Giant golden shiner?
- Thread starter fishmastermike
- Start date
Just looked them up and they really are almost identical. Only thing that really stands out is the red fins.
Golden shiners can have red fins as well.
because he just caught it, was using 1 hand for size and the other to take the photo
Case solved, My dear Watson.
BrookKeeper is right on. You should never let a fish lay in dirt or sand. For the same reason you should never pick up a fish with a rag or a paper towel.
Shiners in particular are very delicate. Their scales will come off in your hand if you handle them roughly or for more than a few seconds. Shiners require extremely fast and delicate handling if they are to survive capture.
PS: rudd also crossed my mind too. They have made it to this side of the pond via reckless introductions. The snout looks just a bit blunter on the rudd than the shiner, though. I believe this is just a big, probably old, golden shiner. Probably a female, based on how round her belly is.