Hay there Steve. Here is a thought for you. The shiners will spawn once per year and do that only if they survive from being eaten. Best bet for the shiners surviving is if they can hide in thick, dense cover. Bg in my part of Texas will spawn 5 times each year and produce a lot of fry for others to eat. Not sure how man times a bg will spawn in NC but I would think at least 3 times and maybe 4. And for the most part they cost very little when you are catching them for transfer verses purchasing the golden shiners that might not survive. Predators like catfish will eat bg. They will also feed the lmb.
I guess I underestimate the forage value that spawning bluegills provide. I guess that will be my fall/winter project... to catch and transfer as many adult BG that I can find and hope they spawn in the spring. Thank you for the insight
I also saw that Anderson Farms has their golden shiners on Amazon now and you can get them up to 4” which might already be big enough for them to spawn? I don’t know but I think it’s really cool and want to try it. Worst case scenario, my bigger fish will get some expensive snacks.
