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Ok. I am sure I am going to get dinged big time for this post and probably going to make a lot of people mad, but I got to say it........ Why can't some of the people in this great sport take more care about the very thing we pursue..............th e fish.I love reading the reports of people slaying fish. I love hearing about people having great days and catching tons of fish. I love it. I love that people are good anglers and enjoy the outdoors. I do get frustrated though by some of the numbers of fish people talk about keeping to eat.............. Call me names, call me jealous, call me whatever, but I just don't see why some people have to keep hundreds of fish to eat.............. There are many days on the water (both hard and soft water) where I catch big numbers of fish I could keep, but I keep enough for a meal or two and put the rest back......... I have a family of four (2 adults, 2 children) and if I keep 20 good size gills that makes a nice meal for us (with sides etc). If I keep 10 good size crappies thats a meal for us. On the big side I will keep 40 good gills so I have a meal and a meal to freeze. I rarely do that though. Maybe once a year I'll freeze some fish. If your fishing a private pond and they want fish taken out etc, or a lake that is going to be killed off or something, thats one thing, but if your fishing a public lake and taking out 100 fish each trip out...... thats eventually going to make an impact on the size of the fish and the population of fish in that lake. Unless you are harvesting selectively. Most of these guys I see, who are obviously good fisherman because they are catching these high numbers of fish, are not selecting and releasing the bigger breeders, but throwing anything that can be filleted and larger straight into the bucket........ To me, thats a bad idea. Maybe I am alone here and should keep quiet, but I just don't see why in these times someone has to keep such high numbers of fish???If your out of work and need the food then I would never say a word about it. More power to you. But, if your sitting in a fancy shanty, using a vexilar, an underwater camera, and using a high dollar snowmobile to get out on the lake..........my guess is you can afford to eat things in addition to fish. If you only ice fish, then maybe you keep fish to eat all year. Most guys I know that ice fish also fish the rest of the year too though. Now I know there are some guys who give fish to others who cant fish for one reason or another and thats ok too, but within reason. The other thing I also just can't stand is to see a bunch of dead dink bluegills laying all over the ice!!! If you catch a dink and your not going to eat it.....put it back in the *@#@* lake!!!!!!!!! I don't care what you have been told..............in a large lake like Wawassee, James, etc you are not helping the size of fish in the lake by throwing these juvenile fish on the ice to die............ If you gut hook one and it is going to die thats one thing. You can clean it or leave it for the birds or whatever. But if its healthy when you unhook it put it back. Just my humble opinion and I would never say anything to anyone who wasn't breaking any regulations. Its not my place to say something to anyone and I am no better then anyone else, but I just feel like sometimes I see otherwise good fisherman brutalizing a great sport that I love. Take care of the fish we pursue and we will continue to have great fishing. Treat them like crap.....and we'll have crap fishing to look forward to. Yell at me all you want, but thats how I feel. Tight Lines and Screamin Drags to Ya!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I believe with the game fish it does apply. Pan fish will ruin a lake quick if not harvested.
Ill be more than happy to quit posting pics if it offends people.
I have noticed that posting a picture with the most fish caught is a trophy to some. I have also thought some of it was a little ridiculous, but I don't know their situation. I only hope that none go to waste at the end of the flash from the camera. I think it's good to hear everyone's opinion on all ice fishing subjects, because in the debate (arguements), I learn a lot from these posts. I appreciate all opinions posted.
Hey I hope you don't think I post pictures for that reason!! That was never my intentions at all... I know guys who catch alot more fish than I do, they don't post pictures tho. I love to log on and see pics of peoples catch...I look forward to it before heading to work and when I get home lol.
ust my humble opinion and I would never say anything to anyone who wasn't breaking any regulations. Its not my place to say something to anyone and I am no better then anyone else, but I just feel like sometimes I see otherwise good fisherman brutalizing a great sport that I love. Take care of the fish we pursue and we will continue to have great fishing. Treat them like crap.....and we'll have crap fishing to look forward to.
I don't think the guys you see posting a hundred fish are catching them buy them selfs. You said around 40 at the most for you. The last couple of a hundred I've seen has been between three people. thats 33.333333 per fisherman.
A couple of points... all water is different, there is no "one size fits all" solution. What is good for a reservoir would be disastrous for a farm pond. Everyone here appears to realize that controlling Bluegill numbers is one key to growing large fish. However, there are a few variables involved. You must maintain an adequate predator base, whether it be Bass, Pike, whatever, for the size of water involved. There must be an adequate food supply available, too many mouths to feed equals small fish. If your Bluegill are small, either put more food in, or take more fish out. Unless you own the body of water, you're not likely going to go to the trouble, and expense, of feeding the fish, so that leaves controlling their numbers by SELECTIVE harvest, and keeping the number of predatory fish high. Here's how I selectively harvest in my ponds. First off, you have to be able to tell females from males. Any female under 9" is kept.. never return a female. Any male under 6" is evaluated for condition, and more importantly, potential for future growth. If he doesn't make the cut, over the dam he goes.. . Any male fish over 9" is returned to the pond. Which leaves the 7-8" fish, and all the females, for harvest. A lot of folks think that "dinks" will grow up... not necessarily. When a bluegill becomes sexually mature, their growth almost stops. all of their energy is directed to gonad development. When that happens, they will not get much bigger than they are. They have become stunted. A bluegill will become sexually mature when he thinks he has a shot with the ladies. What determines that is the size of the fish at the top of the pecking order. If he knows he can't compete with the big boys, he doesn't become sexually mature, and puts all his energy towards growing bigger... survival of the fittest. I have a study here on my desk somewhere, that conducted an experiment with Bluegills grown in tanks. When the largest fish were removed, the next largest class of fish became sexually mature within two weeks!! No more growth for that fish!!! For whatever size body of water you fish, it must contain an adequate supply of the biggest males to maintain a decent fishery. It's true that the genes from a big fish are already "in the water", but with each succeeding mating those genes become less viable. I keep the big males as broodstock, I want their genes in the pond.
Good points, but like you said you can't compare what you can do with a pond to lakes that are hundreds of acres. The big males are most at risk when on the beds and are being raked off there by the bucket fulls. When there are hundreds of beds containing the biggest males and they are wiped clean that can impact a fishery. When fishing open water or ice fishing, you get a good mix of males and females in most cases. I understand that if you take a big male in the winter or in open water it is removed from the gene pool as if you took it off the beds, but you usually don't catch a ton of bull males in a single outing in open water or thru the ice like you can when they are spawning. I would be all for a limit on gills during the spawning months, but in some lakes this would probably do more harm than good.
