Today I talked to a crappie fisherman on a local small lake who told me last year he caught an 11 inch golden shiner in the lake.

 

I had no idea they were in WV let alone that lake or grew to that size outside fl.  Ive never seen one and I feel like I would/should have considering how often ive fished there.

 

My question is, do most eastern small public lakes have golden shiners and is there a way to tell/spot/find them?

I dont know about the distribution for other states but a majority of water bodies have them in Florida.

If I wanted to catch them anywhere though I would find a spot convenient for you and chum it daily with bread until fish begin to hold there .With experience,you can tell its shiners by the way they dimple the water when they are present.

Check on cast net laws for your state.In florida,you can catch them with a net unless that specific waterbody doesnt allow it.All sport fish must be released if caught n a net.

If netting isnt an option,you can catch them with light line,a tiny hook,and a tiny bread ball.  I dont use a weight or cork.Just watch the line for movement.

If theres no shiners at least you will catch some bream,which are almost as good for bait as shiners.Again,check the laws for fishing with bream in your area.

When I was a teen,we often caught 12 inch shiners in the home lake.Caught a couple over 13 inch!!!

Our lake record bass of 13 1/2 pounds was caught on a 12 inch shiner!

my lake in northeastern pa has ones bigger than 12"

We've caught some in South Ga that were well over 12 inches.

We have them some places in SC, but not most places. They're in one small lake I fish and the bass get over 10 lbs in it. I've caught one about 8" in a small Rapala minnow. The bass at this place love metallic gold color Rat L Traps and sometimes spinnerbaits.

What kind of areas do large shiners hang out?  Do they school up in shallows especially to spawn?  This lake use to hold state record and having a specific technique and forage to imitate could give me a foot up on catching a DD bass.

They've been caught out of salt lick creek in central WV

Golden shiners like to eat all sorts of stuff like zooplankton, algae, fish eggs, fry, and insects. They spawn in the spring-early summer by attaching their eggs to shoreline cover. Large females eventually develop an ovarian parasite that prevents them from reproducing after 3-4 spawning seasons. Fully grown adults average between 8-11 inches in length. Throughout the summer they will roam around through open water and in the shallows searching for food. In fall they will slow down and stage deeper. They are resilient fish and can withstand many conditions and temperatures. For a good imitation consider a Zoom Super Fluke in Sun Gill, Arkansas Shiner, or Golden Bream. Also check out the Magnum fluke to imitate larger shiners for bigger bass. 

Used to fish with shiners decades ago. 12 inchers don't get too many takers but when it happens you will know if your heart is in good shape.

The shiners in my lake hide in the eel grass for the most part.If they don't,they get EATEN.The lake used to be chock full of them.All sizes.I wish It could be that way again.T he population fluctuates widely.Right now there is a low population of them,but they will increase in the summer because the weeds increase so they can hide better.

I have caught a 2 pound bass on an 11 inch shiner more than once.Its amazing what a bass can eat.

I have thought that the super flukes mentioned above would do exceptional but for me they haven't been that good.I did catch the winning fish on a golden bream fluke in a small tournament we had out here.Gonna try them again though.I t seems like bass would annial ate them.