Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Golden Shiners

Golden Shiners, when the pond is mirror still, what do GSHs look like when they are surface feeding?

Do they feed in a group & make a tiny wake that flows out ahead of them?

Do they only feed in the shallows? Do they prefer more open water? Does it make a difference?

Do they feed as individuals & make only small ripple circles?

It depends?

I suggest grabbing some actual samples.

I can't remember, do you feed the fish in your pond? If not, you can crush up some Cheerios, dog food, etc. and make a powder that will draw in surface feeding fish.

You might be able to catch some with a long-handled dip net. If not, then a small "cast net" might be a good investment ($25 on Amazon). You should be able to make some decent throws (especially on a windless evening) after a little practice in your back yard.

You can also fish for Golden Shiners (I have not). There are several experts at Pond Boss that can tell you how to catch them.

Finally, you might want to try some minnow traps. You can sample all kinds of interesting things from your ponds using those!

Have fun on your next "pond edge" safari!

Back when I had GS, I caught a few hundred of them with worms under a bobber. (Real high tech fishing.)

I poorly wrote my question.

I am not interested in catching GSH but being able to identify them when they are surface feeding. Halfway across the pond I know the difference between a LMB & CNBG feeding at the surface. The pond gator, turtles & snakes all leave behind tell tail ripple pattern.

Billie-Bob in his fishing for GSH you tube talked about ripples in skinny water & weeds. Of course you could not see the ripples on his video. R. Martin, it was holes in weed beds with ripples. I stocked a few GSH & have seen just a few, perhaps 3-4. I know there are not many in the pond & never will be. I do not have skinny water or weed beds; Secchi disk is 24-36 inches, so it is not easy to see a 16" LMB let alone a 3" GSH in shallow water.

I throw feed daily, the > 6" CNBG make it hard to see anything else. No matter how small the feed they are always the first to arrive. I will have to catch a lot of CNBG before a GSH is able to beat them to the bait.

I was hoping someone that fishes for GSH could pass along what their surface feeding pattern looks like.

Thank you for the help!

I see no difference in feeding patterns.

My thoughts about the dreaded greens.
I have them mixed in with the bluegills.

They have limited spawns so can’t over compete with bluegills. Lusk said it best. “ What’s the problem? How can a fish that only spawns annually cause a problem when bluegills have rolling, never ending, spawn?”.

They will also out fight a bluegill and any other Lepomis(fancy name for sunfish). When I catch one, I know it before I see it.

"I was hoping someone that fishes for GSH could pass along what their surface feeding pattern looks like."

Things like that are hard to describe using words alone. Further, I think the same fish species can move differently in ponds based on depth, weed coverage, known predators, etc.

If you can get an actual sample of the fish making the behavior your are observing, you will know the answer with 100% certainty. Even if they are not GSH, then you will know the surface feeding patterns of some other fish from your pond, and can look for a different pattern for possibly identifying any GSH.