Time for Indiana to get out of the dark ages..............

[icingonspice]

Great article might want to read before you think keeping 100-200 bluegill is a good thing..

http://www.outdoornews.com/2016/01/04/research-reverses-thoughts-on-overharvest-of-bluegills/

[uncle Jobey]

Very good article. Thanks for posting!

[spencerville]

I've read many article over the years on pan fish. More studies show ice season to be the biggest by far harvest in almost every lake. I use to be against the spring bed fisherman but with a few articles I've read the fish you see bedding are a very small percentage of overall bedding fish at depths or areas that can not be seen.....

[icingonspice]

More benefits of global warming!!!!!!!!

[taxi1]

Mods can you merge this with the other thread on the same subject?

[crappiekilr]

Mods can you merge this with the other thread on the same subject?

x2

[Piggyn]

I wouldn't mind if they closed bluegill fishing during the spawn or at least had a small limit.  That's when all of the biggest males in the lake are the most concentrated, easily found, and easily caught.  Then make the limit 25 for the rest of the year.

[Pikeassassin]

A 25 limit on gills wouldn’t help. Most lakes with small gills are because of over population. The lakes that have big gills are not over populated. That’s why many lake associations have thrown walleye in, because bluegills are overpopulated. Lake I’ve fished, they couldn’t even find an 8inch gill in their surveys since the 60s. After a few years of walleyes the gills are huge. It only takes one gill to populate an entire lake. 25 wouldn’t change anything in Indiana. We have different lakes than Michigan and Minnesota. If anything should be done, they should have a closed season the first two weeks of June.

[Pikeassassin]

Thinking a few guys catching a 100 gills on one spot on a lake seams pretty flawed. As if all the fish are in one spot in a lake 🤨

[markum]

Thinking a few guys catching a 100 gills on one spot on a lake seams pretty flawed. As if all the fish are in one spot in a lake 🤨

True statement! 90%of the fish are in 10% of the water. So yes those 100 gills are now gone!

[taxi1]

Not when they are on the beds guys! Even my dog can catch 100 off the beds!

[wallydiven]

I might keep 5 fish a year through the ice. Still haven't kept any this season and I've caught many gills over 9". Been on a school of specs in the 14" range for almost a week and haven't kept any of those either. I don't harvest big fish because I just enjoy the catch on my gaffight tightliners. All public waters! Unfortunately,  I seem to be in the declining minority of catch and release.

[taxi1]

I might keep 5 fish a year through the ice. Still haven't kept any this season and I've caught many gills over 9". Been on a school of specs in the 14" range for almost a week and haven't kept any of those either. I don't harvest big fish because I just enjoy the catch on my gaffight tightliners. All public waters! Unfortunately,  I seem to be in the declining minority of catch and release.

You won't like this but let me tell you my experience from handing fish in coldwater and releasing them on my fish farm. You may be setting up many of them for fungal infections. Most fish farmers will not seine or handle fish in water under 50 F. The problem is their immune systems are not functioning up to par in cold water.

So while you're patting yourself on the back for releasing those fish you may be setting up at least some of them for a slow death.

[stephen20]

Think a limit would make people any more selective on what they keep? So taxi, couldn’t this be even more harmful, since people would be handling more fish? I catch and release most of the time as well.

[wallydiven]

You won't like this but let me tell you my experience from handing fish in coldwater and releasing them on my fish farm. You may be setting up many of them for fungal infections. Most fish farmers will not seine or handle fish in water under 50 F. The problem is their immune systems are not functioning up to par in cold water.

So while you're patting yourself on the back for releasing those fish you may be setting up at least some of them for a slow death.

So what are you saying?? These aren't healthy public waters?? Believe me, I've seen and caught many bigger healthy fish here.

[wallydiven]

Think a limit would make people any more selective on what they keep?

I think the real question is about conservation and harvesting the right fish. If a lake has consistent 9's and occasional 10's and people cull till they get their limit of 10" fish then they're doing more harm than good.

[stephen20]

That’s what I was getting at. But if the idnr put a 25 gill limit, and everyone was more selective, no matter what the lake can produce, it could do more harm than good.

So to me, it sounds like a limit could be counter productive (in the winter anyway), if the fish we touch could die either way...

[wax_worm]

A 25 limit on gills wouldn’t help. Most lakes with small gills are because of over population. The lakes that have big gills are not over populated. That’s why many lake associations have thrown walleye in, because bluegills are overpopulated. Lake I’ve fished, they couldn’t even find an 8inch gill in their surveys since the 60s. After a few years of walleyes the gills are huge. It only takes one gill to populate an entire lake. 25 wouldn’t change anything in Indiana. We have different lakes than Michigan and Minnesota. If anything should be done, they should have a closed season the first two weeks of June.

