Panfish Limits

[musky8it]

I don't know anyone for a fact who catches buckets or coolers full of gills. I don't know for a fact anyone who has 500 gills in there freezer. So I do not know if they are for or against a gill limit.

What I did say was, " I may be wrong but maybe people against a limit are the ones who glutton gills ". If you would take the time to read what I said instead of reading into what you thought I said. You would see I said "MAYBE". I did not say people against a limit are the ones who glutton gills. I said maybe.

[sprkplug]

Maintaining a population of 8-9" bluegills is one thing...improving that size structure is quite another. One one hand, we can claim that the population isn't being hurt, size wise, but is it getting better instead of just holding steady? And of course it will vary from one BOW to another, with some holding steady, and others possibly declining.

For many anglers, bluegills are simply a meat fish, nothing more. And I get that also. But angling is the number one reason that a bluegill population may decline, size wise. Think about it....a bass eats 10 pounds of bluegills to gain one pound of weight. What size bluegills is that fish consuming?  The smaller ones...say less than 6" in  most cases. That is exactly the size that need to be removed in many situations. Now what size does the angler target? The 7-9" fish most times, possibly the largest size class in the lake, and the most important when it comes to ensuring a continual supply of good fish. This is why I favor a limit.....And while I agree that it won't help every BOW, and might even hurt some, I think it's a good starting point.

Selective harvest...it's what the predators do. And we, as anglers, are at the top of the predator list.

[Fishking83]

I didn't mean to ruffle anyones feathers.  I guess I let my opinions get in the way and hopefully didn't piss anyone off too bad.  I'm glad that F81 and Gupy have lakes around them that give up hogs and don't have to travel far to get quality fish.  I spoke for all of Indiana and I should have spoke for the section of lakes in Indiana around me as I don't fish near Fort Wayne.  In my area the size of gills compared to most lakes I fish in Michigan IMO doesn't really compare.  I meet Gupy and have talked to him throughout the entire fishing season.  I'm almost positive if you ran into him on the ice and talked to you he would give you helpful information and probably even a jig/fly or 2 of whatever he was using that was working.  I've never meet F81 so cant speak for him.  I would be in favor of taking Gupy and F81 out in open water though to Michigan and help convince them of the Michigan monsters I speak of .  As I said before I would just like to see if a 25 fish limit could increase the size of gills in the Indiana lakes in my area.  I didn't want to get into a pissing match about who could catch bigger fish I'm just in favor of seeing if a limit could produce better quality fish.  There is a good population of bearded fishermen who live in my area and I believe them hammering fish on the beds could be a part of this.  I think 25 is plenty of fish per outing but unless someone is breaking the law which they are not they can keep as they please.  When fishing Michigan I will keep my 25 and continue fishing for fun and practice C/R.  I always have live bluegills in the livewell in case a fish swallows a hook too deep and then I can trade one out for one that wont survive.  Musky8it if this post of mine is not in proper structure for your reading pleasure please skip over once again. 

[ispoman]

Trust me, I'm not the only one tired of your carp. Its not what you say, its how U say it.

u should know that wax is the boss on all here. Maybe youre jealous of his shanty stardom cause u seem like a tool also. Maybe u2 can make a date and make up. Thats just wax take it or leave it not a bad guy just knows EVERYTHING. Accept it or get over it only room for one chief here so your gonna lose

[sprkplug]

Man I hope this thread doesn't get deleted.  Some excellent points here from all sides. Be a shame to lose it all just because it got personal.

[wallydiven]

Man I hope this thread doesn't get deleted.  Some excellent points here from all sides. Be a shame to lose it all just because it got personal.

That usually happens after about page 4. I agree this one is a good read, but honestly I'm surprised its lasted this long.

[wax_worm]

Man I hope this thread doesn't get deleted.  Some excellent points here from all sides. Be a shame to lose it all just because it got personal.

Agree....I will do my part and delete my last few posts so it doesn't...can't speak for others having nothing constructive to add other than trying to derail the thread by insulting people.

