02-02-2020, 01:06 PM
[#0000ff]Back in the 1980s...well before Willard Bay got gizzard shad...DWR tried several potential forage species. One of them was emerald shiners. But, like most of the other experimental introductions, that species did not "take". However, two of the trial species...log perch and spottail shiners...managed to establish small populations in isolated spots.
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[#0000ff]The spottail shiners have shown up with greater frequency in the past few years...mostly inside the protected harbors. Anglers have been accidentally snagging them with lures...and ice anglers have caught a few on small ice jigs. I have caught quite a few while tossing a cast net for baby carp...for bait. The shiners are legal to use for bait but I have not done as well with them as I do with chubs or baby carp. Here's a pic of a few I kept for bait last year.
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[inline "SPOTTAIL SHINERS.JPG"]
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[#0000ff]The spottail shiners have shown up with greater frequency in the past few years...mostly inside the protected harbors. Anglers have been accidentally snagging them with lures...and ice anglers have caught a few on small ice jigs. I have caught quite a few while tossing a cast net for baby carp...for bait. The shiners are legal to use for bait but I have not done as well with them as I do with chubs or baby carp. Here's a pic of a few I kept for bait last year.
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[inline "SPOTTAIL SHINERS.JPG"]
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