and expensive trips must be made over great distances 

 for collecting purposes. The lake emerald shiner, so 

 abundant along the shores of the Great Lakes at certain 

 seasons, is a highly prized bait minnow, but it does 

 not hold or transport well during summer months. High 

 losses are sustained on long trips to inland areas, 

 and the cost to the dealer and to the angler is high. 



Environmental factors in northern Michigan, Wis- 

 consin, and Minnesota may also restrict the supply of 

 minnows in an area where demand for minnows is often 

 great. Cooler, more sterile waters in that region do 

 not support the needed quantities or species of bait 

 fishes, making necessary the transfer of large numbers 

 of minnows from southern areas at great expense. 



The rearing of bait minnows is by no means easy, 

 but the advantages are many. The cost of raising fish 

 may be less than the cost of seining in distant waters, 

 and the dealer can have a supply on hand at all times 

 to meet demands. The angler will be supplied with bait 

 in better cordition, and the natural food for game fish 

 in public waters will be preserved. 



PROPAGATION OF BAIT SPECIES 



Fish have been propagated in artificial ponds in 

 Asia and Europe for many centuries. Carp, a species 

 of minnow, have been produced abroad at. a rate of 

 several thousand pounds per acre of water and have been 

 produced in ponds in the United States at a rate of 

 more than 200,000 carp per acre. Careful management 

 of ponds may enable the fish-culturist to produce even 

 more than this number. The raising of minnows is not 

 a simple procedure of stocking a pond and reaping a 

 harvest some months later. A dealer should not under- 

 take an extensive program of raising minnows until he 

 has acquired a knowledge of the basic requirements of 

 minnow culture. 



Before the bait dealer starts a program of minnow 

 propagation, he should give detailed consideration to 

 the location and const ruction of the pond, the selection 

 of the species of fish to be stocked, the fertilization 

 of the pond, and the methods and seasons for harvesting 

 the fish. The location and construction of the pond 

 are the most important of these factors because all 

 other considerations are based on th-e characteristics 

 of the pond. 



