Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Raising Forage and Bait Minnows in lake question

Was walking around my new lake today and saw minnows everywhere. I could tell the BG from the LMB.
My question is I didn't see any Channell cat minnows

I put 100 CC in there and they are doing fine but don't know if they spawn or if they do it at a different time. Do the CC minnows look like catfish when they are that small and do they stay on the edge like the other minnows. Thanks

From what I understand CC spawn later than BG. Do you have anything for them to spawn in? I just had some stocked from a local farm and they said they use those old milk cans for a place they can get in to. The fact that they spawn later than other fish makes them more susceptible to being eaten by the other fish.

As has been said, CC spawn after LMB and BG. Also, CC young do not just hang out. They are generally well hidden in cover during the day only coming out at night to forage. Unless you have an unusual pond, it is not likely you are going to see a successful CC spawn. LMB tend to make short work of CC fry...

It is usually better to refer to non cyprinids not as minnows but as fry, young of year or fingerlings... Minnows are minnows, baby LMB or BG are young of year. There are a huge difference.

CC are cavity nesters, and need some sort of "cave" to lay their eggs in and protect them. A 55 gal barrel, a hollowed out area under tree roots, etc. That's the good thing about CC, if there are no "caves" for them to spawn in, they won't reproduce in a pond.