Panfish Limits

[Fishslayer81]

ill still take my trips up north for true trophy gills and crappie. but some nice eats ya got there for sure!

What do you consider trophy crappie?

Do these qualify?

[wax_worm]

It is all about location.  For some of us going to Michigan is much closer than driving to a lake with anything comparable in Inidana.  I still fish IN thru the ice more than Michigan because I am looking for eaters 8-8.5 inches more than monsters.  Mich lakes you are usually fishing 23+ fow and that sucks on windy days or when super cold with everything freezing up unless you are a shanty sitter.

[wax_worm]

For some reason my boss aka wife wouldn't let me blow 20k on what I'd want to get around everywhere.
Hard to compete 5 hours on foot although by the looks of it probably could of caught a few channel slumming and placed pretty high must oh been some brutal conditions there! If I were single be fun though for sure to go to all the lakes.

They made the channels off limits for this year since the ice was good all over the lake.  Anyone walking did not have a chance on a lake that size with only 5 hours.

[Rabidgupy]

Almost 10"ers but not quite. Nice fish for sure but keep trying.

Lol you better get your eyes checked if you can't find any 10s in the above photos and I'll pass on driving north for an extra fraction of an inch. FK83 knows some lakes in Michigan probably picks off 25 quick on his way to the land of the steelies. If limits are imposed what excuses are people going to use when they still can't catch fish? There's tons of huge fish in many lakes untapped spots out AWAY from where the masses fish.

[Rabidgupy]

What do you consider trophy crappie?

JOE!!! You been going to Michigan again and didn't invite me??!! I mean Indiana!!!! Ooops

Do these qualify?

[wax_worm]

Honest question....do you think we would have the quality of black crappies we have here in Indiana if there were no limit on them? 

[Rabidgupy]

If you weighed 83's gills to 81's it would be no contest, and to think Indiana stacks up to Michigan gills is crazy. I know plenty of good sticks that can fill buckets at will that are in favor of the limit, so not being able to catch fish is not the problem. I don't think it needs to be aggregate with crappie, but 25 each. The last couple ice seasons where short and for some crazy reason, folks are catching more harvestable fish this year.  It's not a coincidence IMO.

Lol are you kidding me with that reply on the no contest? Slayers fish bigger and thicker only way the Michigan fish beats Indiana in weight would be from all the extra mercury in their bellies from Detroit lol! Outweighs.... I'm rolling still on that reply...

[northrn-duck-assassin]

yeap, those qualify. but i did notice its only one fish at a time. im talking numbers along with size like most of us are looking for. u cant say that fish without limits dont get hampered any. yes here in indiana you can go find these trophy fish, but look how far off the 'beaten path' ur having to go. u dont have to search near as much for lakes of quanity and quality in states with limits as you do here

[Fishslayer81]

Wawasee Toads.

[northrn-duck-assassin]

Wawasee Toads.

redears... we are talking true bluegills here. not reds or hybrids. still taste good, sure!

[waltman]

wow some nice cali crappies calico's and gills good job

[Rabidgupy]

Lol good debate regardless and a recap of some awesome fish but there's never going to be a concrete system that's going to be the same for every lake in every state that I think we can all agree on and get back to fishing!

[Fishslayer81]

yeap, those qualify. but i did notice its only one fish at a time. im talking numbers along with size like most of us are looking for. u cant say that fish without limits dont get hampered any. yes here in indiana you can go find these trophy fish, but look how far off the 'beaten path' ur having to go. u dont have to search near as much for lakes of quanity and quality in states with limits as you do here

So you want limits?

[northrn-duck-assassin]

Lol good debate regardless and a recap of some awesome fish but there's never going to be a concrete system that's going to be the same for every lake in every state that I think we can all agree on and get back to fishing!

now that everyone has learned a few lakes to go to.. hahahaha darn lurkers. nobody post pics of ur trucks. off subject a bit but, i just came from erie. a buddy from out there, called a buddy said come out n fish we are on them. next morning that buddy showed up with 4 other trucks of his buddies, they were jusg gonna follow us on a road we busted open then go their own way, they set up 40-100 yards away, all of them. next day, they all set up right ontop of our numbers! went from 5 shanties to about 35 in three days.

[northrn-duck-assassin]

So you want limits?

limits of the 14-16" caliper. thats the point of the debate. not 1/4 of ur limit being trophy fish, 75% or better. still good eats, all the pics i need to go thaw out some fish!!

[musky8it]

I read thru the 1st page only, didn't the other so no idea if anyone has talked about this, if so its a repeat.

I don't think a daily limit is going to effect many icefisherman. Not many catch let alone keep 25/day unless they keep the dinks 5-6".

What will effect allot of people is if Indiana changes the Possision limit to include your freezer. That is the only change I can see that will upset allot of people.

