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Indiana => Ice Fishing Indiana => Topic started by: Scheu on Feb 20, 2019, 05:32 PM
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Seems like every lake that I have fished in NE Indiana in the 10 days has been loaded with dink bluegills. I have been hearing the same from a couple of friends. I have tried a few changes in my usual jigs, but I have not had much success. Has anyone else been experiencing this frustration?
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This is just my opinion,but with most everyone on the ice having some kind of flasher,and a lot of lakes are on the small side ,a lot of fisherman including myself walk off the ice with 25 fish limits.yes there are still catchable fish around but the nicer ones are definitely being depleted.A good example is mud lake in chain of lakes state park.The size has finately shrunk over the years and when 20 to 30 fisherman walk off on a daily basis with over 25 .i don’t think a lake like that can come back or at least not for a few years.Im definitely in favor of a panfish limit
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Thank goodness, that there are some yrs there is no fish able ice, so these lakes can recover a little bit.
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I don't think I've ever seen a year around Noble County where we couldn't get on to ice fish, at least for a few weeks. I've been dealing with this addiction for 50+ years, that being said, I agree about the number of quality gills getting hauled off our lakes. Crooked Lake, Whitley Co. is another example of over fishing. Heck walk 30 yards out and you're fishing! About 30 years ago that lake had 10" gills as the norm. I'm sure other factors are in play here too, i.e. (Bed fishing, etc.). But I've seen the decline, it's still worth the effort but not like it was, like alot of our public lakes. Agree with the need for a limit! Hex
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Agree with a limit on the gills for sure. It's hard but even in the boat I let a lot of the big ones swim especially at the spawn, never fish the beds either. I have seen a few lakes wiped out of good fish and don't want my go to lakes to end up like that. Maybe I am selfish but I want my grandkids to be able to catch them as well.
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i agree that some of our smaller lakes can get "fished down". yet there are other lakes that just keep on pumping out buckets of nice fish. i find that more lakes than not, in NE Indiana, hold 9-11" gills. most of them i catch come from deeper water though. no, i don't catch buckets of 10"ers but 2-3 dozen fish (in the 8-11 range) trips are normal. there are also lakes that don't seem to breach the 7"mark. roam in summer and find the lakes that produce for you.
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Recent article from Louie Stout. Pretty interesting read.
https://michianaoutdoorsnews.com/columnists/louie-s-column?start=2 (https://michianaoutdoorsnews.com/columnists/louie-s-column?start=2)
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So the consensus is that there are more fish being taken than ever before. The increased population of people equals more people fishing. The lakes can't increase in size, like the population of humans has, so it makes sense that the amount of fish taken from them needs to be limited to balance things out.
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interesting article. comments starting off entertaining. :) lol
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fry up the dinks whole
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I don't believe we are over fishing our lakes in the winter or bed fishing. We fish a handful of places on a given lake. There are a shot ton of fish that we don't even target. As far as bed fishing, I read an article a few years back about the effects of bed fishing by a state biologist. It went on to say that the amount of beds we see doesn't compare to the amount of bedding fish you cant see. Go back to that lake this spring and Im sure you will see plenty of big gills. Not to say a 25 limit would bother me because I don't care either way. I seldom keep more than 35 gills on an outing anyway.
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Yeah, I'm not so sure any of are lakes are being over fished either. Someone on another forum the other day proposed Wawasee is fished out! Com'on man! Largest natural lake in the state fished out. Are you kidding me? Especially with the limited access.
I think when you look at it state wide it's much more complicated than most of us can get our heads around. I don't think I'm qualified even to give an opinion on the few lakes I fish. I'm not sure a limit would help but not opposed to trying it. I've taken well over 25 several times this year. Mostly gills with the majority of them being between 7 snd 8". Nearly every hole I've drilled on one lake has fish in it, drilled well over 100 holes. I don't think the hundreds of panfish that have been taken off this lake in this one location represent even a small percentage of the total number of fish in the lake.
I think that's one of the main problems the DNR is up against, every lake is different.
It's always eye opening to me to read s in depth studies that have been done with actual data taken from the fishery.
