I am looking at a house with a little pond, trying to figure out if I want to tear the thing out/fill it in or what have you, when the lightbulb turns on…
“I could turn this thing into a bait tank!”
Anyone got a small pond or large aquarium that they keep minnows in? What kind of upkeep/salinity/o2/filtering/etc does it need?
From my brief research, I figure mud minnows are just about indestructable… and this will give me a place to keep them after those days where you fish the same 4 minnows for the whole trip and come home with 20. Not trying to “farm” or cultivate them, just keep em around.
Bonzo- you learn anything on your field trip about minnow keeping that would be helpful here?
I have both,saltwater 55 gal fish tank that i keep whatever bait in season.now mud minnows, then shrimp, mullet. I go a little over board on filtration, running 3 filters. About 1 a week i fill my boat livewell with fresh saltwater to change out about 8 gal.Just the filters [type that hang on back of tank]create waterfall give enough
aireation.
Also have a liner type fresh water pond with waterfall in yard.
Use to just sit minnow buckets in pond, they would last for quite a while. If ya have a pond should have some type of filter system already, fine for mud minnows.doesn’t take much to hold mudders.
I figured with all the stories along the lines of “i washed a dozen mud minnows in my jeans pocket and they are still doing backflips” that they would be easy to care for. I appreciate the insight though!
So technically I wouldn’t even have to add salt to the thing if they are good in fresh water?
Also have to decide what to do with the goldfish in there already… you think they would make good bait?
I could be wrong but I don’t think we will ever have to worry about a goldfish becoming invasive… Bass, crappy, jack, catfish, and bowfin will slaughter them. Think a shinner is good live bait, try a feeder goldfish under a cork.
quote:Originally posted by Too Busy
you don't want to introduce yet another invasive species by having a goldfish come off the hook while you're bass fishing.
ya got that right Fred67!!
That’s why some states it’s against the law to use Goldfish:wink:
Also i just put a trolly line across a friends large pond to keep his minners. Dam coons empty his buckets every night next to the shore… He puts about 3 doz in each bucket, also make sure they get shade on those hot days
Funny story, we have a decorative pond beside the walkway to our front door. When we fish for big stripers we use big baits like Gizzard Shad or Rainbow trout for which you pay $2-4 ea for.
Several years ago in Dec I had some trout and those things are pretty easy to keep alive in winter in my bait tank, I just plug in battery charger and keep bait(bb herring, trout, gizzards) alive from week to week
Well I had been out a couple days before Christmas looking for the elusive to me 40lb striper and when I got done I still had 4 nice big trout swimming around.
Now the redneck in me many times has just taken them out and grilled them for supper, yea they are that size, but this time I was headed to Lake Reelfoot the day after Christmas duck hunting and new my lovely wife would not keep an eye on my battery charger and bait tank while I was gone
Then the redneck came out of me again, I just put them in the pond.
Did ya’ll know trout JUMP:smiley:
Well wife’s family came to the house Christmas day and my In Laws came in asked "why are those fish laying on your walkway:smiley:
Yea they were all laying out there flopping around, they had enough and jumped out of the pond
Wife had not even noticed them in there until then so now I am banned from putting my bait in her pond