[Fishslayer81]

redears... we are talking true bluegills here. not reds or hybrids. still taste good, sure!

Red ear/hybrid ear gill/ blue gill/ pumpkinseed...they are all panfish. The point is there is big panfish fish right here in Indiana. Is there bigger TRUE Blugills in Minnesota or Michigan, probably.

[Fishslayer81]

limits of the 14-16" caliper. thats the point of the debate. not 1/4 of ur limit being trophy fish, 75% or better. still good eats, all the pics i need to go thaw out some fish!!

You never specified what size so how am I suppose to know your point of debate? Please share some pics of a 14-16" limit of black crappie? Honestly I would not keep a limit of 14-16" crappie. All the individual pics are fish that were released except 1. I would much rather eat 10-12" crappie and release the trophies.

[musky8it]

Red ear/hybrid ear gill/ blue gill/ pumpkinseed...they are all panfish. The point is there is big panfish fish right here in Indiana. Is there bigger TRUE Blugills in Minnesota or Michigan, probably.

Redear are panfish but they have a 25/day limit.

http://www.eregulations.com/indiana/fishing/fishing-regulations/

[musky8it]

All this heavy discussion about Who's got bigger gills, Mich Minn Ind. Who really cares, if you can afford the gas or live close then go there, if not stay in Ind.

My opinion, I think a limit would increase the size of your catch and maybe the quantity in allot of lakes. Some lakes with stunted growth gill it would not help. I have seen in the last few years, numbers & size of gills go down at Nyona. And I feel its because of the extra summer fishing pressure that lake got when Manitou was shut down. THis year I caught my first Redear at Nyona in 3-4 yrs, used to catch 1 or 2 every outing.

______________________ ______________________ ______________________ __________

I'm going to disagree. If there wasn't a limit at the slough people would definitely have to work harder at getting a limit because there would be less fish. I have seen 10"ers from there this year but less than in the past because there are more people out there keeping fish of any size till they get 25. Personally, I'd like to see a 15 fish limit at the slough for about 2 or 3 years to let them toads grow. Everyone has a voice and there has been some great opinions posted thus far but it seems to me we see a post like this started every year.

I aggree, I don't think the quality and quantity would be as it is if not for the 25/gill limit.

[walkerd]

Ive only  been to the slough twice and was amazed at the crowds on the lake both times we went, four of us went and we caught our limit on really nice gills, so in my opinion a 25 limit wont hurt at all with the fishing pressure the slough gets and still produces really nice gills but like I said Ive only been there twice to far for me but the quality of fish we caught I was impressed with the pressure that lake gets and still produce very good fish is amazing to me. Most that are apposed to the 25 limit in my humble opinion are the people that take buckets of fish to fill a freezer in the winter to get thru the year. Like others I would rather see a law to prohibit bed fishing that in my again humble opinion hurt lakes more than the bucket fisherpeople, I see more and more people fishing beds in the last few years and have noticed a lack of keepable fish in the winter on a couple of lakes I fish in the winter.

[river_scum]

pretty funny thread, arguing over who has bigger gills. great reading and some good photos though.

[Rabidgupy]

Ive only  been to the slough twice and was amazed at the crowds on the lake both times we went, four of us went and we caught our limit on really nice gills, so in my opinion a 25 limit wont hurt at all with the fishing pressure the slough gets and still produces really nice gills but like I said Ive only been there twice to far for me but the quality of fish we caught I was impressed with the pressure that lake gets and still produce very good fish is amazing to me. Most that are apposed to the 25 limit in my humble opinion are the people that take buckets of fish to fill a freezer in the winter to get thru the year. Like others I would rather see a law to prohibit bed fishing that in my again humble opinion hurt lakes more than the bucket fisherpeople, I see more and more people fishing beds in the last few years and have noticed a lack of keepable fish in the winter on a couple of lakes I fish in the winter.

