25 fish aggregate panny limit

[Ranger619]

Granted I don't fish a lot of different Indiana waters but I do fish the Slough a lot because it's not to far from home. But 25 gills from the likes of the Slough is plenty in my opinion.

[High Tide]

Granted I don't fish a lot of different Indiana waters but I do fish the Slough a lot because it's not to far from home. But 25 gills from the likes of the Slough is plenty in my opinion.

I agree, but you'd struggle to find a lake that has the pressure the slough has in the whole state.

[bigr]

I agree 25 is plenty for any one trip for either gils or crappie. If a person needs more just take more trips. From a friend of mine that works for the dnr the possible reg change will not include crappie, however they discussed a 10 in size limits in the futher. Personally i think for the purpose of improving gil fishing we would be better served to look at individual bodies of water and regulate them.The slough is one that i think has been managed well, it gets fished hard in the winter and spring and still provides quality fishing. On the flip side some bodies of water need all the right sized gils removed. Picking and choosing would be the problem with that ideal. I would like to see the dnr choose some project lakes and follow what other states are doing, 5 fish limits,closed fishing dates,size,ext.         

[rcjim]

If it ain't broke don't fix it, all the lakes I fish are full of nice gills and crappie and they all get a lot of fishing pressure, both winter and summer.

[Gills-only]

I agree 25 is plenty for any one trip for either gils or crappie. If a person needs more just take more trips. From a friend of mine that works for the dnr the possible reg change will not include crappie, however they discussed a 10 in size limits in the futher. Personally i think for the purpose of improving gil fishing we would be better served to look at individual bodies of water and regulate them.The slough is one that i think has been managed well, it gets fished hard in the winter and spring and still provides quality fishing. On the flip side some bodies of water need all the right sized gils removed. Picking and choosing would be the problem with that ideal. I would like to see the dnr choose some project lakes and follow what other states are doing, 5 fish limits,closed fishing dates,size,ext.         

                Don't know how Indiana will do it , but in Michigan its 25 a day , not per trip!!

[abishop]

I have heard from more than 1 person. People get their limit, go home and then come back for another. One of these days it will come back and bite them in the butt.

[Fish_Tko]

I have heard from more than 1 person. People get their limit, go home and then come back for another. One of these days it will come back and bite them in the butt.

If this does pass I think the Dnr will clean up writing tickets for this.

[Gills-only]

I have heard from more than 1 person. People get their limit, go home and then come back for another. One of these days it will come back and bite them in the butt.

              Believe me , they will catch you, as they set back and watch from a very long distance!!  Friend used to be a CO in the area till he retired and said was very easy, helluva fine also!!

[Stinkybaits]

If this does pass I think the Dnr will clean up writing tickets for this.

I'll be an easy ticket I can't tell you how many times I've lost count on crappies then emptied out the live well into a bucket start over lol. Somehow I end up with one or two over I can't keep track worth a darn.I think I'll make rows of 5 on the ice a square maybe that will help..

[Gills-only]

Get a counter!  I have a rapala counter, its like a golf stroke counter!

[Stinkybaits]

Yes but you have to remember to click it or its a ticket! 

[rico]

Yes but you have to remember to click it or its a ticket!

LOL

[Fishslayer81]

If it ain't broke don't fix it, all the lakes I fish are full of nice gills and crappie and they all get a lot of fishing pressure, both winter and summer.

+1

Some of the lakes I fish that have really nice gills are heavily pressured. Some of the lakes I fish that get very little pressure have the smallest gills...go figure.

The issue is not keeping a 100+ fish through the ice, the issue is keeping all the bull males during spawn. I went out and fished for gills one time on memorial weekend because I was out of fish. That day produced enough fish to make a nice fry.  I left plenty of fish to finish the cycle. All you have to do is use some common sense....it is not that difficult. Unfortunately our societies mentality is declining and is subject to relying on our government to think for us. Pretty sad to say the least.

[Fish_Tko]

+1

Some of the lakes I fish that have really nice gills are heavily pressured. Some of the lakes I fish that get very little pressure have the smallest gills...go figure.

The issue is not keeping a 100+ fish through the ice, the issue is keeping all the bull males during spawn. I went out and fished for gills one time on memorial weekend because I was out of fish. That day produced enough fish to make a nice fry.  I left plenty of fish to finish the cycle. All you have to do is use some common sense....it is not that difficult. Unfortunately our societies mentality is declining and is subject to relying on our government to think for us. Pretty sad to say the least.

Fishslayer81, I like keeping most of my fish through the ice and have been one of those guys with piles of fish, but I am not sure I understand this logic:

if 70 of the 100 that you keep are bull males in the winter, what makes a difference if you keep them in the winter or on the beds?

[wax_worm]

Fishslayer81, I like keeping most of my fish through the ice and have been one of those guys with piles of fish, but I am not sure I understand this logic:

if 70 of the 100 that you keep are bull males in the winter, what makes a difference if you keep them in the winter or on the beds?

Valid point, but in the spring or early summer it is much easier to find a colony of beds that have all large bull males guarding the nests.  These can easily be decimated.  In the winter, you may catch males and females that are large and some that are just keepers but not the bulls.  In lakes with healthy populations those keeper fish, but not bulls, are not usually bedding because the bulls chase them off the prime spawning areas and they can't compete.  In the winter they will mix in with bull males, big females and small fish .   So while there is no difference in taking 70 bull males from the ice or beds, it is much more difficult to solely target the biggest males thru the ice vs. the beds.  On one hand you are intentionally targeting the largest males in the lake, and on the other you are targeting schools of fish who's makeup varies with big males, smaller males, and females of all sizes.  If when you ice fish you only keep fish over 9" then you are probably targeting the largest males and females and might want to keep the 8-9" fish and let the 9"+ fish go, if serious about trying to manage for large gills.

