Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations minnow raising

I would like to know if anyone that has minnows stocked in their pond in the spring and fall has ever thought about setting up an area netted in the pond that would allow the minnows to reproduce and keep them captive. I stock fat head and golden shiners every spring and fall and my fish eat every bit of them. Quite costly!!! Could i reserve a 5ft by 10ft section of shore line for minnow reprodution? Has anyone atempted something like this? $800.00 a year in minnows gets costly. I also feed pellets during the summer. 1 acre pond max 12 ft deep. av. 8 ft deep.

Why minnows? Aren't you using bluegills? But, to answer your question; a friend of mine tried your idea with a long minnow seine. Seems like everything tore it up. Maybe something more rigid and durable would work. Maybe hardware cloth (wire).

I agree with Dave. You are spending way to much on minnow stocking. Suggest you concentrate on building your bluegill forage with max feed and some additional structure along with removal of small bass if you want max growth from your bass.

Thanks for your comments. I have not seen or caught many small blue gills in my pond. I have a dog that swims around the edges of the pond all summer long and I think that may be ruinning my B.G. spawn. I was thinging of fencing some areas off or putting some brush or something along the shore so my dog can't swim around the areas. Does that make any sense? Any Ideas. Thanks Much.

I've thought of trying to fence off a section before and decided it probably wouldn't work. Small bass and other fish could probably get in and then wreak havoc when they grow from within the area.

The options I plan are forage ponds above the other pond and good supply of bluegill in the main pond.

Dig a small, shallow (seinable) pool and use it to grow forage. Then you can raise your own.

i too would forget the minnows in an established pond. "a very expensive snack" has been written on this site several times over the past year when refering to minnows. i too had virtually no 3-5 in. bluegill last spring after recently purchasing my pond. yet just one year after a heavy cull and consistant feeding and fertilizing, my shoreline this spring is teaming with small bluegill and my bass are averaging 95%rw. follow the advice of the pros here and you won't go wrong. you'll also save some $$s. jb

I have plenty of structue in my pond for smaller fish but I don not have any water plants such as eel grass around the edges in the shallow areas. I thought I'd try and plant something this spring. I don't know if the curtine plus I use to treat the algea would kill what I plant though. Any suggestions?

Algaecices rarely kill submerged plants with leaves.