Last year I listened to an interview with the head Ohio lake Erie biologist. I've fished the spring run in Maumee almost all of my life. Always cringed, especially in the 80's when there were stringers of 10lb females (10 of them) drug through the mud along the bank of the river. Thankfully, not something you see nowadays. So what did the biologist say about the females taken during the spring run according to the actual data? Has absolutely no effect on the fishery!!! The percent of total harvest is so small it has little to no effect. After being there for decades and watching the fish come out first hand I would never have guessed it. Most of the time our opinions are based on a small sliver of information.
I don't know any of the answers but I'm for trying a limit and would also be for a closed spawning season. Not sure that either would create the desired effects on many lakes let alone state wide.
Time to catch a fish while we can still walk on water!
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The only thing I’m surprised about is this (dink’s) didn’t happen sooner. Technology and the lack of knowledge when it comes to fish conservation is killing our fisheries. For biologists that say we can’t see ALL the beds we come across, needs to take a ride in my boat. Anybody ice fish with a LiveScope, it makes an FL 28 look like a Lowarance Greenbox. Nobody should wait for the government to move to a 25 fish limit if you want quality outings for years to come... do it now. The depletion of genes due to past overharvest of hogs and water quality only compound the issue.
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I have had my share of dinks this year, but I have also had one of the best years for keepers too. There are still plenty of fish in the lakes and I have seen guys keeping over there bag on redear. One guy fishing next to me was bragging that he took off over 60 redear and he said that he didnt realize that there is a bag limit on them. I am in favor of the 25 limit too for gills.
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I don't know why they couldn't do a handful of lakes as a test project. use a couple of the fertile lakes/reservoirs with heavy harvest. a few years would be all that was needed to see a difference. but even with positive results, I don't think all lakes would benefit equally like said.
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I always thought an over abundance of dinks was too many fish competing for space and food. That was why the DNR stocked some lakes with Muskie...to thin out the dinks. But that hasn't seemed to help.
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How many gills crappies can y’all keep? Here the limit is 15 fish in combination. Don’t matter to me as I only keep around 30 fish in a year.
Keep it safe! JDL
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How many gills crappies can y’all keep? Here the limit is 15 fish in combination. Don’t matter to me as I only keep around 30 fish in a year.
Keep it safe! JDL
25 crappie 25 redear and no gill limit.
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25 crappie 25 redear and no gill limit.
Unless fishing at the slough. There is a 25 fish limit there, crappie or gills combined.
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I fish Stone lake, no. of 120. A number of years ago we had a couple of years where we only had a week or so of good ice. The next spring the gills seemed to run bigger. Conclusive, no but maybe. I believe lack of pressure gave them time for more growth.
Read an article some time back by a biolgist that by taking the larger fish we are removing that gene pool and allowing the smaller fish to do the breeding. Makes sense but not conclusive.
Case in point, I have fished a lake in Wisconsin for 50 years. Back then it was not uncommon to take pound gills. Did it almost daly. Fast forward to today and we still get nice fish no pounders for 20 years. Again not conclusive but food foe though.
I too would be in favor of a 25 limit.
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To me if taking the larger fish is making our gene pool on the negative side . Wouldn't putting a 25 fish limit on them make most guys keep only the 25 slabs and tossing back the little ones ? Either way it's a loose loose imo .
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Watching a video on In Fisherman and they claim that genes for size come from the large red bellied males and those are the fish we should be throwing back. Keep the large females they do not affect the gene pool.
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You guys need a slot length, lol. Keep 20 fish under 5" and 5 fish over 7". Just like a bass management lake.
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i don't keep 5" gills as it is now. I know a few that will keep them that small but most people wont.
shouldn't the fish already passed their genes on a couple times before they get "big" ?
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I am not saying that the bigger gills are not out there. I have had days on the ice where I caught 6's, 7's and 8's all afternoon, while a couple of guys 25 feet away are catching 8's, 9's and 10's. They were using some jig, ice rod and/or bait or technique that I was not using. However, the reality is that compared to 30 + years ago, there are not as many bigger fish now. Ask any of us older fisherman that got to enjoy the fishing prior to 1980. Were too many big gills taken, back in the good old days, who really knows. I do think that a limit on gills over 9" would help to create more big gills, but I'm no expert and it's all experimental. And the challenge to figure it all out is what makes fishing the greatest sport on earth.
