Golden Shiners

[{RPF}Rapala Pike Fisherman]

Can you catch golden shiners on a rod and reel( + line, hook/lure + bait )? I was wondering because last summer in Michigan we caught two strange looking golden fish on minnows, and was wondering if those were golden shiners.

[bigredonice]

Yep.  Guys around here do it to sell 'em or use for pike bait...I've caught a few myself in a few different locations...the shiners were all in shallow water.

[gair-z]

I got a nice 5"er on a tipup last year..  told Dad..  "Got bait!" 

[{RPF}Rapala Pike Fisherman]

Ok, next time i catch one, it'll become bait

[camo_fish]

I've caught a few big goldens on pin minnows on the open water before.
I also caught a sucker last year on a tipup with a fathead, this suckers ways about 12" long too, and I let her go.  

[Chucker]

I've caught a few big goldens on pin minnows on the open water before.
I also caught a sucker last year on a tipup with a fathead, this suckers ways about 12" long too, and I let her go. 

Shame on you, camo!  Pike or tiger bait!

[NickP]

During the summer you can site fish with a tiny 1/4in piece of grub on an smelt hook or with a fly pole.  Theres bigun's in your local hole- my PB is 14.5in last summer- they dont taste bad either. pretty finicky to the bite- they make 5 or 6 passes before the bite.

[Jangus]

We caught a few big ones on jigs with mousies last year.  Some were probably close to 12".

[Pasquatch]

I'm sure some of you guys have seen my pics on MFF of a couple big boys that I got on worms in the summer. Yes, you can catch them, and yes, they do make good bait.

[iceman_4432]

Absolutely can .. i used to do it all the time.  Would go out and catch a whole bunch of them and then keep them in a 50 gallon fish tank in my friends basement. 

Catching them was fun in itself !!!!!

Can you catch golden shiners on a rod and reel( + line, hook/lure + bait )? I was wondering because last summer in Michigan we caught two strange looking golden fish on minnows, and was wondering if those were golden shiners.

[TheBigPickerel]

i catch them using small size 18-26 tremble hooks,  on a dropper line about 3 inches from a smelt jig, or other heavy jig.   also lightweight, very sensitive line is key.   for bait, i experiment with any small chunck of meat or bread.

[pikemaster789]

they can be caught on small hooks and small baits. If you find one your in a school and thier should be a lot more. Ive caught a few 10" ers

[Chris Raymond]

Shiners (regular and goldens), chubs, small suckers, etc. I caught them all when I was a kid.  My grandfather owned a bait shop in his retirement.  I couldn't believe I was getting paid for the fun I was having catching, trapping and seining minnows and picking night crawlers at night.  Stacked up a good bit of coin for college doing this during junior and senior high school. 

[BillP]

i catch em all the time on my fly rod.. i tryed em for lakers with no luck!

[yooperdave]

they are excellent bait for pike and walleye.