie. do i have to make a spawning table for the crappie? if so, how deep?
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hi guys, im a newby here. hope to be able to share wit hyall thru the years. im building a 1 acre pond. im going 16' deep with it. im going to put cat and black crappie. do i have to make a spawning table for the crappie? if so, how deep?
They say not to stock crappie in that small of a pond.
Hi,
If your going to stock crappie in that small of lake/pond...You will need to stock it with bass...The bass with keep the crappie population down...Be sure to throw back all the bigger bass back in...
Jeremy
Hi,Quote:
Originally Posted by Harold
You can a hold of your local biologist....He will be able to give you more information..
Jeremy
+1 on the local biologist..........and they dont charge for the info!!!
My biologist told me it can a be gamble..But, make sure you stock blacks not whites...You need bass in there to keep the crappie population down..Plus, doesn't hurt to have plenty of forage in the pond/lake...We have stocked two different smaller lakes....The crappie are doing excellent in them...But, there is a great population of healthy bass in both of those smaller lakes..
Jeremy
thanks guys for the replys. but i didnt see the answer to the question asked. do i even need to put a spawning table in the pond? ans shouldnt i put the black crappie in the pond first and let them get a start before adding the bass?
The Okla Dept of Wildlife Conservation biologists stress that you should never stock crappie in a lake less than 10 acres. It does not matter whether they are black crappie or white crappie. You are asking for trouble.
www.pondboss.com is the site you want to go to. I would LOVE to own my own 3-5 acre pond. From what I have read (quite extensively) it is never a good idea to stock crappie in a lake that is less than 10 acres, exactly as cricket george said. Bass cannot keep the population of crappie down in a pond that size, the crappie would overpopulate and become stunted. The tried and true pond combo? Large mouth bass and blue gill with possibly some channel cats, NO blues or flatheads, they will get waaay to big and blues and flatheads tend to dig in the lining of ponds whereas channels don't grow as big and tend to be more active/suspended fish. Go to the web site I put up.....they are the premier pond knowledge guys.
Welcome to the board Paul Ray. To answer your question: NO. As long and the shoreline is varied and doesn't drop off very quickly, you'll be fine. Suggestion: You may want to put a bunch of rocks around the shoreline at the depth the water will be during spawning time. The crappie will take care of the rest. As for the second question; yes you should give the crappie a head start. Though both species are predators, the bass are much more voracious. Therefore, they grow quicker. Good luck and Merry Christmas.santa
There's a fisheries biologist on the KS forum, he has all the info you need.
We have stocked ponds with black crappie and the pond is less than 10acers...They are doing excellent..It is sort of a crapshoot...Just make sure throw back the bass in...I will post pictures of the crappie...Next time I go fish this pond..
Jeremy
Thanks Guys...
Good luck, you are going to need it, if all you put in are black crappies and channel cats. The most likely result will be a pond full of stunted runty crappies and a couple of really fat catfish. The crappies will need no help to overpopulate your pond without any specially prepared spawning areas and the channels will not reproduce there but will have all they can eat all the time.
One danger not mentioned here is the accidental introduction of any kind of sunfish, which can happen very easily. In that size pond crappies and sunnies do not get along and very likely any introduced sunfish of some half a dozen species will replace your crappies and themselves overpopulate and stunt out badly. First you will get a lot of 4" crappies and then they will get replaced by a whole lot of 3 to 4" sunfish, and only that big if you are lucky. You will probably get a couple of really nice channel cats though. What you are proposing is catfish heaven for stocked channel cats.
If your pond is filled by a creek running into it even if generally dry be sure to go back upstream as far as you can in wet weather to check for any waters upstream that may be holding sunfish, or any other undesirable you want to keep out. The builders of an artificial lake back home in Iowa thought they had done that in order to keep out black bullheads, but did it in dry weather and missed a mudhole where they were estivating. The next rainy period they emerged and washed downstream into the lake where there are now lots of stunted black bullheads. They actually poisoned as far upstream as they could find any water, but did not look far enough or in wet enough weather.
AMEN no1son.
A suggestion: add any cover before it floods. If you introduce bass, drop a pile of several hundred 10 hole bricks. these attract crayfish and will concentrate them for the bass to feed on.
I second the Pondboss forum it is amazing... U can add hybrid strippers if you don't want bass. I wouldn't stock channels unless u really like eating them they take up valuable carrying capacity for your pond
Paul,
The prevalent thought is that crappie are prone to over populate and if introduced in a small body of water, will stunt the bass, bluegill and their own population. I'm in the process of introducing them in a 30+ acre pond which we have previously stocked with fathead minnows. The plan is to introduce pallets for structure and northern pike in a year or so as the master predator to keep the crappie in check.
Data indicates that crappie are hearty, prolific, grow larger than bluegill, spawn sooner and therefore successfully compete with bass. People go with the catfish - bluegill - bass formula because they believe it is easier to "manage", but what if we create an environment to support a self sustaining minnow population and introduce a voracious predator to the crappie? Why must bass be the predator?
Your post sounds like a man who appreciates crappie. Their prolific breeding is a legitimate concern, but I believe with some creativity, a suitable balance can be achieved with other species.
Too many people repeat what they hear rather than think outside the box.