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Water quality will always be my reasoning not fishing pressure. Before most of us where even born fish harvesting for food was a big part of all hoosiers. There is not near the number of people keeping fish along with not near as many fishermen as in those days. If you check out the yearly ststs on purchases fishing like hunting is something young folks don't do anymore. Lake management and farming practice is the biggest culprit. As far as size of fish for me it seems we have bigger fish now than ever before that requires a whole lot more effort to find. Again something the younger folks with the latest gear are not willing or know very little about.
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i don't keep 5" gills as it is now. I know a few that will keep them that small but most people wont.
shouldn't the fish already passed their genes on a couple times before they get "big" ?
I agree, but you want them to keep passing them on through out their lifetime, and hopefully half those big fish will be females for the taking. The more genes they pass on as Large fish, the better the fishery I'd think. I give BigR's opinions on water quality as a big factor also.
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Years past (70s & 80s) the size of panfish we caught was more consistent in quality and quantity. The past couple years I have been catching less fish of consistent large size, 8" plus in the waters I fish than in previous. I've also seen people taking large quantities of pannies while out on the ice from these BOWs. Seeing people post pic's on social media of their harvest of 120 to 175 panfish while ice fishing, and doing so several times a week. It is no wonder that there are more dinks being caught, the size of fish is dramatically reduced, and it is harder on some lakes to locate fish.
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Sometimes I feel left out. I dont have any flies or bugs. LOL!
Seriously though...It's your craft. You know whats up! It's only a matter of time and the mother load of magnums will be under you!
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I fish Stone lake, no. of 120. A number of years ago we had a couple of years where we only had a week or so of good ice. The next spring the gills seemed to run bigger. Conclusive, no but maybe. I believe lack of pressure gave them time for more growth.
Read an article some time back by a biolgist that by taking the larger fish we are removing that gene pool and allowing the smaller fish to do the breeding. Makes sense but not conclusive.
Case in point, I have fished a lake in Wisconsin for 50 years. Back then it was not uncommon to take pound gills. Did it almost daly. Fast forward to today and we still get nice fish no pounders for 20 years. Again not conclusive but food foe though.
I too would be in favor of a 25 limit.
. How big is a pound gill ? All the years I fished don’t think I caught one
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Generally they get to be a pound heading towards the 11" mark. Interesting, I don't think I've ever weighed any of mine.
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Reason I questioned was asked I have a postal scale and weighed a gill just shy of 10” and it weighed 9 1/2 oz just over half a pound. It was thick also
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maybe taxi will chime in on this. I think he weighed the ones we pulled from his pond, but I don't remember what they went now. gills and crappie generally don't get put on the scale around here.
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My frying pan doesn't have a built in scale! I have a few on ice I will have to weigh in the morning, pretty sure I don't have any pounders either.
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I have some big hybrids in my pond 11”+ gonna have to weigh a couple this spring, very hard to catch in winter
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im sure they lost a little weight since you caught them. cant see it being more than an ounce though. I have read that fish can shrink some in the livewell too. I try and only keep bass that are at least 14-1/4 just in case.
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I think if you catch one at 11inches you can get your scale out. Probable real close to a 1lb. Not many public lakes in Indiana produce 1lbers on a consistent bases. I pretty sure most guys claim to have caught 11 to 12 inch gils that are really 9 to 10s. A tape takes care of that and a scale the weight.
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Last year I weighed a 10" that my daughter caught. It weighed 0.7#
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Last year I weighed a 10" that my daughter caught. It weighed 0.7#
. Takes a helluva bluegill to weigh a pound, I know the copperhead gills down south prolly do
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I fish a private pond that has Ben established around 30 years ago and managed rite. It has Georgia Giants in it . And you wanna talk about big ! They are so big I considered not eating them . But the few I kept did tatse good .if I go back this yr I'll measure and weigh a few and I bet they are more then a pound lol
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I manage a pond to produce large male bluegills as I sell some of the large males to a taxidermy market from coast to coast along with other species. If I harvested male bluegills under 10 inches I can assure you I wouldn't have many bluegills 10 inches or over. But I also remove all the females I can. At one time I only planted males in this pond but apparently one of the females looked like a male and I now have reproduction in the pond itself.
