sign at SYLVIA access

[Bohonk316]

I fish a lake up north,they raised the limit on northerns and had a slot on them,this got rid of the hammerhandles.Now when you catch em they are on average over 28 in. If you want to put restrictions on Bass, lower the limit to 3 and nothing over 17 in. Like Walleyes and All other fish the BIG ONES are female. LEAVE OUT THE MUSKIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[bassNspear]

io think your right. we cant have this lake keep taking huge hits on the bass side when alot of the people are taking the 11-15 in bass. I think the slot has to be nothing under 17 or whatever the case might be. It would be nice to see them eliminate the smaller fish.

[noodlerod]

If you don't want pressure on a lake.....leave the panfish to 5. Its amazing how many people will NOT fish it!

I think thats exactly what the GLSA wants !!!

[Fever]

BnS,

I believe some of the problem with such a high population of smaller fish is that they are in a way stunted. Some of it may be Genetic most of it seems to be too high of a population that happens to be small and aggressive. The lakes are having a difficult time growing anything big because there are no top level predators to regulate or control populations. That is the reason Muskies most likely should be added in a limited manor. Look at the acreage of the lake system there and compare it to Waconia. Very similar in many ways and no one can argue the quality of fishing on Waconia from the top on down. That is not luck... That is proper management.

[mike morris]

BnS... Though putting a slot and fish limit into place would help Sylvia a lot, the number of fishermen fishing the lake would increase like crazy along with it. If it would turn into the goldmine you're thinking it would, it would develop into the talk of Central Minnesota. I'm pretty sure they'd have to build another access too.

[noodlerod]

Good ol' mother nature ! I got a rain day today , so much for OT this week ! anywho I spent the afternoon educating myself with a phone call to the DNR (paul dittrich) on the proposed regs for sylvia . each speciecs will be voted on sepratly it's not an all or none situation . they (DNR) are in the process of doing a report on the lake right now so they have some numbers to give us in sept. He said he was out on sylvia the other day doing some electro fishing and he even thinks himself that the proposed sunfish reg. might not need to be put in place based on what he seen and what I and others have reported to him. bass on the other hand he said are 10"-12" and 6 years old that they are stunted . I'll be talking to a GLSA board director tonight so I'll post again after that.

[bassNspear]

Fever, i understand what your saying. But if im wrong correct me, they shut bass fishing down on Waconia!!

[JIGGIN']

Sorry mike the muskies don't really affect the panfish in a negative way since they prefer softer rayed forage much more so than sunnies and crappies.

[JIGGIN']

Really, why are some here opposed to muskies being introduced into some MN lakes. My first thought about this is that of being uneducated about the role of predators in a lake environment, but I would like to give these folks the benefit of the doubt. Muskies are really a low density predator which can actually benefit lakes with stunted panfish and a disproportionate population of rough fish. Muskies are really no more of a threat to gamefish species than any single pike in a lake. I think there is a myth out there that muskies will decimate your lake by eating all the gamefish that you would normally harvest for yourselves... This line of reasoning is simply not logical. How many fisherman understand the crucial balance of the predator/prey relationship and where it fits into your own understanding of what is truly a safe harvest level for your own needs? Food for thought............

[rockman]

Someone correct me if I am wrong, but doesn't Twin/Sylvia have tulibees/cisco,and maybe even shad, in it's forage base, besides the panfish? The cisco's, by themsleves, would be a factor as to maybe why the DNR is considering putting muskies in the lake, besides the panfish control factor. I am not a fisheries biologist, but besides the fishing publics desire for more muskie lakes in our state, there is obviously other factors as to why they are considering doing this.

[MN-FishGuy]

noodlerod, you can email me if you want. [email protected].

[MN-FishGuy]

Some of you are saying that the sunfish population on Sylvia is stunted, I don't see this at all. There are some very nice sized sunfish in the lake and I believe it is a very healthy population. There are plenty of predators in the lake already to control the sunfish, that being mainly northern and dogfish. The bass population I do believe has become stunted, while there are still some big bass out there, the majority is around that 12 inch area.

