If you think minnows are minute, you’re missing the big story. Not all small fry are minnows and not all minnows are tiny. For more on these diverse aquatic vegetarians read on.
What Do You Know About Minnows?
Little minnows are big business. Anderson Minnow Farm in Lonoke, Arkansas, produces over one billion fry each season and stocks five million pounds of fish food.
The Clouser minnow, one of the most well-known fly patterns, was first tied in 1987 by Bob Clouser, a Pennsylvania smallmouth bass guide. Lefty Kreh, the famous flycaster and journalist, claimed to have hooked over 85 species of fish using a Clouser minnow.
Not all minnows are tiny. For example, grass carp, a member of the minnow family, can grow to six feet long and weigh close to 100 pounds.
S.S. Minnow was the name of the shipwrecked tour boat in the 1960s sitcom, Gilligan’s Island, but the boat was not named after the fish. The tiny ship got its name from Newton Minow, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission famous for calling American television a vast wasteland.
Though minnows are generally thought of as fish food, humans eat them whole and dehydrated.
In 2020, Minnow became a popular girl’s name, after the hero in the movie, Love and Monsters, was rescued from sand-gobblers by a character named Minnow.
Minnows are among the most climate-resistant fish. They’ll breed in a wider temperature range than other fish. In some minnow species, the male builds and guards the nest.
The minnow would be lost. | Feature photo: Adobe Stock