I am here to tell you yes you can fish down a body of water of bluegills even in larger ones than a farm pond, and the INDNR has even said so in one survey on Sylvan Lake in Noble County. I can show you that in their own words. At one time Sylvan Lake had an incredible bluegill fishery with some the fastest growing bluegills in the nation (INDNR's own words). Now granted the growth rate was in in large part due to the nutrients from untreated sewage, but the fact remains the pressure on the bluegills was so intense they were fished down to a point where bluegills became scarce, and carp made up most of the biomass of the reservoir.
I find it interesting that every time we have a rules change proposal there is a strong outcry for a 25 fish bluegill bag limit and it's just ignored. Last time around not even a response on why as far as I can tell. And no I'm not bashing anyone in the INDNR. I'm just puzzled by this and wonder where and why the pressure to ignore this.
As far as those of you that say big harvests of bluegills is beneficial, I point you to parts of the country where they're considered trash fish and aren't targeted. The fishing for bluegills in some of the regions I have been to has been phenomenal both in size and quantity. No stunted fish. And these lakes aren't even as fertile as ours. And furthermore even though one of those regions is substantially farther north than us, the average size of largemouth bass is larger too. My guess is more bluegills to fit the gape size of the largemouths as they get larger.
One state I fish in the northeast you can still catch a 7 to 8 pound largemouth in some of the lakes from time to time. As a taxidermist for going on 35 years, I don't see or hear of many of those fish being caught anymore in public waters. If I get one in to mount it's almost aways a private body of water. Sure maybe they are released but I usually hear about it.
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I fish a private pond that has Ben established around 30 years ago and managed rite. It has Georgia Giants in it . And you wanna talk about big ! They are so big I considered not eating them . But the few I kept did tatse good .if I go back this yr I'll measure and weigh a few and I bet they are more then a pound lol
You're talking hybrids (Georgia Giants are actually nothing more than hyped up bluegill X green sunfish with possibly some redear mixed in) which isn't really germane to the subject of natural strain bluegills or bluegills in public lakes.
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I would say the first thing to start with would be to make new rules for these beards . That absolutely boils my blood that they can take as much as they want ! And i have even had issues with them on the big lake trolling . They are launching out of City now with big lake boats with down rigges and when your running copper or lead cores and they see you with a fish on the will be right behind you running your lines over to get in that group of fish you just went threw !
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You're talking hybrids (Georgia Giants are actually nothing more than hyped up bluegill X green sunfish with possibly some redear mixed in) which isn't really germane to the subject of natural strain bluegills or bluegills in public lakes.
I'm no biologist that's just what I was told from the property owner
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Seems like every lake that I have fished in NE Indiana in the 10 days has been loaded with dink bluegills. I have been hearing the same from a couple of friends. I have tried a few changes in my usual jigs, but I have not had much success. Has anyone else been experiencing this frustration? I don't think it's the jig, more like location! When you find the little guys, chances are you wont find the big ones near them. Some days it's a matter of drilling a thousand holes until you find those suspending fish. Keep looking at lake maps and contours until you find the sweet spot. The big ones are still there. They are just not where everyone else is. Its like morel hunting. constantly looking for new locations.
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The fish are getting more pressure through the ice then they have in quite a few years. The bigger fish that are left on the hard hit lakes will get wise and picky.
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(https://i.postimg.cc/t75xWW25/FEB-2019-11-INCH-RED-EAR-MORE-THAN-A-HANDFUL.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/t75xWW25)
This Red Ear was 1 pound 3 oz. Caught it a week ago. Supposedly, these were common back in the 1960's and 70's on the lake that I caught it from.
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Looking at the tip up fishing contests, over the years and don’t remember seeing anything over 13 oz in the winning columns, but must be a few out there
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(https://i.postimg.cc/t75xWW25/FEB-2019-11-INCH-RED-EAR-MORE-THAN-A-HANDFUL.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/t75xWW25)
This Red Ear was 1 pound 3 oz. Caught it a week ago. Supposedly, these were common back in the 1960's and 70's on the lake that I caught it from.