[DHanson]

I am so sick of hearing false information pertaining to muskies. Will you people please educate yourself on the effects muskies have on lakes before you pass judgement on this specie. There are numerous well done studies out there and I encourage everyone to do their research instead of listening to past stereotypes on this fish. Education is the key. This is coming from a multi-species fisherman and yes I do fish for muskies, but I also fish for other species just as much or more. I could care less if they stock Sylvia with muskies, but don't say un-needed comments like the panfish population is low in Sugar because of the muskies. These are all stereotypes. I remember fishing Sugar not long ago when the lake was still full of muskies and experiencing an unbelievable crappie bite. Nothing is responsible for the low numbers of any specie of fish besides YOU the fishermen. The reality is, like it or not, the sport of muskie fishing has sky rocketed, and there is simply not enough muskie lakes in MN to handle all of this fishing pressure. We live in a state that has over 10,000 lakes and we only have a handful with muskies in them. It is the same story every time there is talk about adding another muskie lake. The same uneducated response every time!

[robbo17]

Well Said Hanson.

[mike morris]

Sorry for being so uneducated mr. hanson.

[MN-FishGuy]

I found this in the crappies/sunfish forum. I thought it fit very well with this topic and thought I would share it with everyone else. I'm still unsure if Sylvia is in need of a reduced daily bag limit of sunfish, but this article definitley makes you think. It sure would be nice to have some lakes in this area with some "big" bluegills in them. I think more responsibility should be taken by us fisherman on releasing some of these really big panfish and only take what you can eat for the night. Quit stocking your freezers with piles of sunfish, be responsisble, educate yourself, and lets leave the next generation with a good fishery. There is nothing wrong with taking a full limit of sunfish every now and then, but its not needed everyday and some people go overkill when a "hot" bite is happening.

There's no easy fix to problem of shrinking panfish

by Chris Niskanen, ST. Paul Pioneer Press

I was having coffee with some fishing guides in Walker, Minn., a few weeks ago when one began crowing about the great bluegill fishing on a certain lake.

Quickly, another guide chimed in, "We don't want you to write about that. You print something like that and those big bluegills will get fished out in no time."

The worried guide was right — big bluegills easily can be overfished. Department of Natural Resources biologists say the No. 1 cause for Minnesota's declining population of large bluegills is overfishing.

Though anglers blame stunted growth when lakes become populated with little panfish, more often the culprits are anglers taking bucketfuls of large bluegills and pumpkinseeds.

Last weekend, my daughters were anything but quiet about the bluegills we were catching in a northern Washington County lake. Every time my 4-year-old hoisted one over the gunwale, she screamed, "It's a keeper!"

Some were. Our rule: anything 8 inches or longer went into the livewell. The limit is 20 per person, so technically our family could keep 80 whopper bluegills.

But I knew 12 or 15 would be enough for dinner. We ended up keeping only six.

Smaller panfish bag limits might be in Minnesota's future.

Don Pereira, DNR fisheries research manager, said there is growing interest among anglers to further protect trophy sunfish populations. The DNR now has a "panfish advisory" committee of anglers who are advising the agency on panfish management.

"We have a number of lakes around the state that has panfish bag limits of five or 10 fish, and the advisory committee is requesting more of them," Pereira said.

Panfish — the family name for bluegill, pumpkinseeds and green sunfish — are the most popular fish in Minnesota. Yet schemes for managing them for trophy sizes — say, 8 inches and larger — have proven elusive.

Some years ago, Minnesota researcher Pete Jacobson studied eight Minnesota lakes with a history of good bluegill fishing. He tried an experiment using daily limits to try to increase the size of bluegills. Four lakes had the bag limit reduced from 30 to 10 fish; four other lakes retained a 30-fish limit.

After five years, three lakes with a 10-fish limit were producing bigger bluegills. But slow growth is a problem. In one lake, the average bluegill size jumped an inch, from 7.3 to 8.2, in five years. That was considered a success because in northern Minnesota bluegills grow exceedingly slowly.

A few years ago, with a mixture of grumbling and acceptance from anglers, the DNR lowered the statewide sunfish limit to 20. It is not known what effect that has had on overall size of sunfish in the state.

"Our advice to anglers is when you find a hot bite on large panfish, don't kill lots of the big fish," said Pereira. "To maintain these populations, it's really a matter of curtailing our kill."

