Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose Do Golden Shiners eat enough eggs to matter???

CJBS, I just don't see your scenario with GSH happening. Yes, shiners get to 6-8"...the larger size is the reason they are used as a forage species. FHM are great for juveniles; GSH are for intermediate and adult size fish. Once reaching the one pound range, SMB can most definitely eat an 8" GSH, and will, in large numbers!

Growing a massive forage base before stocking predators IS the idea. Yes, after spawning, there will be 1000's of GSH too big to be eaten, but what about the hundreds of thousands of smaller GSH that are also there to be eaten???

Bluntnose and Fathead minnows are great forage for juvenile predators, yet do little for them after reaching 8" or so. Whether or not Spotfin Shiners, Lake Chubsucker, or other forage species are "better", I don't know, as those species are not easily, or readily available to anyone for stocking. There is theory, but not enough empirical data to know. What little IS known, supports the idea that a wide variety of many forage species is a good thing.

Waiting till predators are adults would make it much more expensive, but difficult, if not impossible to establish GSH, or ANY other forage base.

I have never heard of GSH stealing so many SMB eggs that there is not still a significant annual SMB recruitment. TJ has a boatload of GSH in his SMB production pond...and also got a lot of SMB recruitment. So many GSH, I caught more GSH fishing a jig than SMB.

If anything, I would personally consider GSH stealing eggs and YOY SMB a good thing. It delays over population and stunting of the apex predator, and arguably, only the best genetics survive.