Probably gonna argue, but I got to get it off my chest.....this bothers me.

[booney0717]

I agree with you to a certin extent. But in my situation, i dont get out much and if have the chance to stock up my freezer than i do. I love to eat em and the family loves em too. so in my case i keep what i can clean.

[dakota]

I keep alot of fish thru the ice, the only fish i keep in open water is salmon and walleye(because I cant catch either thru the ice.lol),  Open water panfish get tossed back. My opinion is that fish taste better thru the ice. My family eats fish at least twice a month sometimes more. I make decent money but im not going to buy fish if I can catch it myself, even though with what ive paid for fishing gear im probably paying $20 a pound for the fish I do keep. So if i fill my freezer in the winter and release them in open water I dont see it as a big deal.

[musky8it]

No I'm not that old! Thanks a lot!   

Here's a pic of me taken last year when I was 52.

(Image removed from quote.)

BTW this 10 5/8's inch bluegill that weighed 1 lb. 4 1/2 oz had floated up during a visit to a friend's pond in Ohio. It was barely alive. On another visit a good size perch was found floating. The inside joke is every time I show up a fish dies.

Are u a taxidermist? Ur photo looks very familiar.

Back In the 90's I competed at the Indiana Taxidermery shows every year and you look like I guy I knew. At a fort wayne show I believe he brough a large Northern, think it was a recent caught state record that he mounted. Is that you? Can remember you name, my first name is Charly

[fowlplay022005]

I agree with you to an extent, however a few of the lakes that i fish  have such a large fish population that the bluegills only grow to a very small size. I do only keep enough fish to eat a couple meals if that, but i also throw alot of the little dinks on the ice to try and help decrease the population of the little ones allowing the fish to grow bigger, i dunno know, maybe i am in the wrong. What do you guys think?

[bret]

but i also throw alot of the little dinks on the ice to try and help decrease the population of the little ones allowing the fish to grow bigger, i dunno know, maybe i am in the wrong. What do you guys think?

I throw them back.....let them grow up to be big bluegills!  Also it is illegal to let them lay and die on the ice.

[rico]

I throw them back.....let them grow up to be big bluegills!  Also it is illegal to let them lay and die on the ice.

LOL, some of these guys better check into the "wanton waste" thinggy in their regs!!!!!!   

[tightliner812]

I agree with you to an extent, however a few of the lakes that i fish  have such a large fish population that the bluegills only grow to a very small size. I do only keep enough fish to eat a couple meals if that, but i also throw alot of the little dinks on the ice to try and help decrease the population of the little ones allowing the fish to grow bigger, i dunno know, maybe i am in the wrong. What do you guys think?

So now we know who is doing it .

This might get good this is his first post. lol

[sprkplug]

I agree with you to an extent, however a few of the lakes that i fish  have such a large fish population that the bluegills only grow to a very small size. I do only keep enough fish to eat a couple meals if that, but i also throw alot of the little dinks on the ice to try and help decrease the population of the little ones allowing the fish to grow bigger, i dunno know, maybe i am in the wrong. What do you guys think?

This is a commonly held belief, and in a small pond it might be beneficial provided you could remove enough small fish to impact the rest of the population...it would be hard to do with a single angler utilizing hook and line though. But on a large BOW, you're just spinning your wheels, AND it is illegal on public waters, period.

I always toss small BG over the dam on my ponds, never returning one less than 6". BUT....it's private water, and I also utilize traps and nets to remove much larger quantities of fish.

[fowlplay022005]

On bigger waters i understand that there is enough food for the smaller fish to grow, however i am fairly new to ice fishing and havent ventured out onto larger water yet. I fish small lakes and some park ponds where there is not enough food for all the fish, and putting the 2"-3" fish back is just killing any chance of fish growing to any size, not that t here are  that many fish that i catch. The lake i always fish is part of a public park and the park management has expressed their appreciation several times.

[sprkplug]

To be honest, I don't know where a city park figures into the scheme of things, legality wise. Maybe you're fine with throwing the small fish on the ice, but then again, maybe the person with the authority to cite you wouldn't share the viewpoint of the park manager...... I think I would check into things a little further, and find out who has the final say on that BOW........be better than a ticket!

Do you need a license to fish it?

[fowlplay022005]

i dont really know about needing a license or not, i always have my license so i have never really inquired into it. I have fished with a few of the area conservation officers and they havent said anything. Not to say that one could possibly not site somebody for it. When i begin to fish larger water there is no need to do it, like i said earlier there is enough food and habitat

[Ice_Fly]

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.  Not excessive.  If someone wants to clean 100 fish more power to them.  Blue gill are very abundant, and very hard to put a dent in.  maybe on a pond but that is up to the owner.  So many times I here of guys saying this lake or that lake is fished out.  I go there put in the work to find there patterns and do very well.   I love it when people say that about a lake.  It leaves more room for my boat.  I don't think people realize how many blue gill are actually down there when you are catching them well in an area.  Fish need to be harvested to maintain a fishery.  To many fish in a lake equals not enough food.  What we take out today is nothing compared to what the old timers used to take out.  I know a lot of people that think like you do, but here in Indiana we have great habitat for blue gills and crappie. 

I would have to agree. It would be extremely hard to fish out most public lakes unless maybe it was a very small body of water. From what I have seen at several local lakes, the more people who do fish it and take out gills, the average fish size has improved. On the opposite side of the coin, the lakes that don't get fished can become overpopulated with 4" dinks. I realize the thread is referring to anglers keeping hundreds of fish. But I still don't see most lakes getting fished out. Like you stated, we have a great fishery and habitat for panfish here in Indiana. And I also agree that some people would be surprised to know just how many fish are in these lakes. Now taking an excess of large gills during the spawn may put a small dent in the breeding population, but then again, some people have been doing this on these lakes for decades and I still have no problem catching a nice mess of average to large sized gills at these locations. Just my opinion....