How to Read a Minnow Size Chart

Ordering minnows for the first time, the size chart can look like a code. A line reads #12, 83 per pound, 3 inches, and nothing on the page explains why a fish is described that way. It's simpler than it looks. Anderson Minnow Farm, the family fish farm on Highway 70 West in Lonoke, Arkansas, grades its golden shiners into five sizes, and the whole system rests on one idea: fish are sorted by how wide they are, then sold by the pound.

Graded by width, sold by the pound

The farm states it plainly on its store: "All fish are graded by width, so length and counts are approximate." Grading means sorting fish into groups so that every minnow in a box is close to the same build. Width is the measure that matters because a thick-bodied shiner and a slim one of the same length are not the same size of meal for a bass, and they don't ride a hook the same way either. Sorting by width gives you a box of fish that act alike.

Length comes along for the ride, loosely. That's why the inch figures and the per-pound counts carry the word approximate. If you weigh out a pound of #12 shiners and count 85 instead of 83, nothing has gone wrong. The pound is what you're buying. The count and the length describe what's typically inside it, and they'll wobble a little from box to box.

The golden shiner grades

Golden shiners are the farm's benchmark species, and its species guide describes a hatchery that turns out a billion of them a year. The grade table below is the one most customers need. These are the farm's own figures, and all of them are approximate.

• #4: about 250 per pound, 1½ inches long. A 4 lb box holds about 1,000.
• #6: about 166 per pound, 2¼ inches long. A box holds about 664.
• #12: about 83 per pound, 3 inches long. A 5 lb box holds about 415.
• #20: about 50 per pound, 3½ inches long. A box holds about 250.
• Brooders: about 26 per pound, 4 inches long. A box holds about 130.

Notice the pattern. As the count per pound drops, the fish get longer, and the box count follows from the weight. Four pounds of #4s gives you about a thousand fish. A box of brooders gives you about 130. The farm also sells golden shiner fry for people who want to start a pond from the very beginning, which is a different job from stocking bait.

Matching the grade to the job

A rule of thumb holds up across most fishing and pond work: match the minnow to the mouth. The small grades, #4 and #6, suit small predators and young fish. A pond owner feeding panfish or fingerling bass usually shops at that end of the chart. The #12 at 3 inches is the all-rounder, the size many anglers picture when they say minnow. The #20 at 3½ inches is a bigger offering for bigger fish.

Brooders are the largest grade, at about 26 per pound and 4 inches. The name comes from aquaculture, where brood fish are the adults kept to produce the next crop, and that's a common use for them. They also make a big bait for a big fish, and a few of them go a long way.

If you run a bait shop, the per-pound count does your math for you. A 5 lb box of #12s holds about 415 fish. If your customers buy by the dozen, that's roughly 34 dozen per box, before you allow for any fish that don't make it through the weekend. Work out your own margins with your own prices, but start from the count, not from a guess at what a pound looks like.

Fatheads follow the same logic

Fathead minnows are graded the same way, with different dimensions. Small fatheads run about 250 per pound at 1½ inches, medium about 167 per pound at 2¼ inches, and large about 83 per pound at 2½ inches. A large fathead and a #12 shiner land on the same count per pound, but the shiner is half an inch longer. That's a handy reminder that count and length don't line up one to one across species. Body shape plays a part: fatheads are stocky, and shiners are slender.

The farm also lists pink fatheads at about 167 per pound, running from 1 to 2¼ inches, and feeder fatheads at about 1,500 per pound, only ¾ to 1 inch long. Feeders are the ones to look at when the goal is a snack for small fish rather than bait for a rod.

Before you order

If you're torn between two grades, call before you place the order. The farm answers at 1-800-20-MINNO (1-800-206-4666), Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Central. Live fish ship on Mondays and Thursdays, and an order needs to be in by 10:00 a.m. Central on the shipping day. Pick the grade by the fish you're feeding or catching, not by the number on the box, and the chart will do the rest.