When do Shiners usually come back in to marinas? (Fishing with Kids)

[Pineapple Express]

When I was a kid we used to go fishing for shiners every weekend when the family was around the water. I've been out with my own kid a few times this winter and couldn't find any shiners! I googled and it seems that over winter they go deeper or further offshore, but nothing I've found indicates when they come back to shallow water.

I want to get out of the house with the kiddo and catch some shiners...anybody know when they're back in around marinas and floats?

Also, what's your favourite shiner bait? I remember the best of all was the little black heart from a mussel pulled off the edge of the float, crushed by your foot, and pried out with your thumbnail. Next best was individual kernels of yellow corn. I've also seen people use herring jigs but that seems like a distant third-best.

 

[adanac]

Usually right around now the larger striped perch move into allot of the marinas and docks in Burrard inlet . I used to fish them all the time at reed point marina, small shore crabs are the money bait as the shiners can’t suck them off. The shiners usually aren’t far behind them . I believe both species spawn in the early spring in shallow .

 

[Pineapple Express]

Thanks @adanac !

How do you rig up the little crabs? With a bait loop hook like fishing roe in the river? Right on the hook?

 

[Gong Show]

We found a few schools in Cortes Bay last weekend.
Pretty small, kids could not entice them with the sabuki rigs. Still had lots of fun!

 

[Drink]

Raised at Bedwell Bay and as a youngster enjoyed spending most days dock fishing for shiners and sea bass. Shore crabs as mentioned were our bait of choice and mussels were a last resort. A stick, a weight of some sort and some mono were all we needed. Drive the hook right thru the crab and let her go. Even as a kid we knew that high tide gave us our best results as the shiners returned to the dock pilings. No idea why then.
What's interesting though years later in the spring we fished exclusively Tungstall, Roger Curtis to Cowen's Point and what kinda of surprised me the number of Chinook that were stuffed with shiners.

 

[adanac]

Thanks @adanac !

How do you rig up the little crabs? With a bait loop hook like fishing roe in the river? Right on the hook?

small octopus hook through the corner of the carapace, make sure you get only medium to small sized crabs . Also I usually don’t use any weight , a natural drift down is best for big perch. I fill my live well with these for ling , the ones 6 - 7 inches are money live bait, you can get them up to 12 - 14 inches , great fighters .

 

[tubber]

Sometimes the fanged seaworms are hiding under a clump of mussels. A tiny piece works well for the small shiners.

 

[CBsqrd]

Sometimes the fanged seaworms are hiding under a clump of mussels. A tiny piece works well for the small shiners.

This. Break off some mussels and you can usually find some. Like crack for shiners. A small piece of bacon fat works as well.

Word of advice when fishing for shiners with kids: teach them to lay their rod down parallel and right up against the dock railing when they put the rod down to bait their hook. Rods left on the dock with kids excited and running around create the perfect tripping hazard - and the end result if they trip over a rod while someone is baiting a hook can be very painful!

Fortunately (for me) I was the tripper and not the baiter...

 

[Dogbreath]

Powerbait works well if you have some hanging around old stuff/new stuff is fine I wouldn't go out of my way to buy a jar though lots of other things-like Bacon-work as well.

 

[paguy]

Over here as kids we had great success with pile worms.

 

[Pineapple Express]

Sounds good everybody, thank you for the suggestions!

 

[spring time]

We just used flour and water make a dough

 

[Rain City]

We just used flour and water make a dough

Way back when before C19 there were huge factories that mixed flour and water and even baked it into loafs for human consumption. Those were the days.

 

[Redfisher]

A single shiny treble hook with a small wight 6” above works very well particularly on sunny days. You attract the shiners with a few jigs. When they start coming towards hook you drop it down about a foot. As they start swimming down, you jig up.

I used to catch hundreds a day at French Creek this way. It was faster than the crabs, mussels, bacon and wieners as you were always fishing. Takes a bit to get the jigging technique down but once you have it you are golden.

PS. Same technique with Sabuki jigs for herring during the spawn.

 

[Cuba Libre]

As a kid a commercial cod fishermen used to pay us kids $.50 a dozen for live shiners. It was big money back then .....

 

[Scavenger]

I think the mussels and worms are the problem, all the docks are clean of them now. No food no fish.

 

[BigHog]

Back in the day used to spend summers in Sechelt. Mom would drop me off at Davis Bay pier after breakfast and pick me up before dinner. Pile worms off of the pier were the ticket for sure. Nasty little animals if the fangs get ya - well at least as a 10 year old!

 

[trophywife]

just go to the bottom and catch sculps. still kid fun.

 

[Pineapple Express]

Was out yesterday afternoon in Eagle Harbour. Kiddo had lots of fun, but no shiners were seen or caught. We'll try again in a few weeks

 

[KCW]

We also used garden worms with success , Daughter caught a nice Sea-run cutthroat fishing for shiners