Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Help Pond?

There's not much to add, most of the bases have been covered. I'd toss in some Fathead Minnows asap, in both BOW's. They're really cheap, and you can get them from a local bait store. If you want to put in more than a couple dozen, there might be a fish truck coming to a TSC or grain elevator near you in the near future.

What town is close to you? There might be a fish supplier near you that you are unfamiliar with.

I'm near Ann Arbor. I would be completely unfamiliar with all fish suppliers apart from Meijer. Does local bait store include all the gas stations that advertise crawlers?

This cracked me up.

Hey sk8r

Good posts, and welcome to the forum. Yes, those baitshops certainly are a good place to start on your search for fatheads.

If my friends knew I was googling "bait shop"........


.....some of them would be over with the beers!

These guys will be at the Farm Council Grounds in Ann Arbor on May 8th. FHM $46/gallon

Jones will deliver free in your area, but they have a $200.00 minimum order to bypass the delivery charge.

All in all, I think your best bet is to let you fingers do the walking and buy a couple dozen FH's for each pond for now.

I don't know if all the gas stations will have a bait tank for live minnows. It's easier to throw some worms in a small refigerator than take care of live fish.

A couple dozen FHM's should control your mosquito issues if you stock them shortly after water warms up after ice out. By fall you'll have hundreds of mosquito larvae eating machines.

Does it work like plants? Don't put them out before Mothers day?

No, put the fatheads in as soon as the ice is gone

We seem to have about 6 inches of water over a layer of ice. Is this good enough for the minnows or do I wait until all the ice is gone?

I would wait till the ice is gone

You crack me up also Walt's crawlers are in about every gas station and general store in MI. Make sure you open the package, and a quick whiff will tell you if they are compost.

Registered fish farms in MI. For 2010:

http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mda/mda_aquaculture_192478_7.pdf

hello all Ive been snooping around this forum for years,been pond boss suscriber for couple years also. I have 3 ponds on my property here in s.mich .

sK8r I purchased some minnows at the washtenaw farm grounds from hennerita hills last spring they have a fish day their coming up check their web site for info.

Welcome joe c. Glad you decided to join in posting. How did your ponds do this winter ?

ice just came off today no floaters but heres the scoop on fish day
its may 8th http://www.harriettahills.com is the web site.
I did the fat heads last year my LGB went nuts.

Welcome joe c. Glad you could join in.

I believe that is Harrietta Hills: http://www.harriettahills.com/

Stony Creek started the fish day event a while back. http://stoneycreekequip.com/. The MAA works together, nice group of people.

Here is a 2010 list of MI fish farms: http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mda/mda_aquaculture_192478_7.pdf

They will all, pretty much accommodate your needs. If they have it. Just check it out, if you will.

That's interesting. Some of the producers have some interesting fish. PSK, creek chubs, some different daces, etc.

You have all been incredibly helpful. I have located two possible sources of fathead minnows on my normal weekly driving routes, fired off an email to a wetland expert, and yesterday morning (in the pouring rain) we cleared about 4 foot of shoreline by posting sticks and brush into the chipper/shredder. The woods are full of movement- mostly squirrels this morning. Saw a bluebird sitting on the fencepost this morning, and I THINK I saw a red-wing-blackbird yesterday. I am imagining the soon to take place transformation outside my bedroom window as the trees turn from sticks to lush vegetation. From my bathroom window I can see a BOW, rather than just a thicket. It is pale green, and probably will, indeed, smell as soon as the temperature goes up a little, but it is my pond, and my heart swells with pride to be a pond owner.
I'm probably going to lurk here for a while, but hope to be able to post my progress later in the year.
Many thanks to all who responded. Your kindness, wisdom, generosity and good humor is much appreciated.

spring not far away the sandhill cranes have been back for about 10 days along with my favorite spring sound the redwing blackbird.
bluebirds have also been here along with killdeer,belted kingfisher.Fertilized all my fruit trees this morning,bluebird boxes are all cleaned out .

Definitely stick around and keep us updated sk8ter. Look forward to seeing the season's progressions.

My favorite has to be an old tom turkey. Sends chivvers down my spine just thinking at it. Wish I was at the farm they are most likely already going at it. Only 1 month to openning day of turkey season.

Hi PondsK8r,

I live really close to you. If you need help let me know. Glad to see you on Pond Boss. I will be getting FHM soon if you want to ride with me!

(I am not a stalker, PondsK8r is a friend of mine!)

Just noticed some yellow perch in my pond have no idea where they came from,maybe they were mixed in with the fathead minnows from last years fish day.

Oka-leee!

Hey Joe - I bought 10 lbs of FHM last year from Ye Olde Fish Truck [Arkansas Pond Stockers] and I sorted a few rogue CSBG. I feel it's vital to handsort anything, especially forage, that is headed to the pond. In my case I check my minnows twice - but I really enjoy handling my future pond inhabitants. The CSBG wouldn't have damaged my fishery at all, but carp or bullhead could have. I was pretty impressed overall with the performance of APS considering it was the fish truck, but want to encourage anyone stocking forage to hand sort at least once, if not twice, prior to releasing into your BOW. It's a couple fun hours well spent to prevent a potentially fishery threatening mistake!