With adequate spawning sites and a reasonable initial stocking rate, and with either some fertilizer or ground pellets you will be absolutely AMAZED at how many minnows you can grow each year in these small ponds with out predators present.
At the end of each year, expect to also have lots of small minnows in the 1/2"-1" range due to late spawns or the PBoss famous "rolling spawn" concept. You may not be able to harvest those due to their small size and their ability to pass thru the mesh of the seine. Thinning minnows out during the growing season will help growth of remaining minnows and increase the total annual production.
Kurt asks -""Last question, is there a size min for a forage pond? I was thinking of 50 by 50 for each?"" Basically the larger the pond the more minnows it will grow. A 50X50 pond with aeration and feeding should be able to easily grow 50-70 lbs maybe 100 lbs of minnows "it all depends".
In the shallow minnow pond, plan for and expect to deal with filamentous algae and/or rooted weeds if the water is clear. I raise crayfish in my minnow pond and they help keep FA and weeds controlled. Crayfish (papershell) when abundant will clean out weeds (even curly leaf pondweed) & FA in a pond.
Last edited by Bill Cody; 12/23/09 11:55 AM.
