Keeping Fish in spawning time

[Luck e 1]

Now that the ice is off, and the fish come in shallow to spawn... lets remember that nice sized crappies, and gills can be hard to come by. (I hope I don't sounds like a tree hugger). For the record...I like to eat fish as well and don't care that people take fish for a meal.

Also, what do people think about keeping fish that are spawning (or soon will be)? I personally like to let them finish their business.

[Bandersnatch]

Flip o the coin. Depends on the lake I'm on. If it is runted out with smaller Crappie I like to keep a few more than. say a lake that has a good average size. All the c&r can actually harm lakes that really need a harvest to stay healthy.

[Ray Esboldt]

It will be quite a while before any panfish are spawning (late May crappies, late June sunfish). However, I do agree with your selective harvest principle. Bigger pannies can probably kick out more young and have the genetics going for them.

[rockingroy]

Ray's right, a lot of eople think that as soon as the ice goes out and the panfish move in shallow they are there to spawn, but the truth is they move into the shallows to feed, and in many instances move somewhere else to spawn. I agree we need to protect the resources, but theese fish won't be spawning until after the opener and by then many of us will be targeting different species. However that doesn't mean we need to take a limit every day while they're feeding in the shallows either. Remember you're only allowed one limit at home in your freezer too!