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I no longer use live bait but might go back if I start guiding using a spider rig one day. I pefer to use jigs on a jig pole around brushpiles. Question is anyone out there using Goldfish instead of Shiners? They sure are tougher and easier to handle. Been told Crappie bite them just fine.
Don't think it's legal here, provided by myfwc.com
Use of Fish for Bait
- Black bass, peacock bass or any part thereof may not be used as bait.
- Live non-native fishes (including goldfish and carp) may not be used as bait, except for variable platys and fathead minnows.
- Whole pickerel or panfish (e.g., bluegill, redear sunfish, redbreast sunfish, spotted sunfish, flier, warmouth) or parts thereof may be used as bait for sportfishing by the angler who caught them. Whole pickerel or bream or parts thereof may not be used as bait for trotlines or bush hooks or any method other than by rod and reel or pole and line.
- Panfish less than 4 inches in total length raised by a licensed aquaculture facility may be purchased and used for bait.
I thought that goldfish as baitfish were illegal in every state by now. The damage species like carp and goldfish have done to ponds and lakes over the past decades made them a prime target for bait restriction laws. Best to check your state regs on that one.
Legal here.Quote:
Originally Posted by inkminers
Interesting. Are they already found in warm waters throughout the state? Are they commonly sold as bait there?
Goldfish used alot for Catfish , not so common for Crappie.
Here in NC we have a place that sells ruby red minnows. Same color as goldfish but minnows. A lot hardier than your normal minnow. Same price $3.00 for 3 dozen.
They call em pink minnows here..Quote:
Originally Posted by lrrygrg
http://wdfw.wa.gov/ais/pimephales_promelas/
I like to use goldfish on limb lines set for catfish.Goldfish live alot longer than shinners on a hook.Saline Lake Outpost sells them for $10 lb,located near Winnfield Louisiana.Rosy Reds are actually fathead minnows, but due to a genetic mutation they are a light "rosy" color,and are better suited for crappie,IMO.
They are more expensive than they are worth. Not that they wont' catch fish, but no more than a shiner, or rosey red at half the price.
Legal here. I only use goldfish on trot lines and limb lines because of the size. I'll get some almost 6 inches long at the bait shop for targeting big flathead. Never thought of trying the smaller ones for crappie
Actually, many fish "see" orange deeper than red, plus there is the UV (ultra violet) flashes off their scales that help them stand out like a mouse turd in a bowl full of sugar, all but screaming "EAT ME !" Imagine being a prey fish wearing a lit up flashing neon sign that says "FOOD HERE !"...
in Arkansas goldfish are legal the last time I checked I have a friend the uses YO-YO's with them and does pretty good he uses what he can get from Goldfish, Pinkies, or just regular shiners!
I get my camera to take pix of nimble the day he spider rigs lol
Out west here on AZ/CAs Colorado river only goldfish are legal for bait ,,, been using them for flathead catfish when gills are hard to come by, the 48-LBer in my avatar was caught on a 2'' goldie,,, some locals fishing forcrappie out on the marsh were using them this past winter were filling the their stringers with them,, buy minnow size feeders from petsmart for 13 cents ea, shiners are $6 a doz.
as a newbe was going to ask the same ??? but this thread saved me the trouble:biggrin
i heard feather tail jigs work great
Goldfish and carp are not legal bait here in Minnesota, neither live nor cut. All sunfish are considered gamefish up here and not legal either nor are yellow perch, also game fish. Golden shiners are like $6 a half dozen around here, if you can find them at all, since VHS in Wisconsin, but the small ones have worked very well for crappies for us back when we were still using live bait. We use jigs and plastic tails exclusively for crappies now. The bait for flatheads up here most preferred are bullheads which under a particular size are legal bait. Most flathead hunters catch their own, which is no real problem since they are found all over the place. (Your bullheads for bait count toward your possession limit which is 100. Most of them are caught on hook and line, since cast nets are also illegal up here, and the only bait shop that used to stock them closed a couple of years back.) Rosy Reds are a color variety of the common fathead minnow. They are neither more or less hardy than the common fathead. If you have a source that provides those that survive better than normal, you have a quality bait shop and they deserve the credit. They are as often available in the pet shops as feeders as are goldfish, but generally in very small sizes. Also be careful not to include the gambusia that often come along from the feeder ponds. IIRC they are illegal to transport in a lot of areas, being extremely invasive and very hard on local minnow populations - mean little ba**ards. Gambusia do not survive this far north though; so they do not generally show up in what little bait they allow to be imported into Minnesota any more, and are not legal when they do. Also check you local laws about who can vend bait. Pet shops may not be a legal outlet for fishing bait in a number of states.
I believe that it would be cost prohibitive to fish with them. I loved to use them on trotlines but they got too expensive so I started catching rice slicks.
I do the same thing. Have to go to Paragould to get gold fish. Now I get a tube of crickets and take My son with me to catch small bream and slicks. He enjoys it.Quote:
Originally Posted by mdperson
have you tried goldfish yet? if so how did they work?Quote:
Originally Posted by NIMROD
Crappie bite a lot of things just fine... for one fisherman and not another. :)
Back when we still could get good golden shiners up here that were not too big, I have had very good luck on crappies with the most heavily colored ones. They seemed to draw bigger crappies too than the regular crappie minnows. I would think you would be advised to take the goldest goldfish you can find, if you can legally use them, perhaps in the smaller sizes.
Even pond goldfish offer one advantage in that they normally have longer finnage than other baitfish which can be trimmed to inhibit too easy flight by those that are too active on the hook. Sometimes crappies won't chase enough for those that swim too easily, but will take those that struggle but don't make good headway in the process. A little careful trimming normally doesn't reduce life expectancy of minnows that are handled and hooked carefully.
Some cases cheaper than Shiners.Quote:
Originally Posted by mdperson
i use them for catfishing,normally i just use bream instead of goldfish.they goldfish are to expensive for me
x2!Quote:
Originally Posted by arkansasbowhunter