Unknown bait fish on Truman

[Buffalo Water]

Was out on Truman Sunday evening and saw about a 3" minnow type baitfish swirling near the timber usually two fish at a time. The baitfish was dark grey with dark pink belly and tail. Looked like they were spawning around the trees. Had not seen this before and had not seen these colors on baitfish. Have any idea what they were?

[MOfishmgr]

Could be red shiners. They are fairly common in Smithville but I don't know about Truman.

[Buffalo Water]

That makes sense! Looked at a pic online and their more orange colored but the water coulda made em come off red. Do u know if they are a good forage source for crappie?
Thanks for the info!

[MBaylessTrumanMgr]

You guys are right. Those are red shiners. They do make up a limited forage on Truman. The ones you saw were adults and about as large as they get. With the high water this year, I think they spawned in pretty large number in areas. We were out fishing the shore near Clinton and saw thousands of small red shiners. I'd not seen them in these numbers before. They are a really pretty fish in breeding color. I've always thought they would make great crappie bait. I've seined them in pretty good numbers from Deepwater Creek near Ladue.

[Buffalo Water]

Thanks for the info. Been around Truman for years and had never seen so many. Thanks for the info.