. How long was your red ear ?
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Just over 11".
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This same lake produced a 2 Pound Bluegill, in the spring, about 5 years ago. The bigger gills are out there, just not in the quantity that they used to be.
(https://i.postimg.cc/CzFZm5z4/2-Pound-Bluegill.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/CzFZm5z4)
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That gill is a TOAD!! I've never seen anything like that in Indiana before! :o
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That gill is in a 5 gallon bucket.
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Scheu...that thing is a freaking slob! WTG!
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I can't stop looking at it!!! :o
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Sothern IN. has a big problem with Shad in lakes. THey compete with gills for food. Flint lake In Valpo is full of them.
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Generally they get to be a pound heading towards the 11" mark. Interesting, I don't think I've ever weighed any of mine.
I would agree. Several years ago I caught 2...11" @ 1.33# and 11.25" @ 1# even. Sad story...gave them to a "friend" who knew someone that could mount them at a reasonable price. Never seen them or him again...and don't know where he is. :%$#!: Anyway...back to the dink gills. I generally fish 3 lakes that give up some nice gills and very few "dinks" and I'm not sure why, but here is a little background on them.
Lake #1...44 acres w/avg. depth of 30'. #2...82 acres w/avg. depth of 30' and #3...30 acres w/ avg. depth 30'. All are what I would call small to medium in size and depth is the same. All have marl, pulpy peat and muck bottoms. Plenty of weeds but little in other structure. All have a few springs and inlet/outlet streams. Now the differences...
#1) Avg. of 7-8" gills with plenty of 9's and 10"+ crappie and only a few perch of any size. Some LM bass up to 2# and a few pike that will reach 35-37". This lake is public and gets moderate fishing pressure.
#2) Same as #1 except not as many 9"gills but the crappie run a little bigger and there are some decent perch if you can find them. Bass and pike run about the same as #1. This lake is public and gets moderate to heavy fishing pressure.
#3) Average of 8- 9" gills with plenty of 10 inchers and perch that will reach 15" but they're few and far between. Some LM of 2# or so but no pike or crappie (at least I've never heard of or caught any). This lake is private and gets light fishing pressure.
Again, none of these lakes have I caught any dink gills...which I call under 5".
So I get why the private lake has so many decent gills...at least in part. But why the other 2?
My guess is a little bit of everything...water depth and quality, lots of weeds, decent amount of predator fish. But could all of this explain why there is what seems to be an above average growth rate of these pan fish. Any fish biologists out there who can confirm or add to why this might be? Invasion of the dink bluegill...why and why not?
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That's interesting, I fished a different lake than usual last weekend that would generally fit the description you provided and caught much better fish than I have been catching. Just too many variables I think to make a correlation. I wonder though if average depth is a key factor?
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Maybe (depending on the maximum size of the predatory fish in the system) once they get a certain size, they are no longer prey? I see this happen in lakes with both bass and pike. The numbers of small bass are almost non existent, but the number of 3lb + bass is much better than in non-pike containing waters. Once they get that big, there are not very many pike in the system that can eat them.
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I would say the first thing to start with would be to make new rules for these beards . That absolutely boils my blood that they can take as much as they want ! And i have even had issues with them on the big lake trolling . They are launching out of City now with big lake boats with down rigges and when your running copper or lead cores and they see you with a fish on the will be right behind you running your lines over to get in that group of fish you just went threw !
It's not just the "beards." I can show you fish hogs that aren't "beards." At least the "beards" eat what they catch. A lot of the braggarts I know are too lazy to clean the fish, and give most of them away for bragging rights. Another thing that isn't considered up here is the travel trailer factory guys that are typically laid off over the winter (maybe not this year) that ice fish all winter day after day. As many of you know a couple of our northern counties are considered the travel trailer capital of the country and also modular homes.
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maybe taxi will chime in on this. I think he weighed the ones we pulled from his pond, but I don't remember what they went now. gills and crappie generally don't get put on the scale around here.
The bluegills in my pond can be a pound at 9 1/2 inches but that's because I feed them artificial feed most of the year. Typically on public lakes they have to be about 10.5 inches to get to a pound and even then they may be just under. A lot of 12 oz. bluegills out there that anglers call a pound.
