Whenever there is talk about small ponds and stocking, this myth always come up. "Never stock ponds with crappie if you want good bass never stock crappie, they stunt bass" "Crappie are death for a small pond" "Crappie and bass in small ponds cannot co-exist".

I can never get an uniform acreage size range for when crappie stunt bass populations. I have heard 20 acres and down, 10 acres and down, and 5 acres down.

Now I know this myth to be false, or at least unreliable because I fish a two acre pond that has a strong average size fish of 2.5/3lbs, with some big ones and during the spring and summer unless you start throwing trick worms it is almost impossible to catch a bass smaller than 2lbs, the fall is a different story. This pond has a large amount of grass, with a species list of largemouth, jacks, crappie, bluegill, and a few channels.

I also fish a pond between 15-20 acres that has a great average size bass, with a large amount of 5lbers and a good amount of top end fish. This pond also has a bunch of grass and supports a good crappie population.

Is there some truth to this myth, if so is there any data supporting this? I do not think grass is the key because I also fish a pond with a lot of stunted bass and crappie that is loaded with grass.

Also are there any true rules about small ponds and species of fish co-existing?