Bait Profile - Emerald Shiner

If you’ve ever gone fishing with “perch minnows” you’ve probably handled an emerald shiner before. Abundant, shiny, and just the right size they make great bait for perch and other predators. I’ve used emerald shiners to catch just about anything through the ice. Perch, crappie, walleye, pike, lake trout, burbot, white perch, and who knows what else. It is proof that just about anything will eat an emerald if given the chance.

I’ve seen them up to 4 inches in length but usually when you find them they are 1.5 to 3 inches. When you get them at the bait shop it will depend on what year class they have as far as predominant size. They can be found all across the state and in the Great Lakes.

Emeralds really like to school. If you find large concentrations of slender silvery fish this is often what they are and they can be a major attractor of largemouth and smallmouth. I’ve been on some great topwater bites where fish had emeralds pushed up to the surface and were actively feeding on them.