You could not be more wrong and proved it with your own post.  Gills in a balanced fishery will not stunt.  A stunted fishery will not be fixed by a limit or by people fishing it.  The problem with your lake is the predator to prey relationship was out of balance likely because there were not enough 10-14 inch bass in there to keep the small gills in check and then it stunted.  They put in walleye (bass would have been better) and they ate a ton of the small gills allowing more food for those that remain to grow bigger.  The northern third of the states lake could not be more similar to the lakes in Michigan and Minnesota.  The resi's in the bottom half of the state are more crappie fisheries than gill fisheries anyway.  A limit will preserve the resource as it is today and most likely cause a bump in size in most balanced fisheries.  Science and studies have proved it over and over again, yet IN is still behind the times.

[wallydiven]

So to me, it sounds like a limit could be counter productive (in the winter anyway), if the fish we touch could die either way...

So "IF" what taxi said is true, we should keep everything we catch??? I'd imagine different times of the year the fish and aquatic fungi are more resilient than other times. They've both been surviving this long.....

[wax_worm]

That’s what I was getting at. But if the idnr put a 25 gill limit, and everyone was more selective, no matter what the lake can produce, it could do more harm than good.

So to me, it sounds like a limit could be counter productive (in the winter anyway), if the fish we touch could die either way...

Simple solution to that 'problem'.  No culling allowed.  If you don't release it immediately, it becomes part of your 25.  Are some guys going to toss back 8.5 inch fish in hopes to catch 25 that are bigger?  Possibly, but I don't see that as being a real factor in putting a limit on the fish.  Crappie appear more 'fragile' than gills and I don't see alot of guys tossing 12 inchers because they think they can catch 25 14" fish.

[stephen20]

So "IF" what taxi said is true, we should keep everything we catch??? I'd imagine different times of the year the fish and aquatic fungi are more resilient than other times. They've both been surviving this long.....

Well I sure won’t be keeping everything I catch. But if what he says is true, I guess I would rather see them used... rather then wasted cuz they are gonna die if we throw em back. I just don’t think this is the case. I’ll have to do some research I suppose.

Just by what has been said, a 25 gill limit, could mean more fish are being handled /culled, which could potentially mean more dead fish. So if handling fish can really kill them, how would a 25 gill limit help in the winter?

[stephen20]

Ya, I agree wax worm. But wouldn’t you still be handling those fish which could still potentially kill them from what taxi said.

[wax_worm]

Ya, I agree wax worm. But wouldn’t you still be handling those fish which could still potentially kill them from what taxi said.

Any fish that is handled by a human has risk of infection and death.  A limit doesn't change that and I think you are falsely assuming the masses of ice fishermen actually are catching 25 'keeper' sized fish every outing.  The truth is most don't.  With that in mind, if people are hap hazard in how they handle the fish like taking them off with rough gloves removing the slime or bouncing them off the ice or snow when putting them back, or keeping them out of the water in severe cold temps, then sure there is probably an increased risk of infection / death.  I don't think most do any intentional damage to the fish they release and while what taxi said is a possibility, I think it is the exception and not the norm.

[stephen20]

I agree. And have always thought catch and release is a good thing. Taxi just made it sound like that thinking could be flawed, and I didn’t wanna “pat myself on the back to much” for practicing catch and release in the winter, if it was killing fish...

[kevs]

Yep, I could just see all these people going home with 4-6" gills they caught and kept as part of their 25 fish limit. Every person out fishing thru the ice who keeps fish throws back those small ones in favor of catching/keeping those 7" or longer. If it be true that fish are in danger of fungi or disease when we put them back in the water during ice season we are in essence killing off the future of fishing by not keeping fish.

[sprkplug]

I think a protected slot, in addition to a limit, might be beneficial.

I will say this: years ago when I started preaching about protecting bluegills, and growing public water bluegills to a larger size, my comments weren’t often too well received. Its encouraging to see this much discussion on the subject now.

[Jigmup]

While I agree with conservation practices and laws to protect, increase and help recover a lake's fish population/size structure, I also think that this recent dialogue and banter should be taken with a grain of salt for most anglers. Most guys on here and the ones I know that don't utilize this site, know when enough is enough. Trying to educate people that are stuck in their ways of hoarding is a good thing but at the same time, guys who get out and take 40 gills a couple times a season or 25 perch on a handful of outings don't need to feel bad about taking home enough fish to enjoy several meals worth of fillets. Anglers who love this sport don't need to walk on egg shells because someone who is bent on the idea of micro managing fish populations and size structures is going to read them the riot act.

I'm not saying that individuals shouldn't take the approach of studying, applying and voicing results and recommendations of lake management practices but I also think that there are better venues or platforms to voice opinions instead of beating all the site members over the head with the "club of common sense" here on this site. Un-ethical fishermen are not going to change because you think they should. They need their pocket books and their rights to this sport to take a hit to change the way they approach angling.

With that said, I have no idea how to manage a systems bluegill population or size structure but I've seen my fathers pond change many times because of both over harvesting and under harvesting so definitive recommendations based on data are welcomed in my book.

[taxi1]

So what are you saying?? These aren't healthy public waters?? Believe me, I've seen and caught many bigger healthy fish here.

Not at all. Just saying releasing fish in cold water can set them up for fungal infections. I've seen some of them when the ice breaks in the spring.

Just seems like a waste of a resource.