Raising minnows.

[Danny Davenport]

I wish I had a nickel for every pound of minnows I bought the last 20 years. I have been thinking about digging a pond on my place and raising my own to fish with.

Has anyone done this? I was wondering how big and deep the pond would need to be etc. This would be in East Texas at Sam Rayburn Lake and it gets very hot in the summer.

Any input would be appreciated.

Thanks,
DRD

[Harold]

When I was a kid I lived near a small minnow farm. The best that I remember the ponds were less than 3' deep, about 50' wide and about a 100' or so long.

This was in central Arkansas.

Hope this helps a little.

[Jeepster04]

You could just put you a small decorative pond in the back with a filter and small waterfall would do just fine. Waterfall would keep water aerated and the filter will keep the water clean and free of any free floating crap. Dad has one in his backyard and minnows do just fine in there. Problem is the critters that come to feed on them and what they leave behind. Mom caught a blue herring in her pond eating one of the koi that they raise.

[hays47]

As a guideline google " raising fathead ninnows. The fathead minnow is a staple of midwest bait shops. As they breed several times a year they are quite prolific.

Suprisingly small pond can produce pounds of fatheads. Lots of info on them on the web.

[cricket george]

Danny - I raise rosie red fathead minnows in central Oklahoma. Check out my "pond Management 101" thread on the Oklahoma forum. If you simply make a 1/8th acre to 1/4th acre pond 4' deep and add some wooded pallets that are made of untreated lumber you will do fine. Fatheads spawn upside down on these pallets. You can use pieces of sch 40 PVC pipe 8" - 10" long too. I would suggest at least 3" pipe. Contact a wholesale bait dealer by checking with the Texas Wildlife Dept for a list of breeders. I have seen bait suppliers at a bait shop and followed them to a stop light and hollered at them. They want to sell minnows and they should sell to you. The fatheads start to spawn in April, maybe March for you, and will spawn every month until September. A gallon (approx 1200) of fatheads should cost around $50.00 or $65.00 if you get rosies reds but will reproduce into approx 6-7,000 minnows the first Fall. The second FAll you should have safely 20,000+ minnows. You will never need to buy a minnow again and you can sell some too. I did just this and after the first year sold enough minnows to reimburse myself. Be sure your pond has good wind action on it and fence out the cattle to keep from getting the pond too rich from poop. If you do this you will never need bait again. You might be surprised to find crawdads in their too. Check out Pond Mgmt 101 on the Oklahoma Forum for help.

[rockbass]

Great info! I've been interested in keeping/raising minnows......this is great info.