I agree on some lakes reservoirs or whatever the slough is I have no idea never drive south to fish as there's no reason to.  However lakes with barely any pressure will not make any difference what so ever and will probably become over populated due to the low harvest.  James chain for instance now that docksiders is shut off that harvest is gone. Lake has slab crappie and gills. Take Jimmerson lake on the same chain non existent fishing pressure what so ever no places to park for ice fishing public ramp in a terrible location for it you can't walk out to the main lame from it as most the time the current through the narrows keeps the ice open.  The size of the gills in Jimmerson are DECREASING in size sandbars loaded with beds every year thousands upon thousands of beds of great 5 to 6 inch slabs.... there's still a few 8s and maybe a 9 here and there but almost non existant. I've been fishing that lake for 43 years what once used to be a great fishing lake with huge gills and crappie is now a dink factory due to lack of fishing. Weekend boat traffic keeps summer fishermen away they don't like the waves like I do or the sport of casting for ski ropes. Used to be 20 to 30 boats when I was a kid fishing the lake everyone pounding fish catching loads of toads.  Now on a busy day during spawning season I see maybe 3 to 5 tops. Every fish doesn't come in at the same time and I also find beds into July in ten foot flats when most people think the bedding was over at the end of may they quit fishing so at that point I'm the only boat fishing other than the green carp tourney guys. 25 limit will destroy lakes like that period I don't need to be a biologist to tell that the lack of harvest is causing stunting. When I see adult 5 to 6 inch fish colonies bedding it's just like a farm pond that doesn't get fished. To implement a 25 limit will help some lakes hurt others PERIOD end of story. Putting limits on certain areas like the Slough will help. Why will it help? Because it's heavily fished it must have awesome parking and a great place to meet people shoot the breeze and have fun fishing perfect example of where limits DO help. Just don't lump it all into the same package or there's going to be more lakes like Jimmerson that will suffer greatly it doesn't take a biologist doing fish scale studies that has anything on  my study of 43 years fishing the sane lake and seeing first hand what's happening due to the lack of fish harvest becomes a giant farm pond dink fest.

[wallydiven]

To me it's not about "who has the biggest gills". I'd just like to see the fish grow to the size they potentially have in a lot of bodies of water in Indiana.Selective harvest is key. I don't keep big male gills when I do harvest a few for dinner.

[princecraft]

So you want limits?

Fishslayer81 and Radidgupy.........Ther e is no doubt about it you guys can catch some fish.  On your 2nd and 3rd pictures, would like to see a ruler on those gills on the right side of pictures.  My guess would be 6 inch gills but don't get mad, it is just my guess.  Do you guys fish together and fish the same lakes all the time or do you move from lake to lake?  Also what is the acreage of these lakes you are fishing?  How many other people are fishing these lakes?  I know for a fact that some of my best lakes that weren't the biggest in size that put out 9 - 10 inch gills regularly got fished out after about 3 years once the word got out.  If you go to those same lakes today you can hardly catch a gill much over 7 1/2.  So if you are fishing a small lake don't be surprised if in a few years those lakes aren't producing quality gills/redears/crappies like they are now.  I fish Michigan lakes 95% of the time.  Twenty five gills is more than I want to clean anyway.  When I fish Indiana lakes, if I get into gills pretty good I still count and stop at 25 anyway.  That is just me.  Have a great rest of hard ice and keep catching all you want, you are not breaking any laws.

[sprkplug]

Wow....

Some good points here for sure, and a couple of things that need clarifying in my opinion. First off, you cannot linclude a bluegill together with a redear, or a redear/bluegill hybrid, as a basis for size. And yes I am a bit of a purist in this regard, but that's because I focus almost completely on bluegills and redears. I think the tendency for a lot of folks is to lump them both in the same category, as they are essentially meat fisherman out to fill the freezer.  And in that regard, one is as good as the other. But I see many photos posted in this thread that are not true bluegills, and when they are used as proof of size, the argument falls apart. Redears can get much larger than bluegills.

And the notion that a daily limit, or what some will claim to be underharvest, leading to stunted bluegills doesn't ring true either. Sure, in some instances it might, as no two BOW are the same. But it is far from guaranteed, and I would wager that if a closer look were taken at some of these stunted lakes, another,  more probable reason for the stunting might be revealed. I have a few ponds, and even in the ones where I don't manage or feed the fish, the size structure of the lepomids is increasing. I posted some photos of the 12" redears and a 11" bluegill or two that came from there this winter. No fishing pressure at all.....yet the fish are getting larger?? Yep. Much, much, more to it than fishing presure where stunted bluegills are concerned.

A brief comment on my meat fisherman remark.... I don't put fish in the freezer. They quit getting bigger when I tried that. My freezer is the BOW itself. They're there when I want a mess, and they're getting bigger all the time while still swimming. Loading up on gills while the gettin' is good is perfectly legal right now. But why is the DNR investigating instituting a change to that policy? Do they foresee a problem on the horizon? If so, why? The most logical argument would seem to be they are concerned with a possible overharvest. That's just a guess on my part, however.

And while it's legal to take all of those fish, once they're gone...they're gone.  Some folks seem to give little thought to the effects genetics can play in regards to growing big bluegills. I can assure you that it's just as important in this case, as it is when growing trophy bass is the objective.

[sprkplug]

Also: length, while easy to obtain and highly visual, is not the best measurement for evaluating bluegills, no more than it is for any other species of fish. Weight tells much more of the story. A one pound specimen starts what I consider to be a big gill.

