
Feed your golden shiners a commercial fish food that contains small worms such as fly larvae or mealworms. Leave your shiners undisturbed and allow them to spawn. Keep a record of the size of shiners every 2 months.
What do you feed a shiner fish?
Keep a record of the amount of commercial food you feed the shiners. Feed your golden shiners a commercial fish food that contains small worms such as fly larvae or mealworms. Leave your shiners undisturbed and allow them to spawn.
What is the best food for a golden shiner?
A commercial fish food mimics the natural diet of the golden shiners and will allow your shiners to grow fast and thrive in their new habitat. Golden shiners are not caretakers of their offspring and within a few days after hatching, the fry start competing for food with adults.
What kind of bait do you put in a shiner tank?
Other bait nearby such as minnows, grass shrimp and insects. Golden shiners are omnivores, meaning they eat both plant life (filter-feeding) and small invertebrates such as fish and insects. This makes them particularly easy to ‘chum’ out into the open.
How many shiners can you put in a 5 gallon bucket?
Depending on the size of your shiners try and keep them to a ratio of 3 fish per gallon. For example, if you have a 5-gallon bucket this should adequately support 15 average-sized shiners. Keep them aerated!
What can you catch with shiners?
What fish eat shiners?
What are Shiners?
What fish are good for striped bass?
How big of a shiner to use as walleye bait?
How big do shiners get?
How to hook a shiner?
See more

What should I feed my shiners?
Juvenile and adult golden shiners feed primarily on zooplankton and aquatic insects, while the newly hatched fry (baby fish) are omnivorous. Golden shiners readily accept commercial fish feeds, and catfish feed is a close match to their dietary requirements.
How do you keep shiners alive in a bucket?
0:273:01Don's Tackle Tips- Keep your live minnows alive! - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipFirst. Off we keep our minnows at 52 to 58 degrees here at tapri Shack. You can help prolong theMoreFirst. Off we keep our minnows at 52 to 58 degrees here at tapri Shack. You can help prolong the life of your minnows. I haven't a simple ice pack to it cooler water holds more oxygen.
How long can shiners live in a bucket?
How long can Minnows survive without food? Wild-caught minnows can go weeks without food if kept in a clean and properly oxygenated tank. Commercial or store-bought minnows should be fed every 3-4 days.
How do you keep large shiners alive?
0:442:51How to make your own holding tank for wild shiners. - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipIt's just the galvanized bucket with some sulfur material in it that filter material typically comesMoreIt's just the galvanized bucket with some sulfur material in it that filter material typically comes in a roll. Just cut it to fit and put it in the bucket the water from the pond pump.
What do bait shops feed their minnows?
Minnows kept in captivity eat algae, phytoplankton and zooplankton from their tanks or ponds. They also eat commercial fish food, including minnow food, catfish food and tropical fish food. It is a good idea to supplement commercial food with dried bloodworms or brine shrimp.
How do you keep bait fish alive in a bucket?
4:025:20How to Keep Your FISHING Bait Alive 5x LONGER! - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipSo a simple remedy is to freeze water bottle and just drop it in your bucket. So what that does isMoreSo a simple remedy is to freeze water bottle and just drop it in your bucket. So what that does is is it prevents any type of water being displaced into the bucket.
Do minnows eat bread?
Tank/Aquarium Pet minnows are known to eat frozen shrimp, blood worms, bread crumbs, plants, brine shrimp, and vegetables. They like to eat food that dips into the tank rather than food that floats on top.
Can minnows eat goldfish food?
A great food choice for minnows in an aquarium is freeze dried blood worms. Another option is to simply feed your minnows tropical fish flakes or even goldfish flake food. Some minnows are pickier than others, choosing not to eat the flake food.
What is the blue stuff in minnow water?
#4 Guest_gerald_* The usual bait minnows sold in our area are golden shiners or fathead minnows - very easy to tell apart by body shape. The blue dye is most likley methylene blue to help fight infection.
Will shiners breed in a pond?
In ponds that draw down, golden shiners can spawn once and have lots of eggs each spring when water is highest.
Will shiners breed in a tank?
It spawns on riffles, or optionally on the nests of other minnows. You can breed them in a 20-gallon aquarium with current from powerheads. Feed them vegetable flakes supplemented with blackworms, brine shrimp and bloodworms. Use a plastic shoebox with gravel or pebbles as a spawning site.
Do shiners need light?
Whether you need lighting depends on how much light they are currently getting. Since they are in the basement, is it pitch black? If so, even a litle light will help them feed. (You will need to feed them).
How do you keep live bait alive overnight?
