I wouldn't do it. Wild fish have the possibility of carrying disease. Also, minnows don't give bass enough calories. They're just not worth messing with.
Nice place.
It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.
Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.
Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley Rancher and Farmer Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP
Are they Golden Shiners? If so, they will get plenty large enough for the LMB - I've caught them up to 10" long.
The problem with transferring fish from another BOW is 1) bringing in a disease that the pond fish haven't been exposed to, and 2) bringing in plants that you don't want in the pond, either via seeds or pieces of plants.
Now, if it's legal in your state to do so, and you take the proper precautions, then my opinion is that there wouldn't be a problem.
I have read so much her about shiners of different varities being used for forage food. What would you recommend.
As many of us have learned through Pond Boss researchers, forage converts at about 10 lbs. of forage to 1 lb. of fish weight gain. High protein feed converts at about 2 lbs. of pellets for a 1 lb. gain in fish weight.
I'd recommend a good high protein fish feed. Most of our most successful Pond Bossers use Purina Aquamax.Some of us less successful Pond Bossers use what we can get from the local feed stores.
Esshup is certainly right about the size of the minnow.
A bass needs forage that is between 1/4 to 1/3 it's own body size/length. Most minnows just don't cut it on that size growth. The trade off is between energy expended to catch the forage and calories obtained. Concentrate on growing bluegill and eliminate/cull small bass.
That bass looks skinny but it might just be a post spawn female.
It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.
Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.
Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley Rancher and Farmer Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP
I have a very small pond that I stocked in 1998 and had catfish, LMB and nice selection of panfish including warmouth perch. Pond almost dried up and I thought I had lost most of my fish. Restarted feeding and still have catfish and panfish but no bass. I threw a cast net and much to my dismay found out I have been feeding more wild shiners than anything. They have taken over the pond and most of the bream seem stunted. Any way to rid the pond of shiners without eradicating and starting over? If I had a way to harvest and sell them I would but I dug and stocked the pond for kids to fish in and for a nice mess of fish for myself. Very unhappy right now.
Welcome Mayor! Would you mind introducing yourself formally here and we can take a crack at your question? At first glance, I believe eradication and starting over with a clean slate might be your best bet, both in time and effort and in cost.
If you can feed them and net them out, that would reduce their population in a hurry. If the water is coming back up, I'd stock some LMB back in there. They will love chowing down on the GSH.
Draining and starting over is an option, and the quickest way to get the fishery back to the balance that you want.