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I didn't say it was JUST the beards . I said that is where they should START fixing the issue.... And I'm just glad I don't live in the area to deal with them on a consistent basis and have them ruin a good body of water
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I think if you catch one at 11inches you can get your scale out. Probable real close to a 1lb. Not many public lakes in Indiana produce 1lbers on a consistent bases. I pretty sure most guys claim to have caught 11 to 12 inch gils that are really 9 to 10s. A tape takes care of that and a scale the weight.
Absolutely! You would not believe the exaggerations I hear as a taxidermist. :roflmao: I have a certified scale that has deflated a lot of egos! Once got a call on a guy bringing in an 8 lb. bass. It was under 4 on the scale!
And keep in mind there can be a half inch or more difference + between a tape measure over the top of a fish vs. a board. It has to do with the curve of the fish.
I can tell you an 11 inch bluegill is about as rare as a 7 lb. bass from my experience. And I don't believe I've actually seen a true 12 from Indiana, that didn't turn out to be in the 11 inch range on a board.
Redears are different story and as we all know they get bigger than bluegills. But I wish I has a nickel or every redear I get in that the angler called a bluegill!
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The bluegills in my pond can be a pound at 9 1/2 inches but that's because I feed them artificial feed most of the year. Typically on public lakes they have to be about 10.5 inches to get to a pound and even then they may be just under. A lot of 12 oz. bluegills out there that anglers call a pound.
. I have weighed fish for guys that swear a pound and a 12 oz fish looks pretty big. 99% are not a pound that guys think are
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I didn't say it was JUST the beards . I said that is where they should START fixing the issue.... And I'm just glad I don't live in the area to deal with them on a consistent basis and have them ruin a good body of water
Fair enough but you can't just deal with one group of people. It has to be across the board.
I'm not sure 25 bag limit would do that job with some fish hogs. I've seen as many as 10 people on a pontoon boat hit both bluegill and crappie beds around a lake. if each got 25 ... well you do that math.
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. I have weighed fish for guys that swear a pound and a 12 oz fish looks pretty big. 99% are not a pound that guys think are
For sure! But I can't lie on the fish I sell whole frozen to taxidermists from coast to coast. If I lie I will sell a lot less fish. Mine are trained on artificial feed early and are quite broad. As you can see a little different than the typical public lake bluegill.
(https://i.imgur.com/Ph5Cql6.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/8mi7ntkm.jpg)
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My scale not certified, but is very close, postal scale gonna have to weigh some out of my pond this summer, they are fed all summer long also
(https://i.postimg.cc/c6pD87NF/C6-ECF95-F-CBDC-43-E7-9072-45-C6740-F824-F.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/c6pD87NF)
These are hybrids not true bluegills
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I would agree. Several years ago I caught 2...11" @ 1.33# and 11.25" @ 1# even. Sad story...gave them to a "friend" who knew someone that could mount them at a reasonable price. Never seen them or him again...and don't know where he is. :%$#!: Anyway...back to the dink gills. I generally fish 3 lakes that give up some nice gills and very few "dinks" and I'm not sure why, but here is a little background on them.
Lake #1...44 acres w/avg. depth of 30'. #2...82 acres w/avg. depth of 30' and #3...30 acres w/ avg. depth 30'. All are what I would call small to medium in size and depth is the same. All have marl, pulpy peat and muck bottoms. Plenty of weeds but little in other structure. All have a few springs and inlet/outlet streams. Now the differences...
#1) Avg. of 7-8" gills with plenty of 9's and 10"+ crappie and only a few perch of any size. Some LM bass up to 2# and a few pike that will reach 35-37". This lake is public and gets moderate fishing pressure.
#2) Same as #1 except not as many 9"gills but the crappie run a little bigger and there are some decent perch if you can find them. Bass and pike run about the same as #1. This lake is public and gets moderate to heavy fishing pressure.
#3) Average of 8- 9" gills with plenty of 10 inchers and perch that will reach 15" but they're few and far between. Some LM of 2# or so but no pike or crappie (at least I've never heard of or caught any). This lake is private and gets light fishing pressure.
