rsmcgee

Thank you all for these tips, and thank you Al for the detailed and actionable instructions and location tips! I am looking into getting a minnow seine and will see how that method goes. Seems promising if I can find a fruitful spot. Thanks also for notes about expectations for these fish in a water garden. As for reproduction, I am actually hoping to maintain a small, managed population (at least for the first while) to keep the whole little ecosystem in balance, so limited breeding isn't a big worry for me as long as everyone's healthy.

Hello all, I have been developing a Missouri native garden at my home, including a relatively small stream and pond that I have built and established with plant life over the past year. The pond doesn’t have any fish yet, and I am looking to get started by introducing some members of a small Missouri species in the coming weeks. I am currently interested in getting red shiners / bleeding shiners / carmine shiners / or similar. These fish are meant to be ornamental residents in their own right, rather than stocked as forage fish for other species (large fish are unlikely to be introduced). It seems near impossible to acquire native species like these via retail, so I am considering taking a trip out to do some microfishing in hopes of collecting some individuals of this kind of shiner. I am not really a fisherman myself, and I don’t have equipment at the moment, so I am curious a) if it is possible to catch shiners by wading/floating with a hand net with suitable waters and patience, and b) what would be a recommended location/access point for doing so? Big Piney River seems to be one candidate from what I’ve found online, but I’m open to any reasonably accessible spot. (I live near St. Louis, but I am willing to drive throughout the state) Any advice you can offer is much appreciated!