Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Creating the food chain Minnows

I thought I already posted this but I was unable to find it so forgive me if you did.

I have a new 3/4 acre pond that I plan to stock with 1,000 BG/RES this fall and 35 LMB in spring. I am going to try and get FHM and Crawfish in it as soon as it clears a little more and I get my water tested.

I have a friend who lives close by who says he has FHM in his pond. He has an abundance of them and told me I could catch as many out as I want. My question is are there "bad minnows" that could get mixed in as well? I plan to sort through the minnows to avoid unwanted guests but I am sure I could miss a few.

Also is there a very distinct feature on the FHM that separates them from the others?

I can't think of any common minnow-shiner that will be a problem in your planned fishery with LMB present. This ASSUMES his minnows are TRULY minnows and not mosquito fish or small panfish or some other fish specie. Many people incorrectly call all small fish:"minnows". Thus sorting through minnows should not be difficult or overly time consuming because because you are mainly looking for little panfish, sunfish, carp, bullheads. In preparation for receiving the minnows get yourself a nice sized aquarium net for sorting and build or get a large tub or mesh live box basket to hold and keep healthy the new minnows as you sort through them.

Thanks Bill, we caught a few yesterday just to look at. They did not look like FHM to me, they were mostly small 1-2 inch and silver. No color spots, no real lines or patterns.

Could you post a close-up clear picture of some of these "minnows"?

I will try and get one tomorrow Mr Bill. It has been too late when I got home the last few days.