[wallydiven]

I agree on some lakes reservoirs or whatever the slough is I have no idea never drive south to fish as there's no reason to.  However lakes with barely any pressure will not make any difference what so ever and will probably become over populated due to the low harvest.  James chain for instance now that docksiders is shut off that harvest is gone. Lake has slab crappie and gills. Take Jimmerson lake on the same chain non existent fishing pressure what so ever no places to park for ice fishing public ramp in a terrible location for it you can't walk out to the main lame from it as most the time the current through the narrows keeps the ice open.  The size of the gills in Jimmerson are DECREASING in size sandbars loaded with beds every year thousands upon thousands of beds of great 5 to 6 inch slabs.... there's still a few 8s and maybe a 9 here and there but almost non existant. I've been fishing that lake for 43 years what once used to be a great fishing lake with huge gills and crappie is now a dink factory due to lack of fishing. Weekend boat traffic keeps summer fishermen away they don't like the waves like I do or the sport of casting for ski ropes. Used to be 20 to 30 boats when I was a kid fishing the lake everyone pounding fish catching loads of toads.  Now on a busy day during spawning season I see maybe 3 to 5 tops. Every fish doesn't come in at the same time and I also find beds into July in ten foot flats when most people think the bedding was over at the end of may they quit fishing so at that point I'm the only boat fishing other than the green carp tourney guys. 25 limit will destroy lakes like that period I don't need to be a biologist to tell that the lack of harvest is causing stunting. When I see adult 5 to 6 inch fish colonies bedding it's just like a farm pond that doesn't get fished. To implement a 25 limit will help some lakes hurt others PERIOD end of story. Putting limits on certain areas like the Slough will help. Why will it help? Because it's heavily fished it must have awesome parking and a great place to meet people shoot the breeze and have fun fishing perfect example of where limits DO help. Just don't lump it all into the same package or there's going to be more lakes like Jimmerson that will suffer greatly it doesn't take a biologist doing fish scale studies that has anything on  my study of 43 years fishing the sane lake and seeing first hand what's happening due to the lack of fish harvest becomes a giant farm pond dink fest.

All the more reason for selective harvest! Take all the big toads out and you are left with 6-7" keepers. The genetics just aren't there anymore because everyone took them. Thank you for proving my point.

[Fishslayer81]

Fishslayer81 and Radidgupy.........Ther e is no doubt about it you guys can catch some fish.  On your 2nd and 3rd pictures, would like to see a ruler on those gills on the right side of pictures.  My guess would be 6 inch gills but don't get mad, it is just my guess.  Do you guys fish together and fish the same lakes all the time or do you move from lake to lake?  Also what is the acreage of these lakes you are fishing?  How many other people are fishing these lakes?  I know for a fact that some of my best lakes that weren't the biggest in size that put out 9 - 10 inch gills regularly got fished out after about 3 years once the word got out.  If you go to those same lakes today you can hardly catch a gill much over 7 1/2.  So if you are fishing a small lake don't be surprised if in a few years those lakes aren't producing quality gills/redears/crappies like they are now.  I fish Michigan lakes 95% of the time.  Twenty five gills is more than I want to clean anyway.  When I fish Indiana lakes, if I get into gills pretty good I still count and stop at 25 anyway.  That is just me.  Have a great rest of hard ice and keep catching all you want, you are not breaking any laws.

6" gillz lmao...there are no gillz under 7.5" in those pics. I dont keep 6" blugills...I release everything under 7.5" with the exception of some that do not swim down the hole.  Some of you guys really crack me up. Of course 7.5" gillz will look small when there is 13-14" slab crappies next to them. Hell they make those 9" gillz in the middle look small. Plenty of people fish these lakes and plenty of people watch me catch the fish. Also most have quit fishing this spot a month ago since they can no longer catch them and have moved on to a easier bite, yet I still continue to put creels on the ice. Some of you act like I fish this private honey hole, well you could not be more wrong. I agree with spark plug on length does not mean everything...the place I fish pump out very thick fish. 7.5" gillz are thick slabs...I could go to several other lakes and not get the same size fillet off a 7.5" gill.

We fish glacier lakes...lots of acerage, plenty of fish, and lots of people fish them. I would not keep this many fish out of a small body of water. These lakes get thousands pulled from them every year and they still pump out good numbers and size.

Fyi I do not think I am the best fisherman out there...I know a few guys that pound way more fish then I do and fish 4-5 days a week. I only started posting pictures because folks wanted to see fish pics. I will gladly stop especially if I have to read posts indicating I am keeping 6" fish. Some of you here do not have a clue and never will.

Rabidgupy, I told you we should quit posting pics. It definitely is causing a severe case of butthurt for some here.

[marmooskapaul]

Don't we do this every year?? 
Paul