Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Hybrid Stripers

tritonvt - Baitfish pond:

That depends on a few factors incuding what type of baitfish, how you plan to get them out etc.

Don't know how cold it gets where you are but first step is to get it deep enough not to freeze. Then do you plan to feed these minnows or fertilize to provide 'natural' feed for them? If you just want to be able to pull out a few thousand per year then something in the 20x30 foot or bigger range would be sufficient.(If it is too small the water may not be able to 'feed' the minnow population and/or you will have high rates of canibalism/low production) Provide them with lots of cover and spawning area in the pond but keep in mind your layout of this cover when it comes to your removal method. (Using traps or seining them out). Then when you want to stock your larger pond try to remove about 2/3rds of the minnows from the small pond at a time... or more even. All it takes is a few spawning size/age 'leftovers' to start the process again. You may get multiple spawns each year as well. Just keep an eye on the bait pond and when the minnow density gets high then transplant them to the main pond, that way you can keep production high.

On the topic of Threadfin shad I can't add anything as I really don't know a thing about them.

P.S. Whichever minnow you chose make sure you provide it with the type of habitat, (Still water, moving water, plants to spawn on, objects to spawn on etc.), it prefers to get the most out of them.