Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations what kind of fish?

Caught this fish this morning in a net while scooping out some algae,I never stocked anything like this.The pond is totally landlocked and receives no runoff just rain and well water.Does it look like a shad or maybe a shiner?Can a bird really bring in fish with eggs stuck to it's legs or is that a myth?Thanks for any help with the i.d.,Ryer.

Looks like a shiner to me.

I'd say Golden Shiner. Anyone using minnows for bait in the pond? Maybe it was in a load of FHM if they were stocked in the pond.

How old is the pond, and were any fish stocked in the past few years?

esshup,the pond is 15 yrs. old and I dug it myself.I stocked 50 LMB 6 yrs. ago and fathead minnows,bg,cc,and Rio Grande Perch 14 yrs. ago.We are the only ones to ever fish this pond and the only minnows I've ever seen are the little (mosquito fish?)minnows that just showed up yrs. ago.I think I'll throw the cast net later and see if there are anymore,Ryer.

What's the possibility of someone coming in and fishing in the pond when you aren't there to see them? I have yet to see a confirmed case of birds moving fish eggs.....

eeshup,We are so remote where we are and so heavily fenced and I am here all the time so that possibility is about as close to zero as you can get. Plus, down here in Texas that is a hangin' offense, and as a gun owner with the added bonus of owning a backhoe, I'm pretty much set in the trespassing department....HaHa. I am not too sure of the bird moving fish egg theory myself but he did get in there some how and the closest body of water that would have any fish is about a mile away. I've never even seen a shiner with all the net casting and fishing I've done over the last 40 years in the local area lakes so it is a mystery. I guess it could be that a few got mixed in with the fat head minnows from 14 years ago and they have been spawning ever since but I have drained and dredged the entire pond in sections a few times and this is the first one I have ever seen. Ryer.

If no fish were stocked recently (as in a couple of years) then I think you have a small self-sustaining population of them in the pond.

As a "reach out and touch 'em" guy myself, I know what you're talking about.



The one on the right is a .308. The one on the left goes into the rifle below. 7mm 175g SMK @ 3490 fps mv.

Ryder, how are the rio grande perch doing in the pond?? They are very cool fish.

esshup,very nice! That is the kind of rifle that can reach out and touch someone 2 or 3 days before they even think about trespassing That sure is some wide open land behind that rifle,where is that?Ryer.

Dave Willis,only one time in 14 years have I lost a few to cold weather,other than that they do great.I always used them on trot lines while chasing those monster Flathead Cats down here.They are probably the meanest fish we have down here and they will push out about every other fish species over time.By the way my forum name "Ryer" is slang down my way with trot liners for the Rio Grande Perch as we just call them "ryers",

The photo was taken near Great Falls, Montana.