I searched online and really only came up with Anderson Minnows as a place to get FHM from. She quoted me $110 for 1,000 or 4lbs and said I need 20 lbs per acre. I cant drop that much right now, so the question is if I cant find another source cheaper. Can I get a new 3/4 acre pond going with 4 lbs of FHM? Right now it is without any fish. I plan to stock 1,000 BG in October but they will be 2-3 inch.

Way high. Should be about $10/#

http://lakework.com/fish-stocking-2/

Give them a call, they may be in your area, or know someone who is.

Go to your local bait shop and get 3 to 5 dozen large FHM and stock them now. Look them over well before stocking and remove anything that might be suspect. Around here it is not unusual to find an occasional stickleback or bullhead mixed in with the FHM at the bait shop. FHM should start reproducing right away. You might be surprised how many FHM you have when you start stocking in October. Keep in mind that no matter how many FHM you stock they won't last long once your bass are stocked, they just are not very smart at avoiding predation. They do help jump start things and take some pressure off your BG once the bass are in.

Your other option is to talk with your local bait shop and see if they will give your their suppliers name so you can arrange a bulk purchase when the supplier is in the area making deliveries. Around here most FHM come from someplace in Minnesota and get delivered every week or two.

FWIW.....


If the $110 price includes shipping, it's not too bad. If it doesn't include shipping, I agree with BrianL that's very high.

With no predators to worry about, 4 lbs will get you started ok IMO. The small BG might prey on the new spawn FHM once you stock them but you should have 10s of thousands of FHM by then if you stock them now.

If your local bait shops carry FHM, I would look at the options suggested by Shorty first. IMO it really doesn't take as many FHM to get things started when there are no predators. Fish sellers want to sell fish!

To maximize FHM reproduction, MAKE SURE YOU PUT SPAWNING STRUCTURE IN PLACE!

Ask the local bait shop what they call their minnows and where they get them. If from a delivery truck and not caught locally, then they are likely FHM also called tuffies, blackies, rosey reds, and probably several other local names. The bait shop may sell you some by the pound. 3 to 4 lbs of FHM will produce a lot of fry by fall in GA. Ideally it would be best to wait until next year to stock your bass fingerlings as soon as they are available at 1"-2". This will allow many more FHM to be present.
Check with http://lakework.com/fish-stocking-2/ to see when they usually have bass fingerlings. You may want to add some BG next spring that are big enough to spawn (4"-5"). This will also provide lots of small fish for the bass fingerlings.

I have ordered FHM and GSH from Andersons and their prices always include shipping. The minnows were always in good shape as well.

I am not stocking LMB until late next spring to allow the BG and FHM to get going. I have around 200 concrete blocks in the shallows along with a few large oak trees. Will add a few pallets or some other structure I have seen on here to help.

The $110 was with shipping.

Lake work unfortunately is over 5 hrs away and said they don't ship.

Spoke with them today and she said:

Also, keep in mind, we do the golden shiner fry program during April and May just depending on when they get ready. It's the most economical way to go to provide forage for your pond. You get 250,000 fry for $295.00 which include shipping."

I wonder about the shiners getting bigger and competing with the BG for food if they make it past the LMB.

Also what do you think would be the best bet on FHM size? Right now the pond is empty so no real predation factors. I can get 1,000 small minnows or 450 large minnows for the same price. I figure they may spawn once this fall before it cools down and then either way the both will spawn in the spring.

Even if you go the supplier rout or bait shop go through every minnow by hand. It sounds crazy but we had some un wanted hitchhikers with our first stocking of minnows.

I would think order smaller FHM's would be more mixed in sexes. Larger minnows may only contain mostly larger male FHM's.

Good point snakebite, I think I will go with the smaller size.

I figure I may get something mixed in, I just hope it is low enough numbers to not cause me problems.

Could you not put them in a 55gal cooler and hand stock them to ensure your only stock pure FHM's?

With FHM males are generally larger than females, males also have "fat heads". If you buy large FHM it should be fairly easy to tell which ones are male and which ones are female.

http://www.lakesuperiorstreams.org/understanding/fatheadminnow.html

Zetts Fish Hatchery, in Inwood, West Va. i use them all the time...but of course i live 30 min away! They ship. Very reasonable $$
304-229-3654 many diff kinds of fish and minnows.
Ralph Clark,
Slanesville, West VA.

i have a 200 gal yard pond buried next to my 3/4 ac pond and i use it to stock 1000 Fat Heads for fishing . I always have a small pump , pump in water from the pond and the overflow back into the pond.
blessings.
ralph clark
good ole' West VA.

I agree, in your situation, go with the smaller FHM. I would not stock the LMB until Spring of 2018, unless you stocked more than 1,000 BG. What are your goals for the fishery, more balanced, want to grow large bluegulls, or larger LMB?

What numbers and size of fish do you plan on stocking to meet your goals?

My goal is to try and get large LMB but also have BG for the kids to catch. I want to balance numbers/size, my goal would be to have a change at a 6-10 lb LMB in my own pond. But I realize with really low bass numbers and the amount of feed, they will be hard to catch even if the make it.

The FHM have done great, they reproduced already. I have now added my 1,000 BG. I can add more Esshup, but I thought that was a good number since I will not aerate it for a few years.

You can do the math, but a LMB needs to eat 10# of fish to gain a pound. So, run some numbers to how many LMB to add to the mix to achieve your goal. There have to be enough BG there for your kids to catch, to reproduce and to feed the LMB enough for them to grow.

I got my FHM from aderson`s I got a 1,000 and trust me if you have structure in there for them to breed they will take off!! within weeks I saw tiny minnows all over the edge of the pond. here is a video I did when I got my minnows from Aderson`s. and that price should include shipping which is about the normal price, its the shipping that kills you.

Stocking Fathead minnows from Andersons minnows

What is the difference between "Tuffies" vs. FHM? I spoke with a hatchery and he strongly suggested Tuffies vs. FHM. Though they seem quite expensive.

https://jonesfish.com/products/fathead-minnows

me too, what is the difference between a FHM and a Tuffy? In my experience the FHM is the furthest thing from being tough. Do they have a special ninja FHM breed? Maybe they grow them in cooling ponds at nuclear reactors?

Maybe they are "free-range" "cage-less" "organic" minnows sold at a premium price:)

I have heard FHM's and Tuffies are one and the same (as well as blackheads). It is amazing how different fisheries can contradict one another and maybe even themselves.

The difference explained to me by my fish farm was their "tuffies" are tank raised and 100% FHM. The "regular" FHM are pond raised and can be part stickleback. I bought the regular and did see several stickleback when stocking. I considered it no big deal and stocked the stickleback too. That was in 2014 and I've never seen a stickleback since. I've also seen "tuffies" sold that are rosie reds (the pink strain of FHM).

The initial stocking in my forage pond was aboul half rosy reds and half regular FHM. After two years, there are very very few rosy reds. That color must be a recessive trait. ??

Perhaps the pink color is more easily preyed upon. Anybody ever evaluated floating waxed cardboard for FHM egg laying in their pond?