I have access to a lake that is approx. 3 acres. We have fished it for years. the bass seem to be healthy. sizes range from 1.5 lbs. to my son's personal best at 5lbs. 8oz. We fished all winter and have hit it hard this spring. Crappie and bluegill are very small and thin. especially the crappie. we can catch alot of crappie but the biggest i have seen is about 11 inches,very thin and colors are very faded. bluegills again are very small. 2-5 inch is about the biggest ive ever caught. although they are small the numbers are out of this world. we fished 2 days in the same spot threw the ice and caught over 200 in about 6 hrs. total on the ice. i dont know if the gills or crappie are overstocked. or both. any help would be appreciated. i posted a pic to show the largest crappie i have ever caught.

You are correct,bodies of water that small with crappie is a bad thing if you want to be able to catch healthy crappie,I have a small farm pond,maybe 1/2 acre and it has small crappie in it when i catch then I put them in a bucket and take them to the lake,been doing this for several years and the numbers are getting smaller.Im guessing there are not enough predators,or big enough,try putting some catfish about 5lbs and up to knock down the numbers then you might have to worry about them over populating.

Oklahoma Life Member Since 2009 OKARNG 45th Inf.

Sometimes releasing all the bass and keeping all of the panfish will help. The Bass are healthy because there are so many panfish, the panfish are stunted because they are starving. The catfish idea sounds good also.

Yea too many of them. Catch bluegill/crappie and don't throw them back. Keep the bass in there, if it's suitable maybe get a pike or two. Once you thin numbers out a bit, try giving the pond a little break. You should see good sized fish by the next spawning season.

If you can, get yourself a tiger muskie or two and introduce them. They are sterile and won't clean the lake out. Our local pond got the bass fished out of it a couple of years back and the gills just exploded taking the crappie with them and the bass got stunted. The park district introduced some northern (not my choice) to reduce the panfish. 3 years later the bass, crappie and gills are all a bit less plentiful but getting larger! Management only works if the fishermen co-operate! Tom
Lifer in NE Illinois

thanks for all your help guys.... only one more question how many panfish should i take out ? took out about 25 gills and 10 crappie. not a bad start!!!

could have taken that 200 out and it wouldn't have hurt it any.

sounds like the catfish idea would be ideal, really fatten up some cats on all those gills and crappie, and who doesnt like catching cats?

The trick to this is to introduce a predator that won't take over the lake, hence something sterile like Tiger Musky. I'm suprised that the bass haven't done the job if they are, as stated, healthy! Tom
Lifer in NE Illinois

All good ideas with dealing at the top end of the food chain. The tiger muskie or single catfish is the best idea so you don't get a bunch of little catfish running around. Every bluegill and crappie you catch should be removed and either eaten or planted in a garden. You should NEVER move fish from one body of water to another, at risk of transporting diasese or invasive species. Now for the bottom end. You need to judge the fertility of the lake. The best way to do this is during a stable water period. Does the water look green or is it gin clear. If it's green the fertility is probably good, if it's clear you need to add some food for the micro organisms if the lake. The best and easiest way to to this is add a burlap bag of cow manure in 8 to 10 foot of water where it won't get snagged. With removal of the stunted fish and boosting the the food chain from the bottom you should see results. You can also add a couple dozen minnows to get more immediate food to your crappies. Hope that helps.

If the water is clear you usually do not have to worry about channel catfish reproduction as largemouth bass dearly love small catfish this also means that they need to be about a foot long before you stock them.

i know a two acre pond w/40" pike and ten # bass, the sunnies are small, main forage is chubs. Inlet is swamp and outlet a trickle to river. Secret i guess is Swamp 4 minnows to spawn and the pond is 90' deep. as all vclass perch too from small to l pounders.

You would probably have to remove 300 to 500 pounds of bluegill and crappie to make any difference in the panfish growth rate.

Gary

Isn't that the perfect reason to do more fishing !