[Stinkybaits]

Good points everyone. I'm wandering if most will target just big fish now with the 25 limit and throw the 8s on down back in or possibly keeping a few smaller ones if trying to finish out the time they have with a limit.

[Fishking83]

I hope they change the law and its 25 panfish of any type (including crappies).  Either way the earliest the law will change will be on April 1st when licenses get renewed.  So it will be free game for all the guys who fill their buckets all winter long for the entire ice season again.  I have to clean fish outside in a cold garage so I don't like cleaning more than 25 anyways.  Perfect time to enjoy a few tall n frosty's though after a day of fishing.  Still cant believe I got on here before mid November

[teardrop]

First post this year! We have a small state park in my county that the state put a 10 or 15 fish limit on gills a few years back, and if my memory is correct I believe a 16 0r 18 inch limit on the bass. The fishing has for the most part remained the same; average eater gills 6-8 inches with an occasional 9 inch gill. The lake has a pretty healthy population of Catfish and some are big (5-8 lbs)  there also are crappie in it some pretty nice, some real dinks. The pond/lake is probably 5-7 acres with lots of cover and good bedding areas. My point is I thought the quality of gills would have improved more than it has, the fish aren't as thick as some in other lakes I fish, don't get me wrong I just thought by now that the average size would have increased more. I only keep what I want to clean, (thats the bad fisherman excuse!!)   

[Gills-only]

First post this year! We have a small state park in my county that the state put a 10 or 15 fish limit on gills a few years back, and if my memory is correct I believe a 16 0r 18 inch limit on the bass. The fishing has for the most part remained the same; average eater gills 6-8 inches with an occasional 9 inch gill. The lake has a pretty healthy population of Catfish and some are big (5-8 lbs)  there also are crappie in it some pretty nice, some real dinks. The pond/lake is probably 5-7 acres with lots of cover and good bedding areas. My point is I thought the quality of gills would have improved more than it has, the fish aren't as thick as some in other lakes I fish, don't get me wrong I just thought by now that the average size would have increased more. I only keep what I want to clean, (thats the bad fisherman excuse!!)   

                         Cats that size will eat anything they can get their lips on!!  My neighbor had a pond with cats up to 15lbs and when he caught them out and got rid of them, he always had descent gills in the pond but the size really went up.  The only predator fish are largemouth bass now, a cat that size WILL eat a 9" gill!!  Just in my experience!!

[bigr]

Hi teardrop, i know the lake in the state forest your referring to. When i was a boy(45 yrs ago) that lake produced lb plus Gil's as a norm. It was the go to place in the state. It got fished hard by 100s yr round for yrs. It only stopped producing quality fish after it frooze out in the winter of 78/79 or there abouts. Restocking and new regs have not made any difference. Water quality, genetics, not limits or regs in my opion are the most important thing. Fishing pressure is no where near what it was yrs ago at any time of the yr. People fished for food then not for fun and the avg fish and population again in my opion was much better on all bodies of water.     

[sprkplug]

A 5-7 acre BOW that produced 100's of one pound plus bluegills year-round for many years would be quite something to experience.

[wallydiven]

Almost sounds like that "infamous" gravel pit from last season   

[ryoder]

Almost sounds like that "infamous" gravel pit from last season   

Haha! Waiting on Dylan to say that he doesn't mind because all of his gills are over 12 inches..

[Musky50]

Fishking83 wrote:
"I hope they change the law and its 25 panfish of any type (including crappies). "

I wholeheartedly agree 100%.   

[bigr]

Let me clarify for those that need it. 100s of fishermen year round and yes it was a treat for those of us that fished it.

[wax_worm]

Let me clarify for those that need it. 100s of fishermen year round and yes it was a treat for those of us that fished it.

Must have been shallow if it froze out in the late 70's.  It must have also been loaded with fish to support that many angler hours per year in that small of a pond.  Was it all shore fishing or could you put in a boat?

[bigr]

It has a very nice ramp and has a lot access for shore fishing. At that time it was much deeper than now, 20 ft or more. Now 16 would be hard to find. Always stayed clear, now muddies up easily. It's still a place i go each winter that brings back fond memories but never the fish it once did.   

[teardrop]

The lake is still a nice place to fish. Big R after the 77-78 winters your right there was a kill, but the lake still had fish around 1980-81 the state killed off and drained the pond for dam repairs, none had been done for several years. Heck the CCC built it Im not sure if much if anything had been done since completion. Anyway I grew up
About two miles from it, back before the Feds and state got involved  in the area the road back was gravel and the whole park was rarely used, except for the locals. I have seen many nice messes of fish come from there I caught a nice bunch last year.  My point is there is plenty of food and above all else I thought that would be the ticket once the limit was set I thought it would come back quicker, there is good fishing now but not what I remember as a kid in the early 60s.

[musky8it]

The beards won't like this limit change. But, I think the majority will understand and abide by the new law.

OK, I'll bite, what are "the beards". I'm 60 and in 50 years on the ice I've never heard any talk about the Beards. If its slang for Old Timers, I'm a Old Timer and I'm for a gill limit.

[tightliner812]

OK, I'll bite, what are "the beards". I'm 60 and in 50 years on the ice I've never heard any talk about the Beards. If its slang for Old Timers, I'm a Old Timer and I'm for a gill limit.

The term beards = Amish = +