Again, none of these lakes have I caught any dink gills...which I call under 5".
So I get why the private lake has so many decent gills...at least in part. But why the other 2?
My guess is a little bit of everything...water depth and quality, lots of weeds, decent amount of predator fish. But could all of this explain why there is what seems to be an above average growth rate of these pan fish. Any fish biologists out there who can confirm or add to why this might be? Invasion of the dink bluegill...why and why not?
Would make me wonder if reduction in dinks is caused by predation of the fry by mature bluegills
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I would agree. Several years ago I caught 2...11" @ 1.33# and 11.25" @ 1# even. Sad story...gave them to a "friend" who knew someone that could mount them at a reasonable price. Never seen them or him again...and don't know where he is. :%$#!: Anyway...back to the dink gills. I generally fish 3 lakes that give up some nice gills and very few "dinks" and I'm not sure why, but here is a little background on them.
Lake #1...44 acres w/avg. depth of 30'. #2...82 acres w/avg. depth of 30' and #3...30 acres w/ avg. depth 30'. All are what I would call small to medium in size and depth is the same. All have marl, pulpy peat and muck bottoms. Plenty of weeds but little in other structure. All have a few springs and inlet/outlet streams. Now the differences...
#1) Avg. of 7-8" gills with plenty of 9's and 10"+ crappie and only a few perch of any size. Some LM bass up to 2# and a few pike that will reach 35-37". This lake is public and gets moderate fishing pressure.
#2) Same as #1 except not as many 9"gills but the crappie run a little bigger and there are some decent perch if you can find them. Bass and pike run about the same as #1. This lake is public and gets moderate to heavy fishing pressure.
#3) Average of 8- 9" gills with plenty of 10 inchers and perch that will reach 15" but they're few and far between. Some LM of 2# or so but no pike or crappie (at least I've never heard of or caught any). This lake is private and gets light fishing pressure.
Again, none of these lakes have I caught any dink gills...which I call under 5".
So I get why the private lake has so many decent gills...at least in part. But why the other 2?
My guess is a little bit of everything...water depth and quality, lots of weeds, decent amount of predator fish. But could all of this explain why there is what seems to be an above average growth rate of these pan fish. Any fish biologists out there who can confirm or add to why this might be? Invasion of the dink bluegill...why and why not?
it's likely a combination of things
1) notice that in all cases you mentioned that all the lakes do not have big bass. Kevs is on the right track with predation of fry and juveniles... but it's likely coming from the bass, perch, and crappie. And pike in the lake that has them. Many times in smaller lakes, higher density of small to medium predators (typically largemouth bass) help keep young bluegills in check. That means more food for the remaining bluegill. More food and fewer fish = higher growth and larger sizes. It's called "density dependent growth"
Assuming adequate cover to protect some bluegill juveniles (but not too much cover, which will result in too many surviving and driving density of bluegill up and growth down), good forage base and productivity, those small but healthy and balanced lakes will remain kicking out good bluegill as long as *too many* of the large males are not harvested
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I think Minnesota or wisconsin has done alot of research on big males being most important to size structure. Thats why bed fishing is so detrimental.
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Maybe lakes should be manage so there is a season, so people can't fish for them while they are bedding. That may help improve the size of the fish.
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Dont know why this is: I few times last year all I was catching was males. Out of 50 maybe only a few were females. Is this because the males were making the beds and the females would come a bit later? Just curious???
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Here in Maine, they’re an invasive species that hardly anyone targets. I target them for fun, just catch and release, mostly with a fly rod during summer. One lake here is so loaded with them the locals Say they’re like piranhas, they’re biting bass lures. I’ve personally yet to break a 10” mark, but I know they are in there in abundance.
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Here in Maine, they’re an invasive species that hardly anyone targets. I target them for fun, just catch and release, mostly with a fly rod during summer. One lake here is so loaded with them the locals Say they’re like piranhas, they’re biting bass lures. I’ve personally yet to break a 10” mark, but I know they are in there in abundance.
