Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Golden Shiners in California?

I have recently been trying to order Golden Shiners in California, but it seems that most places back east do not do air mail orders and that California does not allow for the importation of forage fish like Shiners from other states. Does anybody know of a hatchery or place to purchase live shiners from in California? All of the bait shops are WAY overpriced and tight lipped about where they get theres and none of the local bodies of water have shiners in catchable numbers.

Thanks.

Welcome to the forum emal... We've got a couple of CA members, who just might be able to help you out. Hopefully they'll see this post and chime in. Why don't you tell us a little more about your pond? Size, depth, species present, goals, etc...

The pond is about a little over an acre and has become completely depleted of its forage since the bass have sky rocketed. Looking to get some good stable populations of shiners to help give them something to eat. Pond also has HUGE bluegill pushing the 1 pound mark and it about 15 feet deep at the deepest and 3-7 feet on average. Just looking to give these thin bass something to bulk up on.

What about adding some more BG in the 5 inch range ?

Adding bluegill would be more reasonable.. Shiners would be gone in a matter of hours I would think.. Seems ponds usually have big bluegill and stunted bass or stunted bluegill and big bass, hard to find the even balance of both.. But adding shiners I don't think will help your case..

emal, welcome to the forum.

It sounds like the LMB are getting stunted do to overpopulation. Do the LMB look like they have smaller bodies and larger heads? Do you have any pictures of the LMB in questin, or do you have length/weight measurements that you can share with us?

What are your fishing goals for the pond?

It all depends on what your goals are for the pond, the type of fishing you like to do, and the fish (size, species) that you want to catch from the pond.

If you want larger LMB, and they are stunting, then adding more things for them to eat might not be cost effective for you.

If you can answer those questions, then it'll be easier for us to advise you on what route you need to take.

Yes, if you click on this link California Department of Fish and Game and you look at the very first link on the page "Registered Aquaculturists (PDF)" you will be able to download a list of the 2011 Registered Aquaculturists in California. If you peruse the list you will find suppliers that sell Golden Shiners.


But unfortunately that is just the beginning of the story. The list above will tell you who sells them. Whether you can purchase them or stock them in the pond depends upon where the pond is located.

You will need to review the "Inland Fisheries - Information Leaflet No. 6, Regulations Governing Private Stock of Aquatic Plants and Animals (Noncommercial)." You can obtain this Leaflet by clicking HERE and scroll down to "Regulations governing private stocking of aquatic plants and animals" and click on the word "Regulations" beneath. This will provide you with a PDF version of the stocking regulations for Non-Commercial, private ponds in California.


After reading all of the above that will tell you where to get the Golden Shiners and whether or not you can stock them. Now whether or not you should stock them is a question that I'll leave for the experts.


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Oh and welcome to Pond Boss Emal, it's great to have another Californian aboard!

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When I purchased my GS this spring there was a cut-off date when you couldn't get them the rest of the summer season. I was thinking the reason was that the GS didn't spawn later in the summer and they wanted to save what was left for the next season's supply. Maybe I'm dreaming but I think that's what I was told. I found GS hard to find close to me in IN and so I drove out of state to get mine.

Thanks for the help everybody. Jeffhasapond, that link was exactly what I needed. My main reason for trying to stock these shiners is because the Bluegill own the lake. The bass can't eat the majority of them because they are as big or smaller than some of the bluegill! I'm sure they prey on the smaller ones, but there doesn't seem to be lots of them left. I'm sure over crowding is playing a part here too.

I think shiners will be a good choice and am curious to see how the fish respond to them.

emal, how do the bass (LMB) look? Are they in good condition, or do they look like they have thin bodies and possibly large heads too?

emal, in a bass heavy pond it is usually advisable to attack on 2 sides. Increase the forage and reduce the predators. Start eliminating bass ASAP and don't stop until they start looking like footballs. I don't think just adding shiners is going to do all that much good.

My thoughts exactly... GSH stocked into a bass heavy pond=quick snack and nothing more.