Minnow ponds, anyone got one?

[8fishermen]

We have 4 ponds on a old farm that we been working on. We have been rebuilding spillways and opening up the drainage areas leading to them so the water can get to them and then stay in them. 2 of the ponds are smaller. One is basically a large hole, approx 30' in diameter and is totally shaded. The other is about a quarter of an acre.

I would like to use one or both of these to grow minnows for fishing and as feeders to add to the other ponds. What type of minnows should I raise? Is the smaller pond big enough to raise minnows? If so, we will stock the other with catfish or coppernose or something. Any help is appreciated.

The 1/4 acre pond has some type of shiners in it now. There are also a billion 4" crappie in it that are full of eggs! I thought of seining it and releasing the minnows into one of our larger ponds before we kill everything in it. How big does a crappie need to be to distinguish it from something else? I can tell the difference at one inch, but I am not sure I have ever seen one smaller that that?


Thanks

[ShellQuacker]

When we built our house, we had a water to air heat pump system installed. It's an "open loop" system, meaning the water that goes though, has to have somewhere to exit. I dug 3 small ponds in stairstep, so the water ran from one to the other. Stocked golden shiners and rosy red fatheads. The shiners reproduce quite well, but for some reason I have to replenish the fatheads once or twice a year. I haven't bought any shiners in three years. Catch them in minnow traps baited with fish food, or cat food.
Try PondBoss forums. They have all the info for you. You just register, like here. Similar format. Lots of info.
The first thing I'd do before stocking minnows, is to kill off any other fish. I know that sounds harsh, but if your goal is to have minnows, they don't need competition.
Btw, you should be able to tell a crappie at a very very young age. Couple of months, 1" should be plenty. Let me expound on that. "Baby" minnows look just like adults, only really really small. The first ones I saw in my pond, I thought they were mosquito larvae until I netted some with an aquarium net. Crappie fry should be no different for ID.