This question came to mind when I was reading a post on what size bluegill others were catching in their areas. There is one lake here that is regulated by the State and the regulation states that you can keep 20 bluegill only per day per fisherman. To me that means everyone will keep the largest bluegill and keep throwing back the smaller ones. Is this a good practice or not? Won’t that leave the lake with smaller bluegill only? What is everyone’s opinion? I have only questions and would like to hear someone “in the know” advise me on this. Thanks
Many times slot limits are the most effective way to manage a fish population. That way you can keep the midsized fish thinned out while leaving the big breeders. Just a thought…
Warren,
I tink you’re right. Most folks will keep the largest.I agree with a slot limit. As I stated before, I fish 2 excellent ponds & the gills I infrequently keep for the pan are under 8". The fishing for large gills in both ponds has actually improved (size-wise) in the last few years.
Mike
You can call me Mike & you can call me Mikey…Just remember that this site’s about sharing!
I’m not one of them but some folks keep all they catch for the table no matter what size. The state bag limit here for bream is 50 per day per person I think. I doubt bag limits are reached consistently. There is a high reproduction rate for bream and Specks (Speck bag limit is 25 per day per person).
Possession limit is two days’ bag limit. It is illegal to transport or possess more than two days’ bag limit of fish per licensed angler without a commercial license. Size limits do exist on select waters though.
Do I believe size is relative to genetics? I think it is more relative to environment/habitat and relative to weather/seasonal conditions. For instance, if there is more than enough available food on a body of water (may or may not be seasonal), the bream may tend to be bigger. But if there is not enough available food (may or may not be seasonal), the bream may tend to be smaller.
Robert B. McCorquodale
Sebring, FL
“Flip a fly”
[This message has been edited by dixieangler (edited 19 July 2006).]
I have to agree with Rick. leave the big boys and eat the dinks.
I saw good recipe once where you boiled the fish, stripped the meat off the boiled carcass with a fork and then mixed it up with shrimp cocktail sauce for a seafood cocktail. I imagine that one could spice it up and get some really wonderful recipes.
Ponds where dinks are allowed to propogate and the predator base is low wind up completely overrun with teeny bluegills.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of folks who don’t know how the system works. They’ll die thinking, “Bigger is Better.”
Most folks I see catching gills in our local lakes throw them all back in. However, there are a few who enjoy torturing them and then pitching them back dead.
There’s almost nothin’ wrong with the first lie, it’s the weight of all the others holdin’ it up that gets ya’! - Tim
Warrenp;
Bigger is not always better, A 1 1/2 to 2 lb. Walleye is a good eater, Turn the big boys back to make more.
We didn’t get to fish that lake with the 20 BG limit, maybe next time. That could have been one great fish fry! Maybe sometimes we just need to know when to stop! 60 fish for 3 of us would have been overkill!!
I wanna go Trout fishin’ in TN!!
Don’t forget the Michigan Fish-In August 14th to the 20th. The Holy Water’s of the Au Sable await you!!
One of the great difficulties in establishing limits both in size and numbers of BG is the great variability of predator fish in the water. One pond/lake may be heavy on LMB and as a result should have a limit of 0 on BG removal…another pond/lake may be light on LMB and hence need to have unlimited size and numbers of BG removed. I manage several ponds and I never remove BG…only if the fish is going to die anyway as a result of an angling event. However, I have a predator base that makes this approach a perfectly workable one.
Because of the diversity of ponds/lakes, it is difficult to implement a one size fits all approach for BG.
Plan on staying a little longer and we will hit the bluegill lake! Take care my friend