Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Golden Shiner?

First off - I didnt know I had any of these in my pond, secondly - didnt know they would hit a lure. Is this a golden shiner?



Gator

Gator :

GShiner pics. Looks like one to me.

http://www.cnr.vt.edu/efish/families/goldenshiner.html

http://images.google.com/images?q=%22Not...y=7&sa=N&tab=wi

Thanks ewest - will they reproduce in my pond?

Gator

Gator, I'm surprised that you haven't seen zillions of little ones. They will definitely reproduce big time. Bass and BG love them. My BG hit them(1 to 1 1/2 in.) better than they do a worm. They will get larger unless you have pretty large bass. How large is the pond they are in? If you feed, you should see them attacking pellets, several to 1 pellet. If they hit that spoon, they must be hungry. It looks in good condition though.

My Golden Shiners will frequently hit lures, especially small in-line spinners like that one.

This is in my big pond. I saw a 3 - 4lb LMB chasing a school of bait fish the other day. I suspect it was Golden shiners like this one. Whoever stocked my pond has thus far proven to make good decisions. There must be a substantial base in there if I can snag one on a spinner bait...LMB are looking fat too.

I put in 3,500 CNBG three weeks ago but no Golden Shiners.

Gator

Theo, have you caught one for the Cecil record book yet? They should be great with child.

Gator, when I stocked my Golden Shiners, I was hoping they would reproduce...my pictures look a lot like yours, we are lucky. Now, if we start catching the YOY in forage sampling, we are on our way to very high RW's on LBM. Keep a close eye on both, you don't want to lose what you have

I would assume that shiners would be preferred over similar wt. BG for LMB or would they eat both equally?

Well, the Shiners would certainly be easier to swallow, being narrower top to bottom and without any spiny fins.

What I don't know is which would be easier for an LMB to catch. In my experience, GShiners are flightier, faster, more likely to be in open water, and much more nervous acting (when sharing water with BG while eating pellets, at least). Does this mean that they're harder to catch, or just nervous and flighty because the bass are after them more often? We need to get a Fish Psychic (I haven't heard of one of those yet, but I do know people who have paid $ to get a reading on their gelding from a "Horse Psychic" ) and see what the Shiners and the Bass are thinking.

A BG will always put up much more of a fight than an equal mass GShiner. Hook a 5" BG and you've got a little fun. Hook an 8" Shiner and you're using less energy to crank it in than if it were a gob of FA.

IIRC the main reason BG tend to survive in ponds better than Shiners is greater fecundity.

BM: I have not caught any GShiners for CB1 when I had someone to take a picture of me with my trophy.

Any guess as to the age of that shiner? It has been at least 5 years, more likly 10 years since my pond was stocked. The only other possibility is that a few slipped in with my CNBG stocking a few weeks ago...

Gator

It's still got some growing to do to make it to max size; no way it's 5 yers old IMO. Totally WAG is 2-3 years.

Question: What's the chance the Shiners slipped in as bait from someone you know fishing?

Harder Question: What's the chance they slipped in as bait from someone you don't know about fishing?

Theo,

Thats a possibility since I have only owned the place for just over 1 year - who knows what happend before (or after, for that matter) I purchased the land.

Gator

Not easy to start a GShiner population in an established LMB pond from only a few bait leftovers. My guess is the prior owner stocked a bunch early and they have survived as a ongoing population. That is a good thing for a LMB/BG pond. I agree with Theo that one has not been there for 5 years. Probably hatched in the pond 2yrs ago. It would be good if you could keep the population going. Has the pond refilled?

ewest the pond is (painfully) refilling however we are still not out of the woods. April was another below average month for rain. I hope we are not in for a repeat of '05. I still need another 8 - 10 feet of rise.

Cecil - Does this mean I can submit my Trophy golden Shiner to the record web site?

Gator

Is there a picture clearly identifying you holding the Shiner ? I don't want any question of legality on such an important species of sportfish! :p

I agree with Eric - the Shiners are a good thing for your bass population.

While on the Shiner topic, I was to take delivery on 200lbs of Golden Shiners yesterday.

My fish guy had a total of about 300lbs on the truck, and I would say 20-40lbs was all that survived, and those potential survivors where questionable at best.

My fish guy does not know what happened. He got them in Arkansas and drove them up to PA over 2-3 days. He said he started getting morts within the first 12 hours. By the time he got to my place, it was sad.

Ten days prior, I was fishing at my pond, and a friend was fishing with a small fly-like jig on a bobber and was catching Golden Shiners 5" and over. While I was glad to see that they had taken hold (after past years of stocking), I was surprised to see the guy catch so many. I was concerned about the upcoming Golden Shiner stocking, in that I could be overstocking.

Well, all worries for nothing.

It sounds as though the battle for Golden Shriner supremacy will be heating up in the coming wks. Clear photo with date stamp and weight documentation must be adhered to.

hey Burger - im in.

Your post promted an idea...why could'nt we have a fishing contest? Perhaps pick a catagory or two and see who can catch the biggest LMB, BG...ect.

Anyone interested?

Gator

Hey Theo Gallus,
Where do you get your golden shiners at? I was thinking of adding some to my pond now since the smallmouth are still fingerlings. I usually get my fish from Fenders near Coshocton, but they don't carry them. Any info would be appreciated.

Gator, Cecil already has a pond record web site. I'm surprised we haven't seen any entries yet. Either:

A. nobody fishes, and only has pet fish.
B. nobody knows how to post pic.
C. as with me, both the above.

Marne - Not a lot of hatcheries in OH handle G shiners. I think your best chance to get g.shiners is Jones Fish Hatchery, at Newtown east of Cincinnati. May have to wait a few weeks until they deliver in your area. Pick up is always available if you are in a hurry.

Thanks for the info Bill.

Bill actually determined that I got my fish from Jones' because I have GShiners.

Jones Fish

"Elementary, Watson."