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Pike? At 30 Acres you could end up with a stunted population of hammerhandle pike, competitors to the crappies rather than predators. Pike stunt every bit as easily, if not more so than crappies, if they survive at all.
The ponds I fish (and read about) have far more stunted bluegill and too few large bass than those with stunted pike. Crappie definitely can over produce, but if balance can be achieved, who wouldn't rather catch 12" crappie instead of 7" bluegills?
So much money and effort are put into trying to maintain bass as the top predator, but they are clearly not the answer if one wants to have a good crappie pond. Conventional thought is to slot size the harvest of large mouth bass so as to avoid throwing the predator ratio out of balance, but this seems to ultimately happen anyway.
I just fished a pond yesterday and pulled out (25+) 4"-6" bluegills and threw back the one 10" bass. I bet if this pond had a few pike, more structure* and more effective predators, there would be fewer, larger panfish. If the pike reproduce and overpopulate, you can remove every one you catch. Catching 12" pike is more fun than 4" bluegills.
* I think a main issue with most ponds is lack of suitable habitat to establish sustaining forage. Too many ponds look like mud bottom pools that afford minnows little opportunity to hide and reproduce. If there are enough minnows, the sunfish should grow fast and large provided they do not overpopulate. If enough structure is provided, I don't see how the pike could wipe out all the sunfish.
People don't stock crappie because it will hurt the bluegill and bass. Why not let the pike keep your crappie in check? They will no doubt be more effective than having weekend crappie tournament.
If Crapppie over populate, drop in a few Flatheads. Those Flatheads are big time predators , grow fast and great eating. Never seen them over populate but can clean out a pond if over stocked or left in too grow too big.
Hi,
If your going to add crappie in the small pond...Make sure it is black crappie...I also suggest stocking bass...Stock the bass first...Let them grow.....After that stock the crappie slowly....Make sure you throw majority of your bass back in....We have stocked black crappie in farm pond and no problems with them taking over....Keep all the crappie you catch that are eatable...
Jeremy
Actually saw several farm ponds that were overfished for bass recover by adding several flatheads that were gradually thinned out later. Within 3 yrs if you were a bluegill in them, you got BIG fast or GOT ATE ! Watched 1 flathead swim back to it`s ambush site next to a large rock, settle in and just crush and swallow the next 1, then swim back around again for about 40 minutes straight...
Love the idea of minnow condos. Most folks were I live at in MO don't even stock there ponds with minnows. The whole problem is finding food. I also like the Pike idea. Wouldn't walleye work though too?Quote:
Originally Posted by Illinois Joe
I don't think you would need a water table as long as you had some pretty good structure in there somewhere for them to hide. If you have a pretty good rock base they will spawn.
The fastest and most certain way to correct the problem is to rotenone the pond and start over. Stock 25 or so pair of bluegill and 10 pairs of redears for a 3 acre pond in the Spring and leave it alone until September when you stock 30 LMB. Leave the crappie out of the equation entirely under a 10 acre lake. There is just not enough forage to rear good crappie in a lake under 10 acres.
I am well aware that the crappie tend to overpopulate smaller ponds, but I have several ponds I fish on a regular basis that are under 10 acres, a few under 5 acres that most guys on here would PAY to be able to fish in the crappie fishin is so good. Not numbers, quality. So it CAN happen, its not an automatic bust.
Also, had a guy tell me that owns southern pond management that the best predator was Hybrid Stripers and get this, 40 adults per freakin acre!!!!
Yes, I am aware of stocking hybrid stripers for control, but there is more to it than just dumping hybrids into a pond and think magic is going to happen.
No...never said anything about magic. But the hybrids were part of the plan as the predator fish. So if you knew, why didn't you mention it?
Quote:
Originally Posted by cricket george
I disagree on this...But, that is just my own opinion....We have stocked crappie a few small farm ponds...The crappie are doing excellent.....You need to have bass in the pond....They will somewhat keep the crappie population down...Also, keep all the crappie you catch...
Jeremy
I Have A 1 acre pond with coppernose bluegill and channel cat also have about 4lbs of fathead minnows i feed them with floating catfish food.how can i tell if and how much they are growing? thanks for any info carl jr
Another opinion. When you dig your pond 16' deep, your not going to have vertical walls. Crappie will spawn in shallow water anywhere around
the edges of your pond. They like little brush stickups, a small flat area that they will help flatten themselves. 12" depth is idea.The are nest builders.
Make sure your pond seals. Clay or bentonite or whatever to seal the bottom so it will hold water.
I fish ponds less than 1/2 acre that hold crappie and have for many years. I stocked one small pond 10 years ago less than 1/2 acre with crappie and
channel cat, gills, warmouth and 10 lbs of flathead minnows. It is still thriving and producing. My largest crappie has been 17 1/2" and many more of
all sizes. All have been healthy and great table fare. The crappie were all 8 - 10" when I stocked the small pond. The channel cats were @ 1 - 2 lbs.
The gills and warmouth were of various sizes. Good Luck.
Any and all species need shallow habitat/cover to hide in close to where they are spawned and hatched. Fry spawned in rock/sand or weed and soft bottom need protection to grow to the larger size forage needed to grow bigger fish like bass. The cycle starts from the shallows and progresses deeper. Install habitat accordingly.
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