I have been learning about Shiners. Any experience out there?

[Jerry]

They are an attractive fish and come in a few colors.  A very popular bait fish, also very hardy.
Will eat just about any insect or fish food.
Any experiences?

[mascot]

I had one when I was a kid.  Never saw the punch coming!

oh, wait.

you don't mean THAT kind of shiner, do you?

never mind.  I should read more than just the subject, huh?

[Julles]

I'm quite fond of Shiner beers, made about 90 minutes due east of Houston, at the Spoetzel Brewery in Shiner, Texas.  Yes, it's German territory over there! 

Their bock came out, maybe 15 years ago, and took the land by storm.  Their other brews are all quite good, too.  Be sure you try one when you're in our state.

http://www.shiner.com/

Oh... you were talking about FISH?   

[Jerry]

When i googled it i got beer too!

[PondmaninAL]

Jerry, the ones that I had in my pond in Citrus Springs, FL, I think they were Golden Shiners, ate pond flakes. They would "eat on the run". They were fun to watch. The house my parents lived in just before I moved out on my own had a small creek up in the woods that went dry down in front of the house sometimes in the Summer. There were shiners in that creek. They were to fast to catch with a net.

What else would you like to know, Jerry?

[OldMarine]

Hi Jerry,

It seems most everyone has a shiner story to tell. I've even had my share of shiners. All kidding aside, up until about fifteen years ago Shiners could be purchased in bait shops as bait fish in the bay area of S.F. I had a dozen of them in an aqaurium and several dozen of them out in the patio fishpond that came with the rental. Even here in the state of Washington, Shiners are not sold anymore as bait fish. It has something to do with Fish and Wildlife wanting more control what fish are let lose in what lakes and streams.

The shiners I had got up to three inches long and were quite hardy and adaptable to all kinds of weather and water conditions. The bigger they became, the more color (slight rainbow) they would display.

Happy ponding,

Rich 

[OldMarine]

Jerry,

I found something you might want to look into,........ http://www.andersonminnows.com/fish_farm_species.htm

Happy ponding,

Rich 

[Jerry]

Rich I did find that one via google, but since then I have located 2 "local" sources,  Both 90 miles away.  One would ship, but the freight is costly.  The other choice is to drive to bakersfield!
I used to have business there and went often.
The varities I reserached can grow to 10 inches.
Apparantly L A County does not allow sales here.

Thanks again.  if i get them i will sure post pictures etc.

Golden Shiner
 The golden shiner can be found throughout most of the Midwest. Much like the fathead minnow, the golden shiner exhibits abundant reproduction. Unfortunately this species is slightly less tolerant of extreme environmental conditions. These fish can be found in large schools around submerged structures where they primarily feed on zooplankton.

The golden shiner spawns several times throughout spring and summer. Spawning can be aided with the use of structures such as sunken evergreens or stacked pallets. The abundant reproduction of this fish makes it an excellent choice for stock-ing where predatory species are present. These fish are slightly larger than fathead minnows and are preferred by large predators.

[turtlemike]

  I love shiners.  They are beautiful and they will tame down although they remain fast.  They can be netted but you have to train them to go into the net with food. I catch them repeatedly with a butterfly net and hold them in my hand and release them. As soon as the net is back in the water they swim right back in.  They will do anything for food despite any fear.  I feed them small dia fish food from the Southern States feed store.
  Turtles can not bother them, except they might eat their eggs.  Mine grow to one quarter pound. About 10 in long.
 There are millions of them in my ponds and they swim in front of my mask while I do underwater work.   It's like snorkeling in a coral reef with fish everywhere.  Like swimming in an aquarium.

[Julles]

Mike!  You just solved my problem!  I want to cull two or three koi out of the pond, and simply cannot catch them.  They are afraid of the net, because when they feed, I jam it down fast into the water trying to catch them, but of course never do. And when I leave the net in the water, to try to get them used to it, they just stay away.

Now I understand that I can train them to come INTO the net, by using food.  I'm going to work on that.  I have a lady who wants to take my culls, as soon as I manage to catch them.

[turtlemike]

  Cool Julles.  I use a butterfly net that is deeper than it is wide.  About 1 ft wide by 1 and one half deep.
 I put a small amount of food in the net and submerge it while moving it forward slowly, just enough to keep the net open so the fish can see the food in the bottom of the net.  They will swim around the back of the net trying to get the food from the safe side of the net.  at the end of a sweep of the net I have a school of fish following behind the net and I turn the net around so that the fish are suddenly facing the food from the concave side of the net.
 Fish aren't stupid and they know what you are up to,  and that the concave side is the side that can get them.
 What I do at this point is I pause the forward motion of my just begun,  return sweep,  just as the net is about full of water. what you end up with is a school of frustrated hungry fish that are suddenly facing the open net full of food right in front of their faces and the net is not threateningly moving toward them.  If they don't start making moves for the food I slowly back up the net at the pause point of the next stroke. Then they have food available outside of the entrance of the net.  They will almost certainly make a grab for the food and a feeding frenzy will start. Slowly move the net toward the food and recapture it . The fish will run but that's what you expect.  Just repeat this process with each pass and soon you will have fish entering the open net to get the food even though the net is moving toward them. Let them have some food like this and soon the net will be full of fish that are totally oblivious of the net and you can just lift them out.
  I gently lift them out and just slowly return the net to the water and they just resume eating as if there was no trauma at all. Just part of the process of getting food. They don't even try to leave the net that just lifted them from the water.  Eventually they don't flop in the net they just wait for me to return them to the water, no panic.

  Now you know how to train fish to let you catch them.

[Kittyzee]

Fascinating, Mike!

[Julles]

I'm glad you explained that in detail, because I was going to just go out there with a net full of food and expect them to swim in! 

[Jerry]

I once needed to get rid of a koi, nothing worked.  I used a barbless hook with a cherrio on it, bingo.
he was moved to another pond

[turtlemike]

  Yes Julles I figured that's what would happen so I posted more detail on the subject for you.

[Julles]

A barbless hook?  You mean, like a regular fish hook that goes into the roof of the mouth, but you can pull it out easily, and it doesn't hurt the fish??

[Jerry]

Yes a reg hook.  Either pinch the barb down with pliers or cut it off with a hack saw.
The fish is fine and happily in a members pond 20 miles away.
The bugger was wrecking my plants.
Need any hooks? id be glad to send.