At Red Top Bait shop west of Burnet on HWY 29 they are 2.95 a dozen.

$13 per lb here NHouston, about 10-11 dozen ,no consistency in size, 20 minutes from my house. 10 minutes from my house $2.50 per dozen or 3 for $7. I keep a minnow tank now too, been using enough to justify buying a lb.

Carver, I am not sure it is legal to trap minnows any more. I know that with the zebra mussel
problem you now have to have a receipt if a game warden checks you.

Johnny

what do u use as an agitator...recycle pump???

the best way to do it is to set up a fish tank or a water trough and just put a few of those fish store filters on there, the clean the water and keep it aerorated

You can trap and use minnows, the only rule is you can't transfer them to another lake in the water you caught them in.

Good point, Yes you can still trap them fine, especially for day use in the body of water you catch them in, but you cannot transport them in water from the lake in your vehicle. If you do not have a receipt with you you need to be able to show the game warden your trap. If you get a cranky game warden anything might go. I went to Austin early last year for a clarification on a poorly worded statute for an article I was penning about the issue. It did not do a lot of good. SO, I also keep a receipt from Dunn fish farms for the bulk minnows I have purchased in the past. there is no date requirement on your receipt.

I generally know in advance when I hope to be bringing some home and take a 5 of "seasoned" and blue water with me. One glance and smell of the water and they know it is not lake water.

I was checked one time last year, but it was by a game warden that knew me pretty well and I could still show him the leftover treated water in my Jerry can. Since he saw me almost daily for a while he knew I had a bait-well in my yak that has an "O" generator and don't keep my bait in lake water even in the yak. My "treated" water has grain alcohol and salt in it and it hardens the minnows and kills a lot of micro. I add some of the popular commercial preservative mainly for the recognizable blue color. They last forever in it and travel well.

I have another bait tank at Texoma part of the year and do not take any of the bait from there at all. I left a boat in the lake for a month in a slip and it took an act of congress to get the mussels off the pontoons. It looked like thick dust but was covered with very tiny mussels. I drain my bait tank completely if I am going to be gone for more than a week or two and never bring anything even wet from Texoma home. I took the carpet runners off the trailer and put HDPE runners on it and got cast nets I just use there. Now they hang in open air for storage rather than in a bucket.


But If I were to get the wrong game warden,,,,,on the wrong day,,, I'd probably be really sad. It is still completely up to them whether they want to write you up or not. Most are really cool though.

i called them today and you are correct...$2.95 and oxygen bags...what a deal...thanks Pop N Cork...ur my new best bud

Bait shops get minnows all sorts of ways there's a guy who traps minnows for several bait shops and their all from one lake sold to bait shops around other lake, so if the Zebra scare is the concern how does bait shop know what lake their bait is being used?

The prices are insane..3.25/ 3.99 Central Texas whats really irritating is when your getting less than you paid for!I have fished long enough to know..I started catching my own with great success with native bait and work way better in my opinion. Bought 5 dozen last year at Granger gas station, I asked politely if they were sure it was 60 ? they got a bit snippy and said yes would you like to recount ? WOW !WELL FIRE IN THE HOLE ..I AGREED TO THEIR SURPRISE last minnow came out my bucket was # 32 !! No apology just said its been a long day .. said they put 2 extra (yes 2) in there for ya ..well shut my mouth ! I have since built a tank which I can hold bait for week or 2 rotating frozen 2 liter bottles to keep cool with aerator with water temp display. Sorry for the rant, struck a nerve.I feel your pain, sad day when you have to take a out a small loan to fish !

Well there is the story, a few years back, about the shrimp farm start up, in north Texas area. How hard could a minnow farm be?

Another option might be a 1/4" mesh cast net. Works great for catching minnows and other small bait fish. I always throw mine in shallow water or riffles in the rivers and creeks. One year I was catching pounds of minnows per cast with it. The net only costs like $40. I've had great luck on crappie and sandies with small bream and any of the minnows you can catch in the river.

Has anyone tried keeping ghost minnows alive in a holding tank?

ghost minnows are almost impossible to keep alive, but they work so well that it usually doesn't matter if they're alive or dead

what diameter is best...amazon has 3.5 ft for 33.62...4ft for 38.69

http://www.amazon.com/Betts-4N4-I-Tyzac-Nylon-Cast/dp/B005K0LU40/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1454973470&sr=8-7&keywords=cast+net+1+4+inch+mesh&refinements=p_76%3A2661625011