Tom, it is my observation that tiny BG usually try to hang around cover and minnows will roam around banks. Shellcrackers generally like deeper water than BG so it's not likely that they are shellcrackers. If they are BG, I expect they were a late spawn that survived and didn't grow over the winter.

Hard to say about volunteer minnows. Some on this forum believe the stork brings them and others believe in minnows by immaculate conception. I believe in neither. If they are minnows, I expect you either got them in a load of stocker LMB or by helpful "friends". Had they come with your forage stocking in '04 you would probably have noticed them before now.

Buy a cylindrical minnow trap or 2. If you have been feeding, put some pellets in the trap(s) and see if you can catch some.

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 Grandpa