pure Ignorance

Think they are. If they were native to L. Ontario they had to be native to L.Erie. But I could be wrong. http://www.epa.gov/greatlakes/rptcong/2001/body41-50.pdf

They are native. They are hard to find out in the lake because PA stocks so many steelhead that the emerald shiner population suffers.

Don't forget the smallmouth , white bass , & burp its  / GULABLE warming.

    Theres plenty of forage out in that lake I can't speak for everyone but I mark suspended baitfish from 40ft on out to 70ftow like a black cloud on most days on the lake. Lake Erie is the most fertile of all the great lakes due to it's drainage. Water from the time it enters the lake takes only a year to reach Niagra falls where as the retention time for a lake such as Superior is well over a hundred years mostly due to depth Source"Lake Erie Walleye" by: Mark Hicks 1992. Good flow = more food to support the fishery.

ORIGINAL: Finster

Here is some ignorance for you. Emerald shiners, I know the local bait shops were trying to net them this summer in the lake. I’m just curious, are these shiners native to the lake or are they old bait that survived, reproduced and are now an established. Don’t mean to ask a stupid question but I’ve been wondering.

 
 
I might be a little lost but whats the ignorance in this? are mad that the bait shops are having trouble keeping them stocked or something? I understand that in the summer its top bait for perch. But right now its not a big deal that the bait shops are out of them. LEARN TO FISH WITH OTHER BAITS .
 
I know there are a million ways to tie an Emerald Shiner fly. muskie meat ties a fly called the meat special and it mimics a emerald shiner. I got a pattern off the internet thats done well for me also.
 
Also its not because of the steelhead, perch, and waleye and other fish that eat them its because the dieases that brining in other bait fish that causes the lack of bait shops carrying emerald shiners like they used to.