We police ourselves to make sure his pond stays a good fishery. I'll only keep bass between 14" and 18". Anything smaller, or bigger, gets thrown back. We started doing this a few years ago and WOW what a difference it has made. Our crappie are averaging 12-14" now, and our bluegill are pretty healthy too. Still catch a ton of small 'gills, but they reproduce faster than the other species in the pond so it's hard to get a handle on them. We're hoping some of the larger bass will help with that. Well, don't want to hijack the thread, so Happy Hunting to all!