Fish ID

[Bamboozle]

Why guess?

Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism Operations Office
512 SE 25th Ave., Pratt, KS 67124
(620) 672-5911

I am sure a biologist with the department would know for sure?

[Prairieschooner]

Good suggestion; I should have thought of it myself. Here's the reply I received this morning after sending them the pic...

Based on the photo, I believe that is a golden shiner. They are one of the larger shiners in Kansas and do offer a bit of a sport fishing opportunity as they can be caught on flies, jigs, insects and worms. Thanks for the photo,
--

David Breth
Fisheries Program Specialist

[appalachian angler]

Dace. Have caught them that size.

[garyj147]

Definitely a golden shiner. Being a retired fisheries biologist with TVA for 35.5 years, I've seen thousands of these fish throughout the U.S. They are a very popular baitfish and many folks release unused shiners from their bait buckets at the end of the day. Golden shiners get pretty large; the larger ones are used for bass fishing in Florida to catch monster Florida largemouths.

Gary J.

[Ed_D]

Gary,

First off, i's great to see you post again.

Secondly, about 40 years ago Field & Stream did an article on fishing for 10-12" golden shiners to use as bait for very big largemouth bass. Your comment brings that back. In fact, as I sit here staring at my screen, the cover photo and quite a bit of the article comes back to me. Thanks for that.

Regards,
Ed

[Uncle Jesse]

I remember a friend who grew up on the banks of the Pascagoula River, just about the Gulf, telling me that golden shiners were illegal down there and a local warden could hear one being dropped in the water a 1/2 mile away. I check the regulation and found nothing about the use of shiner in the Magnolia State back then. I know people will get very upset with you if you have a few left over and dump them in their lake or pond thinking the bass will have a good snack. A few always survive and create a problem later on.