[Fishslayer81]

I didn't mean to ruffle anyones feathers.  I guess I let my opinions get in the way and hopefully didn't piss anyone off too bad.  I'm glad that F81 and Gupy have lakes around them that give up hogs and don't have to travel far to get quality fish.  I spoke for all of Indiana and I should have spoke for the section of lakes in Indiana around me as I don't fish near Fort Wayne.  In my area the size of gills compared to most lakes I fish in Michigan IMO doesn't really compare.  I meet Gupy and have talked to him throughout the entire fishing season.  I'm almost positive if you ran into him on the ice and talked to you he would give you helpful information and probably even a jig/fly or 2 of whatever he was using that was working.  I've never meet F81 so cant speak for him.  I would be in favor of taking Gupy and F81 out in open water though to Michigan and help convince them of the Michigan monsters I speak of .  As I said before I would just like to see if a 25 fish limit could increase the size of gills in the Indiana lakes in my area.  I didn't want to get into a pissing match about who could catch bigger fish I'm just in favor of seeing if a limit could produce better quality fish.  There is a good population of bearded fishermen who live in my area and I believe them hammering fish on the beds could be a part of this.  I think 25 is plenty of fish per outing but unless someone is breaking the law which they are not they can keep as they please.  When fishing Michigan I will keep my 25 and continue fishing for fun and practice C/R.  I always have live bluegills in the livewell in case a fish swallows a hook too deep and then I can trade one out for one that wont survive.  Musky8it if this post of mine is not in proper structure for your reading pleasure please skip over once again.

No feathers ruffled here...Im all for a good discussion!!

[kevs]

 Having fished with Rabidgupy on the lake he is referring to  I agree with him on that BOW. It is amazing the amount of fish a person can catch there, continuously, consistently. I saw the same situation on another BOW we fished last year. Many of the larger bodies of water are under fished, and some of that due to lack of knowledge both of the lake and the technique needed to catch those fish. There are many smaller lakes (under 120 acres) I used to fish and we would consistently catch 10" plus gills, not redears, and 7"-9" green sunfish. As more people have been fishing those smaller lakes it has become rare to catch gills over 9", and no green sunfish. Redear populations on those lakes have suffered also with the increased pressure. A law that blankets the entire state would be ridiculous to say the least. The DNR needs to do what it used to and put college students out there doing creel surveys as part of their education and to get credits, then tabulate those results and  do further studies on those lakes that show a problem with quality/quantity of fish. Limit those lakes that are scientifically showing problems, not because some people are upset that they don't catch the fish as some others do. The state has the money and the resources available to do what is necessary to make the correct decisions on BOWs in the state of Indiana, it is like to many things in this world its becoming a political issue based on opinion and not on facts.

[walkerd]

We don't do this every year this is the first time they have seriously wanted to change the law to 25 gills per day as far as I know. There are alot of interesting views posted on this possible change. I have personally seen people taking buckets of fish at one sitting and these are people that fish everyday in the winter, IE one lake that this has been done it is extremely hard to catch a few fish for a meal, and have heard these gentlemen complaining how hard it is to catch fish now, I commented I wonder why when the harvest by a few is a little ridiculous. 25 fish equals 50 fillets now thats a nice meal right there..........

[IceJunkie0602]

I think the bluegill in Indiana are great.  I always find nice ones.  I think the argument for me is why declare the whole state a 25 fish limit?  Maybe some lakes need it.  Some don't.   Yes it would be easier to enforce. But to say every lake in Indiana needs a 25 fish limit is crazy talk.

[river_scum]

dont let him get to you musky. he has been jumping up n down on my bass for years on here. lol

Man I hope this thread doesn't get deleted.  Some excellent points here from all sides. Be a shame to lose it all just because it got personal.

x2

[wallydiven]

I think the bluegill in Indiana are great.  I always find nice ones.  I think the argument for me is why declare the whole state a 25 fish limit?  Maybe some lakes need it.  Some don't.   Yes it would be easier to enforce. But to say every lake in Indiana needs a 25 fish limit is crazy talk.

I have been on some quality fish the past few seasons as well. My reasons favoring a limit is not because I see people taking to many, but i see the potential that these 8-10" gills have. I do agree though that it shouldn't be all lakes. Honestly I don't see that happening. Just not cost effective.

[Rabidgupy]

Here's some great links. I just Googled "Giant Bluegil" all kinds of great info is out there. Couple links below one is Richmond Mill which has a crazy program supported by a great group of like minded people. How big can they get is their mission!


http://www.bassresource.com/fish_biology/richmond_mill_2.html
http://www.midwestoutdoors.com/magazine/article.cfm/228/The-Hunt-For-Big-Winter-Bluegill/

[sprkplug]

Here's some great links. I just Googled "Giant Bluegil" all kinds of great info is out there. Couple links below one is Richmond Mill which has a crazy program supported by a great group of like minded people. How big can they get is their mission!

