Golden shiner

Notemigonus crysoleucas

Golden shiner. Photo:Duane Raver, USFWS

This is one of many species of minnows (cyprinids). This species is more adapted to lakes than rivers, preferring clear, weedy, shallow waters. Shiners are commonly abundant, often moving about in schools, feeding on zooplankton, benthic invertebrates, and even some algae. Golden shiners, in turn, often serve as a major prey item for species such as northern pike, walleye, smallmouth bass, and various trout species. This species, like many of the other cyprinid species, is commonly sold and used as a bait fish in Canada. At the end of a day of fishing, bait fish are often innocently dumped into the lake. By dumping baitfish into lakes, baitfish species can establish populations in lakes which previously lacked these species. These introduced species can substantially change the native ecosystem.