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Prairie Drifter said:
Crappie are a darn poor choice for ponds. In fact, we don't generally stock lakes under 500 acres with crappie because they over populate too easily and get stunted. My lake is 144 acres and we didn't restock them.
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Was hoping you'd chime in, thanks. Man, that's not what I was wanting to hear, but was half expecting it. The other ponds are on the property are full of bass/bluegill so was wanting something different, plus they are mighty fine eating!
 
Their problem is that their reproductive potential is so high and they mature at a size where most bass in the pond can't eat them and they can still lay eggs, so the adults are under a desirable size and already adding more to the population! They are a reservoir fish that requires reservoir size predators.
 
I think we finally finished the new jetty project yesterday. We put in 2 new rock jetties in the lake. One was 100 feet long and the other 75. We also built parking lots across the road from each jetty to reduce congestion. This week we got AB3 put on the top of all 4 improvements and yesterday we picked up 5 concrete parking bumpers and got them set to delineate and control the parking. I guess I still need permanent signing and a barricade on the east jetty to keep vehicles out. Otherwise, we are done.

I called my friend the fire chief last night to see just how stretched he was. Kingman was the only fire department still in county as all the outlying departments had gone down to the Medicine Lodge fire. He had a fire 5 miles north of town he was working. Said he'd call if he needed me.
 
We sure had a lot of smoke here last night that was blowing in from somewhere SW. I would guess that smoke was blowing in from that area. 45mph winds and fire do not play well together.
 
Some of the best crappie fishing I've ever experienced was on farm ponds and watersheds. One of the very best was probably only 5-6 acres, the second best pond was much bigger, probably 50 acres at full pool. But it's pretty cyclical on the smaller pond. The bigger pond is a reliable place to catch 10-14" crappie, but the smaller pond would have good years and bad years. The good years, though, oh my goodness...:10sign: Imagine 11-13" crappie as fast as you can reel them in!

I think if you stock it properly, and put some effort into managing it, there's no reason why you couldn't have a good crappie pond. You know their tendencies going in, and just have to manage for them. It might be more effort than making a good bass + catfish + bluegill pond, but it would be worth it if you like eating crappie.
 
Toad said:
Some of the best crappie fishing I've ever experienced was on farm ponds and watersheds. One of the very best was probably only 5-6 acres, the second best pond was much bigger, probably 50 acres at full pool. But it's pretty cyclical on the smaller pond. The bigger pond is a reliable place to catch 10-14" crappie, but the smaller pond would have good years and bad years. The good years, though, oh my goodness...:10sign: Imagine 11-13" crappie as fast as you can reel them in!

I think if you stock it properly, and put some effort into managing it, there's no reason why you couldn't have a good crappie pond. You know their tendencies going in, and just have to manage for them. It might be more effort than making a good bass + catfish + bluegill pond, but it would be worth it if you like eating crappie.
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Thanks for the response. You put me in a good mood to start the day! It's on the to do list to check into it and see what I need do to get something started.
 
We have access to a 4 or 5 acre pond that has a bunch of stunted 4-6" crappie and gizzard shad up to ten inchs. I've thought about putting 25 wipers in and keeping 12-15 as they are caught. Ultimately I don't think I'd want more than 4 or 5 left in there. Ideally I'd fertilize the pond but I could get away with it. Management guys what do you think.
 
It's so difficult to keep such a system in balance. Having those species that both fill the predator and the prey roles when they have the fecundity that they do and directly compete with your top tier predators, it's tough. Logic says your idea might work, but being able to tell when enough is enough or if 25 would do it is difficult. You could also consider flatheads or just go on a "throw them over your shoulder" binge to knock the top off of a year class. Plenty of options, but not having them in there would make the dynamics a lot simpler.
 
There are a few flathead all ready in there
I catch enough crappie in the cast net . It would be easy enough to get rid of a few. Last summer I netted a nice abu. I was hoping if I stuck some wipers in there I might luck into another one.
Last spring I sunk a couple of the departments Georgia fish cribs. If I can get out there and crapple fish them this spring maybe I'll find out it is not as bad as I thought.
 
I didn't mean any disrespect, Troy. You are a fountain of knowledge.

I was just saying that sure it may be more effort, but if you're motivated and passionate, it can be done, that's all.

Quail management probably takes a lot more effort than turkey and deer management, but if you love quail it's a labor of love and feels very rewarding when it works. Same goes for the crappie pond if that's what the guy is pasionate about. :cheers:
 
From what I see so far, Deer and Turkey are hard to screw up.
Quail takes work.

So the plan for the weekend is to go buy 500 lbs of hydrated lime and kill off the pond. Then we will be waiting for the big rains to fill the mud hole back up.
There is 6" of water on top of 3ft of silt.

Going to take the dogs for a run/ quail inspection tonight, because it may be a week or two before the ph of the pond gets back into normal range.

BTW, I looked that the picture from my game cameras last night from the last 3-4 days. Now that the alfalfa has started to green up the deer and turkey are back in a big way.
 
Toad said:
I didn't mean any disrespect, Troy. You are a fountain of knowledge.

I was just saying that sure it may be more effort, but if you're motivated and passionate, it can be done, that's all.

Quail management probably takes a lot more effort than turkey and deer management, but if you love quail it's a labor of love and feels very rewarding when it works. Same goes for the crappie pond if that's what the guy is pasionate about. :cheers:
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Toad, yer thinking I'm too sensitive! I didn't see your comments as anything but comments. Never took it that way at all. Good comments for sure. You can manage most things. However, a balanced stocking of species that don't have this tendency leads to less need for management. That was the direction of my comments, not that crappie ought to be a never. You just want to enter this decision eyes wide open.
 
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Just saw the news. Don Gerstner from Medicine lodge is one of the folks that had their house burned in the Anderson Creek Fire. I worked the fire last night and drove by and saw his kennels backlit by the moon. Couldn't tell in the dark that the house was burned!!! He is a wonderful man and a great dog trainer. I bought my Miley dog trailer from him in about 1997. I bet I was by there over a dozen times last night. Too sad. He and his wife are safe as are two of his three dogs. one got out and hasn't been found yet.
 
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