(Image removed from quote.)
http://www.bassresource.com/fish_biology/richmond_mill_2.html
http://www.midwestoutdoors.com/magazine/article.cfm/228/The-Hunt-For-Big-Winter-Bluegill/

That fellow holding the fish is Bruce Condello, someone I look up to and hold in high regard.  An absolute wizard at turning out huge panfish, runs the website BigBluegill.com, and is a personal friend.

[musky8it]

Agree....I will do my part and delete my last few posts so it doesn't...can't speak for others having nothing constructive to add other than trying to derail the thread by insulting people.

You agree?...... You're gona do your part, really?..... You say all that then turn right around say " can't speak for others having nothing constructive to add ............. So who's doing the derailing?

EDITED

[Rabidgupy]

I didn't mean to ruffle anyones feathers.  I guess I let my opinions get in the way and hopefully didn't piss anyone off too bad.  I'm glad that F81 and Gupy have lakes around them that give up hogs and don't have to travel far to get quality fish.  I spoke for all of Indiana and I should have spoke for the section of lakes in Indiana around me as I don't fish near Fort Wayne.  In my area the size of gills compared to most lakes I fish in Michigan IMO doesn't really compare.  I meet Gupy and have talked to him throughout the entire fishing season.  I'm almost positive if you ran into him on the ice and talked to you he would give you helpful information and probably even a jig/fly or 2 of whatever he was using that was working.  I've never meet F81 so cant speak for him.  I would be in favor of taking Gupy and F81 out in open water though to Michigan and help convince them of the Michigan monsters I speak of .  As I said before I would just like to see if a 25 fish limit could increase the size of gills in the Indiana lakes in my area.  I didn't want to get into a pissing match about who could catch bigger fish I'm just in favor of seeing if a limit could produce better quality fish.  There is a good population of bearded fishermen who live in my area and I believe them hammering fish on the beds could be a part of this.  I think 25 is plenty of fish per outing but unless someone is breaking the law which they are not they can keep as they please.  When fishing Michigan I will keep my 25 and continue fishing for fun and practice C/R.  I always have live bluegills in the livewell in case a fish swallows a hook too deep and then I can trade one out for one that wont survive.  Musky8it if this post of mine is not in proper structure for your reading pleasure please skip over once again.

Lol I don't have any feathers left to ruffle. Wife wore those to the nubs years ago. It's all good!

[Rabidgupy]

I'm down for some Michigan monsters!#! I always get an annual for salmon trips.

[Rabidgupy]

I can't remember if this was brought up but I'll post it. So let's say that the limit does become law. What will most anglers do? Keep 25 of the biggest fish they catch or throw the 9s back in hopes of more 10s to experience in the future. I'm thinking most will just keep all the big fish. I think slayer hit it on the head for most of us gills are table food. Now take big crappie I catch and release them quite a bit I'm not a fan of the taste or perhaps the texture of anything over 10 inches. The bigger fillets remind me of marshmallow in texture like eating a puff ball.

[wax_worm]

I can't remember if this was brought up but I'll post it. So let's say that the limit does become law. What will most anglers do? Keep 25 of the biggest fish they catch or throw the 9s back in hopes of more 10s to experience in the future. I'm thinking most will just keep all the big fish. I think slayer hit it on the head for most of us gills are table food. Now take big crappie I catch and release them quite a bit I'm not a fan of the taste or perhaps the texture of anything over 10 inches. The bigger fillets remind me of marshmallow in texture like eating a puff ball.

Alot of poeple don't even get to 25 in an outing so they will take what they get or at least what they call keepers.  Same as what they do today.  If on a good bite where there are 9+ gills and lots of 8's I will keep the 8's for my 25 and toss the bigger fish back.  The fun is in catching them so I will keep fishing until the bite stops just for the fun of it.  For crappie it is a bit different because if you keep them starting at 9" they get up to 14+" in alot of waters, so there is a bigger range (gills 7.5-10) of what is available as a keeper.  What is the 'cutoff' for when a crappie becomes to big to where you throw it back?  It likely varies for every angler as some will keep them all (up to 25) and others will keep the 9-12's and toss the bigger ones back.  I am like you, I give the crappie fillets away....I don't eat them, but they are fun to catch. 