"The solution to keeping bait healthy during hot weather is to circulate oxygen and keep baitwell water cooler than the lake." Duckworth suggests freezing water inside a two-liter soft-drink bottle and placing it in the baitwell. Adding crushed ice to the tank is an option.
How long do shiners live in a fish tank?
Final Thoughts. Minnows live up to six years in the wild, and you can recreate their environment in your home. They are great fish for bait or pets. If you keep the minnows' water cool and clean, give them enough space, and don't overfeed them, you'll be able to have tamed tank minnows for several years.
Can shiners survive in warm water?
It can survive in temperatures of up to 97°F (36°C). Although the golden shiner is most commonly found in warm waters, it may sometimes make its home in cold temperatures, as long as there is a warm area for breeding in the vicinity.
How long do shiners live in a pond?
These are your "golden cows" and will often live to 7-9 years of age. Both golden shiners and fathead minnows should be stocked by May 1st in northern ponds, earlier in the South.
What do golden shiners eat?
Golden shiners are omnivores, meaning they eat both plant life (filter-feeding) and small invertebrates such as fish and insects. This makes them particularly easy to ‘chum’ out into the open.
How to attract shiners?
Once you find an area that looks promising, prepare the area by chumming it up with an inexpensive attractant. Almost any grainy, doughy, or bread-like food can work to attract shiners, such as:
What is the Difference Between Wild Shiners and Domestic Shiners?
Wild shiners , otherwise known as the Golden Shiner (Notemigonus crysoleucas) is a native baitfish in the minnow family that naturally occurs throughout the United States. These wild shiners are often caught by commercial fisherman and re-sold to bait shops as a premium baitfish for anglers.
How long does it take for a shiner to come out of the cover?
Once you chum the first area, go to the next one and chum it up. Do this a few times, and by the time your finished chumming it should be about 20-30 minutes to go back to the first area and start catching! This will give the shiners in the area to come out of the cover and feed in and around your attractant.
What bait to use for big bass?
Now go catch some wild shiners! Nice bass caught on wild shiner. Ask almost any bass fisherman and they will tell you nothing beats a large wild shiner as the best live bait to target big bass. But they are also a great bait for catching big catfish, walleye, muskie, pike, and stripers.
What is a domestic shiner?
Domestic shiners are farmed or pen-raised fish that are bred in mass production quantities and then shipped to bait shops all over the United States. Don’t get me wrong, domestic shiners can absolutely catch bass!
How to make a chum float in water?
You want the attractant to be the consistency of play-dough. To do this, simply add a bit of water and mix it together. Use your hands to mash it all up! This will make for a dense ball that will sink to the bottom. Otherwise, your chum will sit on the surface and simply float or drift away with the wind and current.
How to feed golden shiners?
Feed your golden shiners a commercial fish food that contains small worms such as fly larvae or mealworms. Leave your shiners undisturbed and allow them to spawn. Keep a record of the size of shiners every 2 months. Scoop up shiners with 6-foot nylon net. Measure the length of the shiner from head to tail.
How to keep golden shiners healthy?
Golden shiners are a resilient species of fish but are easily susceptible to diseases and parasites. Invest in chemicals to fight disease and monitor your shiners for illness. A bubble aerator will circulate water in a pond and keep entire sections cool . Water that is too warm can make shiners susceptible to illness.
How many golden shiners can you have in a 1 acre pond?
A 1-acre pond would support up to 5,000 golden shiners and allow for spawning. Remove predator game fish such as bass, crappie, catfish or other aggressive fish. Place a bubble aerator in the pond to help supply oxygen. Keep the pond at a constant 70 to 80 degrees to maximize egg laying.
What is the best cover for golden shiners?
Scatter larger rocks and natural cover throughout the pond to enable shiners to hide from predators. Natural cover can be driftwood, large rocks and aquatic plants that occur in the natural habitat of the golden shiner.
How to make a shiner pond?
Add clean gravel to the pond. Create future spawning beds for the shiners by walking several feet into the pond and s cattering clean gravel into the water. Use gravel no more than 1-inch in diameter. Smooth the gravel to create an even base on the bottom of the pond.
What is a golden shiner fish?
Golden shiners are a resilient species of fish but are easily susceptible to diseases and parasites. Invest in chemicals to fight disease and monitor your shiners for illness.
Where do golden shiners spawn?
Make sure to place plenty of plants in your pond. Golden shiners will hide and spawn among the thick vegetation and grassy areas.
What can you add to water to keep minnows slime?
