The largemouth bass in my pond are skinny. Can I improve their condition by stocking minnows?
The IDNR fisheries biologists recommend stocking fathead minnows at a rate of approximately two pounds per surface acre to supplement forage in new ponds prior to sport fish stocking. These minnows will spawn and produce thousands of young which are great growth boosters for young sport fish. However, stocking fathead minnows into ponds with existing predator populations is much less productive, since most minnows are eaten before they can produce offspring, and it takes five to six pounds of minnows to produce one pound of bass weight gain.
