I will try answer all the questions. Reask if I miss something or I am not clear.
1. 1-2 lbs should be plenty of broodstock of FHM or GS for a 0.05 ac pond (50x50).
2. Personally, I would not rely on draining to transfer most of the minnows to another pond. Many minnows will tend to congregate in the deepest pool water as the pond subsides. Thus IMO lots will get stranded in the little pool of water that remains after the pond is drained. I think you are better to drain down the pond to low pool and seine through it several times with a 1/8" or 3/16" mesh seine. Others with additional experience with pond seining should also provide input for this topic.
3. No need to separate sizes. I would Transfer all sizes you catch - depending on intensity of catching/trapping. If you return any, I would return some maybe not all of the breeder sizes. Depending on the species and method of capture, it is sometimes quite difficult to catch the breeders during spawning season due to they are busy spawning and are hard to catch.
4. There are numerous other forms of spawning devices and structures than tubes or pallets - depending on the species you are trying to raise. Maybe do a search for spawning devices or structures based on your species of interest. If you place the spawn structures in shallow water and drain down the pond abt 2-3 ft each time you do a "complete" seining you will not need to worry about removing spawn structures. For partial seinings during the summer just seine the deep areas of the pond. Arrange spawning structures with the planned capture methods in mind.
PS tubes and pallets are worthless for GS spawning.
Last edited by Bill Cody; 12/28/09 08:53 PM.