Another thing that you can do is add commercial additives to the water. While this step is completely optional and not needed, for some anglers, it makes a big difference in lowering the mortality rate. There are many different products that you can add to the water. A few examples include chemicals that remove chlorine from tap water, conditioner, antifungal, and antibacterial agents, electrolyte boosts, and stress-reducing mixes that increase the minnows slime coat.
What to do if minnows die on you?
1. Obtain Your Minnows At The Right Time. The very first thing you want to do is to make sure that you purchase or catch your minnows at the right time.
Can you put fish in a plastic bag?
If you lack a proper container, they usually give you a plastic baggy instead. While they usually do pump oxygen inside the bag with a plastic tube before they give it to you, keeping any fish inside of a plastic bag is a bad idea, even for the short term. First of all, plastic bags are sealed.
What bait do you use for fishing?
One of the best fishing baits to use is live minnows, as fish are drawn to the movement of live bait. However, they can be a little more difficult to use, as minnows need to be kept alive long enough to be used as bait and this requires some know-how. Before you get to the lake on your next fishing trip, stock up on the equipment ...
Where to store bait container?
Store the container in a dark, cool spot. For example, you can store your bait container in a closet or a basement. Minnows are delicate and thrive better in cooler water. The water will warm up too quickly if you keep the cooler in a bright area.
How to get minnows to adjust to water?
1. Add some of your water to the water the minnows are held in. Gently pour some of the lake, creek, or distilled water you are using into the plastic bag the min nows came in. This will give them the ability to adjust to the water, and its temperature, gradually. ...
Where to put minnows?
Get a container to put the minnow in. Many people keep minnows in a foam camping cool er or some other disposable, insulated container. However, there are containers that you can buy that are made specifically to keep minnow in.
What are special features of a container?
Specialty containers can come with a variety of special features, such as the ability to float the container in a body of water and aerator attachments. ...
What baitfish can you use with carp?
Minnows squirm on the hook and look like they’re swimming naturally, which is all you need to fool a bigger fish. Fathead and bluntnose minnows are some of the most commonly used baitfish, but you can also fish with carp, shiners, and stone roller minnows.
What do minnows eat?
Here are some of the things that minnows tend to eat: 1 Algae from the tank 2 Commercial fish food 3 Swatted flies (not sprayed or poisoned) 4 Insects 5 Phytoplankton 6 Fish eggs 7 Dried worms 8 Brine shrimp 9 Bread 10 Oatmeal flakes
What happens if minnows overeat fish?
If a minnow overeats food (and with commercial fish food, they tend not to stop eating until it’s gone), they will get sluggish and not survive.
How To Keep Minnows Alive in a Fish Tank?
Minnows are small, peaceful fish that usually live in a stream or pond. They are native to almost every area of the world where there’s freshwater.
What can you catch with shiners?
What can you catch with shiners as bait? In states and waterways where it is illegal, you can catch catfish, crappie, yellow perch, largemouth bass, striped bass, walleye, and pike using shiners as bait . There are a number of ways to fish with shiners for each of these species which will be explained.
What fish eat shiners?
Just about anything that swims eats shiners. Walleye, catfish, bullheads, pike, chain pickerel, bass, striped bass, yellow perch, crappie, and trout will readily eat shiners if they are present. As such, shiners are an excellent live or dead bait option if legal in your state or local waterway. In this article, I will present as much information as ...
What are Shiners?
Shiners refer to a whole range of small baitfish with shiny or “silver-ish” coloration along their sides. Shiners are commonly found in large quantities in many eastern lakes and rivers. They are also stocked heavily through much of the continent as prime forage for large game fish as well as mosquito-control.
What fish are good for striped bass?
Striped bass are often hybridized with white bass to produce what is referred to as “wipers”. To fish for striped bass or wipers with shiners, any sized shiner will do but for truly large stripers, go with golden shiners greater than 6 inches. 4. Walleye. Walleye are a prime predator of shiners.
How big of a shiner to use as walleye bait?
A great size range of shiner for use as walleye bait is between 3-5 inches. Walleye usually won’t mess with any bait much larger than 5 inches.
How big do shiners get?
Feeding on insect larvae and zooplankton, shiners are commonly less than 3 inches in length with some golden shiners reaching up to 10 inches in length. Because of their small size, abundance, and protein-content, shiners are a key food source for many gamefish.
How to hook a shiner?
For shiners in the 8-10” range, go with a 5/0 or 6/0 hook. There are 3 ways to hook the shiner. Through just the lower lip for the healthiest baitfish but most challenging to cast with. You could hook through both the top and bottom lip which is better for casting but a little worse for the health of the baitfish.
