How to Raise Fish Bait Minnows in Ponds

Minnows are very popular bait for catching fish, mainly because so many other fish eat minnows as part of their diet. They can be purchased from any good fishing store, but regular fishers may want to consider breeding minnows at home as an investment and to save money in the long term. Raising minnows is simple as they require only very basic conditions and breed quickly.

Things You'll Need

  • Pond
  • Water
  • Aerator
  • Food
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Instructions

    • 1

      Select a suitably sized pond. The larger the pond the larger the yield of minnows. A 50-gallon pond should be sufficient for personal use, but a larger pond will allow this to become a commercial operation.

    • 2

      Fill the pond with fresh non-chlorinated water. Chlorine is poisonous to minnows.

    • 3

      Install an aerator and a water filter into the pond. In the wild, minnows live in fast-flowing streams and require well-oxygenated water to survive. Position the aerator in the deepest part of the pond and dig a shallow trench from the pond to the nearest power outlet. Aerators run on electricity. The air compressor is then placed outside of the pond, feeding air into the aerator through tubing. All of these parts come standard with a pond aeration kit.

    • 4

      Place objects in the bottom of the pond on which the minnows can lay their eggs. Ideal choices include broken flower pots, rocks and normal river debris.

    • 5

      Place the bag of minnows in the water and allow the temperature of the water in the bag to adjust to that of the pond before releasing them. Minnows can be purchased from most pet stores and there should be two females to each male.

    • 6

      Feed the minnows twice a day with commercial fish flakes and include high-fat supplements, frozen brine shrimp and oatmeal to encourage growth and reproduction. Plants should also be installed in the tank as minnows like to feed on organic matter in the wild, and they would also be good places for laying eggs.