Seining the pools during low water can catch lots of fish species. You can get spotfins and steelcolor shiners in a stream that size. Both look very similar and are very good pond spawners. Bluntnose should be common in streams the size you mention and smaller even ditches. I catch lots of bluntnose in 1ft-4ft wide roadside drainage ditches. You will need quite a bit of submerged vegetation to maintain these fish in a pond with smallies which are pretty aggressive on minnows and shiners. These minnow/shiner species are the backbone for yellow perch fisheries in my area.
For a healthy smallie pond I think the larger individuals of golden shiner will be the best shiner to flourish and persist.
Last edited by Bill Cody; 09/13/13 08:46 AM.