Crazy to think just how much food is out there swimming around and people spend money on farmed fish. Not you, just in general
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Crazy to think just how much food is out there swimming around and people spend money on farmed fish. Not you, just in general
And I personally would like to keep it that way LOL
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Here in Maine, they’re an invasive species that hardly anyone targets. I target them for fun, just catch and release, mostly with a fly rod during summer. One lake here is so loaded with them the locals Say they’re like piranhas, they’re biting bass lures. I’ve personally yet to break a 10” mark, but I know they are in there in abundance.
Road trip anyone? ;D
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And I personally would like to keep it that way LOL
hahaha this site needs a like button
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Maybe lakes should be manage so there is a season, so people can't fish for them while they are bedding. That may help improve the size of the fish.
We had that once years ago. Or was it just for bass?
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Here in Maine, they’re an invasive species that hardly anyone targets. I target them for fun, just catch and release, mostly with a fly rod during summer. One lake here is so loaded with them the locals Say they’re like piranhas, they’re biting bass lures. I’ve personally yet to break a 10” mark, but I know they are in there in abundance.
When I lived in Mass as a kid they weren't targeted and they did attack bass plugs! Some of the best bluegill fishing I have ever had in quantity and size as there was no competition. Now I go back and it still can be good but not as good as people are now targeting them. I noticed the Asians really target them during spawning season.
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I think you're right Taxi, seems like dad and the old timers talked about a closed season on bedding gills. That being said I've seen gills bed at different times so might be a factor to consider if a reg were to be proposed. Hex
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Crazy to think just how much food is out there swimming around and people spend money on farmed fish. Not you, just in general
Farmed fish are the only freshwater fish you’ll find some in Maine. Being on the coast, seafood means from the ocean. This is what I usually catch in the summer, I’ve never ran into anyone else fishing for panfish out here.
This little guy bit a sz2 mouse fly
(https://i.postimg.cc/xX7YjPBn/9-A2-BD3-B8-B233-43-D9-A8-E7-B4-A79-DEA1-CDE.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/xX7YjPBn)
These were with 2.5” gulp minnows on 1/8-1/4oz crappie jigs (sz2 hook)
(https://i.postimg.cc/7fKwd4VC/3-B1-E3977-CDB4-4678-AE95-4-A0-C675068-F5.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/7fKwd4VC)
(https://i.postimg.cc/fVkDhP28/53465-C9-C-CD98-4-FD4-8-AC3-8-F1974736439.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/fVkDhP28)
(https://i.postimg.cc/zVzqxvnZ/DF250-C8-E-F1-E7-42-FD-AD41-38-C692-CF0-B6-D.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/zVzqxvnZ)
(https://i.postimg.cc/Wq7fD230/F9-FF9-F93-574-C-47-D8-8-A21-318-AB3226802.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/Wq7fD230)
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Maybe lakes should be manage so there is a season, so people can't fish for them while they are bedding. That may help improve the size of the fish.
. My dad told me that yrs ago it was against law to catch fish off beds. He said there were signs in known bedding areas posted no fishing on the beds. He said was big fine. This was in Michigan, said conservation officer really watched known areas for bedding
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When I lived in Mass as a kid they weren't targeted and they did attack bass plugs! Some of the best bluegill fishing I have ever had in quantity and size as there was no competition. Now I go back and it still can be good but not as good as people are now targeting them. I noticed the Asians really target them during spawning season.
Yes I know there weren't many people on the east coast that fished fresh water. Even the fish markets hardly ever had any types of fresh water fish.
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Check out bluegill fillets prices, they have them from time to time in meijers and are expensive
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Seamonkey, those are some very nice fish. Thanks for sharing that pic with us.
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Farmed fish are the only freshwater fish you’ll find some in Maine. Being on the coast, seafood means from the ocean. This is what I usually catch in the summer, I’ve never ran into anyone else fishing for panfish out here.
I didn't mean people are buying farmed fish at markets. I meant some people hate bluegills due to their over abundance but that's food on the table. So more people could be out there targeting them (in certain areas).
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First time I ever fished from a boat was when my Dad took me to Loomis Lake when I was 7 yrs. old, so that would have been 1946!!!!!!! Wow! That's a long time ago.
I can recall there were wooden signs pounded into water along the north shore that read, NO FISHING SPAWNING AREA.
Teach
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nice fish good job