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Crappie Question

Pilchard

Pilchard

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I was fishing a pond that's about 5 acres and gets a lot of pressure. I caught probably 50 crappie that were all between 8-9 inches. Only one was over 10".

How quickly do they grow? Will it be next year before these fish reach keeper size?

Also, do crappie of similar size hang together? Meaning if you are catching all shorts do you move to find better fish or pick through the small ones for your keepers?
 
Thanks guys. I measured the pond in a map and it's actually closer to 10 acres.

It is managed by TWRA so I would guess they have a pretty good idea of the risk of the crappie getting in a bad place.

Assume a healthy population for a minute(which I have no idea if it's true or false) how long does it take a crappie to go from 8 to 10 inches.
 
You might want to ck the pond regs, a lot of places don't have a size limit just a number limit, they can reach 10" in 2 years with enough food is what I find
 
Pilchard said:
I was fishing a pond that's about 5 acres and gets a lot of pressure. I caught probably 50 crappie that were all between 8-9 inches. Only one was over 10".

How quickly do they grow? Will it be next year before these fish reach keeper size?

Also, do crappie of similar size hang together? Meaning if you are catching all shorts do you move to find better fish or pick through the small ones for your keepers?
Click to expand...
Biologists say that in the Tennessee River it generally take a crappie three years to reach the 10-inch minimum size length. But as mentioned, in a pond their growth rates could easily (and greatly) be reduced by overpopulation. If they are overpopulated they may never reach 10-inches. And not always, but often various year-class fish will school together.
 
rsimms said:
Biologists say that in the Tennessee River it generally take a crappie three years to reach the 10-inch minimum size length. But as mentioned, in a pond their growth rates could easily (and greatly) be reduced by overpopulation. If they are overpopulated they may never reach 10-inches. And not always, but often various year-class fish will school together.
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Thank you! This is what I was looking for.

I suppose that if TWRA identifies the pond to be over populated that they would encourage the removal of some of the fish to find a balance
 
Pilchard said:
Thank you! This is what I was looking for.

I suppose that if TWRA identifies the pond to be over populated that they would encourage the removal of some of the fish to find a balance
Click to expand...
Yes, but if overpopulated with crappie it would be very difficult to selectively remove some/enough fish. Let the professionals be your guide, but in some cases I know they suggested just wiping out everything and starting from scratch.
 
Pilchard said:
It is managed by TWRA so I would guess they have a pretty good idea of the risk of the crappie getting in a bad place.
Click to expand...
Dont' know for sure, but TWRA might not have stocked the crappie. Crappie do not grow well in smaller ponds/lakes. We have a 14 acres lake and the biologists strongly suggested that i don't stock crappie. They will quickly and easily overpopulate. You might catch the occasional "nice" crappie, but for the most part they will all be small.

They do sell a sterile crappie that can be stocked for smaller ponds.
 

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