How big?

[SDFlagChaser]

There is a pond near me that is loaded with bluegills and pumpkin seeds.  problem is, most of them are about 5 inches long.  There are also crappies in here, these are harder to come by, but are generally 7-9 inches.  We have caught bluegills and pumpkin seeds in there over 9 inches and crappies over 10 inches.  I have no fish in the freezer and really would like some panfish, so my question is, what is the minimun size of panfish you will keep.  I was planning on keeping any gills/seeds over 8 inches and any crappies over 9 inches.  I plan on just scaling them/ gutting them and freezing them whole and when I get a good amount, then I would eat them.  So does this sound like it might work?

[Madpuppy]

You can eat minnows if you get enough.  lol. 
Serously though I think it'll work fine just so there is no size limit in your state.

[sbfPA_Mike]

There is nothing better than a mess of panfish for dinner! It does take some work to filet them, but it is well worth it. From what I hear, the electric filet knife is the way to go once you get used to it. I wouldn't limit myself to over 8", keeping some smaller ones won't hurt at all. Good luck and have fun.

Mike

[FishTank]

I just got a vaccuum sealer for Christmas, but before I had that I would fillet the panfish and freeze them in a tupper ware container in water, which would become a block of ice. The fillets keep for a very long time frozen this way. If you only have a few fillets, just cover what you have and freeze, leaving room in the container. When you get more fillets drop them on top of the previous ones and add more water.

If the pond you are on is smaller and has an abundant biomass of blue gills, their size may get stunted due to too much competiton. I would determine an average size for the impoundment based on summer catch and release fishing, and keep as many fish through the ice as legally allowable, below the average size, and return any fish at or exceeding the average size, basically returning the biggest breeders.

I'd do the same with the crappie.

If I was into a good bite and was going to be making a mess any way, I'd fillet  5" gills.

 8)

[salmonrebel]

Sounds like you need a bigger population of bass, and catfish in that pond. The panfish are stunted due to overpopulation of the species,...without enough predators to keep it down. Introduction of more predatory fish, and keeping numbers of smaller panfish when you go fishing, will help bring down the population, and within time,...LARGER SIZE. Little pans taste good too,...you just need more for a feast.

[Kevin23]

Well here in iowa we dont have very many BIG blugills. We normaly keep anything over 7 1/2 "