Dont worry guys...There was 7 of us. And we thought the perch were carp, thats why we kept them. Thought we were doing the state a favor.
Thought you might get hammered with that photo. I believe many of us are a little overprotective about fish harvest after going through a drought where we watched fish populations plumate in most of our favorite lakes.
My thoughts are this. Many lakes are rebounding from the drought. Fish are a renewable resource. Recruitment is up, but it is important to understand each individual lake and base harvest accordingly. Selective harvest is key.
Sounds like perch were predominant in the body of water you fished which is a great sign for a rebounding Sandhill lake. Perch are an important part of the food chain staple in most of these lakes. Everything from YOY to whatever size will fit into a bass or pike's gullet. Best thing about perch is they are cannibalistic. That combined with these Sandhill lakes being so fertile, stunting is usually not a problem like they have in many northern US bodies of water. Exception would be Smith Lake WMA. For some reason predator/prey relationship got out of whack several years ago and that lake is filled with stunted perch.
I personally have 0 issues with your picture provided selective harvest was involved. It looks like you guys had a ball on the ice. 7 people fishing about any of the V. Refuge lakes once a year, harvesting some pan fish will not deplete the population. The problem comes when several hundred people exploit a hundred acre lake, keeping every fish they catch, or every large fish they catch, and that harvest continues throughout the ice season. Does not take long to deplete a quality fish population. That exact scenario happened on Duck last year.
Not much better than a meal of Sandhill pan fish through the ice or the quest while acquiring them. My family enjoyed some gill fillets last night that 8 of us had a ball catching the day before. I just always try and remember everyone else would like to do the same thing.
Glad you had a good time in our little part of the world.
dc