It will be intersting to hear what others will do if the limit is passed.

[musky8it]

....... Now take big crappie I catch and release them quite a bit I'm not a fan of the taste or perhaps the texture of anything over 10 inches. The bigger fillets remind me of marshmallow in texture like eating a puff ball.

Small/medium Crappies thru the ice are pretty good. Summer crappies I agree to soft. One guy did tell me to soak the fillet in ice water before cooking it firms summer crappies up, tried it didn't work for me so summer crappies I toss back.

[Underdog67]

Pretty interesting thread.  Seems like a lot of guys speak their mind on what they see or what they fish.  Indiana is a pretty diverse state from top to bottom.  I never understood the crappie limit from a northern standpoint basically because I have never limited out on a public body of water in my area.  However I have fished Sally and some other reservoirs where I limited out in short order.  I have no issues with a 25 fish limit for gills at all.  I rarely keep that many anyway. Getting fish off the beds is my concern.  If the limit helps limiting fish caught in this manner than I am all for it.  But I also realize every BOW is different.

[northrn-duck-assassin]

seems like a lot of guys are agreeing the spawn should be protected, at least. so, in its own way it will benefit both fisherman that are pro/con. but also it will help protect the bluegill, everyone knows that the spawn gills just get pillaged on. im for a limit regardless, but especially during the spawn. or 'spawning months' other states shut down fishing a certain species and other states also reduce limits on species during the spawning months. so i believe indiana should get on board with this. i trully dont think its too much for them to do limits on certain lakes, it is set up like that elsewhere in the country with states that have many, many, many more lakes than we have.

[Rabidgupy]

A buddy was telling me in Minnesota on the lake his in inlaws are in they put out bouys on some of the giant spawning areas and those are off limits period while buoys are out there. That type of program wouldn't be too hard to implement here. They don't throw bouys everywhere as there's no need to again if you overpopulate a lake that cannot provide the food source your going to get smaller thinner fish. Every lake is unique and from every article I've seen from guys like Genz and others they all agree with that as well.

[northrn-duck-assassin]

im not saying u need to throw a bouy out to mark a location. but again maybe the bouy idea would work, . but u can have limits established for each individual public lake. cant say it cant be done because there are states that have this kind of system. someone mentioned earlier with college kids on this program. thats a good way to start. some of these guys that sit around in the clubhouses at the fish and wildlife areas can get out and do some work and research also i believe. if i was in that field of work id be doing alot to help protect and preserve the wildlife and outdoors. but thats just me and my opinion. in regards to ur thought of overpopulation cause all lakes are different. this is true and that why they should have research done. at least on your main BOW that are concentrated the most during spawns. most of this topic reflects the spawn and there should be a guideline of protection there. i mean really, they even limit how many bass (green carp) u can keep, i think bass are disgusting table fare. ive had guys tell me the smaller ones through the ice are the way to go and that could be, but BG are sought after because of the great table fare they are, one of the most sought after fish. over population can effect a lake, can also be efected by being fished out. cant sit here and say a lake cant be fished out because there are numerous lakes that have taken a hit in just the last 5 years let alone 10,15 years. sometimes i wish i was older so i could have enjoyed some great outdoors in the past, like some of the gents on this forum!

[Underdog67]

i trully dont think its too much for them to do limits on certain lakes, it is set up like that elsewhere in the country with states that have many, many, many more lakes than we have.

I don't know about that.  Not many states have more natural lakes than we have here. 

[northrn-duck-assassin]

I don't know about that.  Not many states have more natural lakes than we have here.

really??!  you must travel much?! 

[Underdog67]

really??!  you must travel much?! 

Name them?

[northrn-duck-assassin]

iowa, sodak, nodak... there is a start

[Mrwiggler]

A buddy was telling me in Minnesota on the lake his in inlaws are in they put out bouys on some of the giant spawning areas and those are off limits period while buoys are out there. That type of program wouldn't be too hard to implement here. They don't throw bouys everywhere as there's no need to again if you overpopulate a lake that cannot provide the food source your going to get smaller thinner fish. Every lake is unique and from every article I've seen from guys like Genz and others they all agree with that as well.

I encountered this years back ( 70/80's), around the Crow Wing area. You did'nt want to get caught fishing inside the roped areas, for sure