Bill D, yes I do have some large shiners. One of these girls had a shiner in her belly that was 3 inches. I've caught many shiners that were in excess of 6 inches. I have shiner sizes all across the spectrum. It has been my experience with both my WE, and Perch, that I'm beginning to believe they can flair there mouths open and eat a fish that is larger than I would assume they can eat. I'm not hinting that the Perch could eat a six incher, but the shiners I've been catching seem to hold their fusiform shape until they start getting past the 4 inch mark. I had a runt YP in an aquarium a few years ago. I threw in some small shiners. The runt ate a shiner. The back half of the minnow stuck out of the runts mouth for several days. It slowly disappeared as it was digested. I was amazed, as the minnow was I'm estimating 1/4 the size of the Perch. To catch these shiners, I use a #8 or a # 10 long shank cricket hook under a small bobber with a small chunk of night crawler. I am now using them as walleye bait.