Other experiments that protect predator fish such as northern pike and largemouth bass so they weed out small, stunted sunfish haven't been successful, mainly because in Minnesota the peak warm season for predators to eat lots of sunfish — midsummer — does not last long enough to sufficiently trim big schools of sunfish.

The problem of panfish stunting and overfishing is more connected than we thought.

Recent research shows that when large male bluegills are removed from a lake, the "pecking" order of spawning males is upset. With the larger "bull" males gone, the younger, smaller males assume spawning duties. They also begin maturing earlier. Thus begins a vicious cycle of small males successfully taking over spawning duties and never reaching large sizes.

We aren't sure if we disrupted the bluegill spawning habits in the lake we fished last weekend, but everyone knew we were catching fish when my daughter enthusiastically yelled, "They're keepers!"

Even though most of them weren't.

[noodlerod]

rockman , I've been fishing the lake for 30+ years and I've never seen , caught or heard of any tulibees, cisco, or shad in sylvia, herring yes but not in the last 20 years. or are herring the same thing???

[mike morris]

I read in the DNR book that they netted some whitefish long ago in Sylvia. I have never caught anything of that sort though.

[noodlerod]

MN-FishGuy your post's hit the nail on the head , well said

[Fever]

Bns

Yep, you are right about that Bass statement on Waconia. I don't think they closed bass but I do think they had a slot limit imposed something to the effect of no bass can be kept under 20 inches. I think it was in effect for several years and it was removed about 10 years ago. I'm certain that that slot along with the healthy food chain/piramid in the lake has lead to an above average fishery of Muskie,Walleye,crappie,sunfish, and bass. I do think that the Northern pike population is below average for that lake class however.

Crazy how on rainy stormy days the posts on the site skyrocket... Hope weather improves for tomorrows league fishing event.

[bassNspear]

I think everyone has great information here. There has been alot of different things said about the topic. Bar none, we have to figure out a way that will help the lake get better. The population of the bass is horrible for normal fishing people. If you learn the lake alot, you will get to understand it more and find the bigger fish. I have been fishing this lake since i was a kid. There is big bass in it, dont get me wrong. But it would be flippen awesome so see alot of monsters in the lake to have a great time cuaghting them.

Im not all about not having muskies in the lake. I dont think its going to kill or help the population of panfish. I dont know alot of muskies, which i have to study them more. so i cant coment on that subject.

Ither way, i think there going to do the right thing to make the lake alot better for higher populations of bigger fish, and some great fishing for the starter families, and up to the pros.

[Bohonk316]

The muskies don't hurt the panfish poulation,you are correct it's the people who think that they have to fill their freezers and the neighbors and all their relatives as well. The only reason I say leave the muskies out is for the people who like myself like to spear in the winter.Unfortunately some peole have to ruin things for everbody else.If you can't tell the difference between the two,you have problems.

[ikatcher]

hanson i'm with you 100% , i've watched one of my favorite lakes, osakis go from a fantastic panfish lake with lots of huge panfish to just another average lake. i had friends that had a cabin on the north end and i would see people go out 4-5 times a day when the bite was good and take limits in each time. i was to young to say anything but even at a young age i knew it was wrong. that lake does not have 1 muskie in it, but what it does have is a bunch of game hogs fishing it. panfish are no differnt then walleyes. a 7 incher is just as tasty as a 10 incher. let some of the big girls go! i'm all for slots and reduced limits, and if nothing changes i'll still release most of my fish. think about it, if every boat you see out there keeps their limit of 20 big sunnies how long can it last? sometimes we are own worst enemy. all right i'm going to take my meds now and everything should be o.k.

[rockman]

rockman , I've been fishing the lake for 30+ years and I've never seen , caught or heard of any tulibees, cisco, or shad in sylvia, herring yes but not in the last 20 years. or are herring the same thing???

Check out this data from the 2002 survey of this lake by the DNR:

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/lakefind/showreport.html?downum=86028900

Read the second to the last paragraph of the survey notes.Apparently there has been tulibees/cisco caught in this lake, in the past.Herring and tulibees are not the same fish,however.

[noodlerod]

Bohonk316 I was told and I cant remember if it was the GLSA or the DNR that if muskies were put in the lake it wouldnt effect the spearing at all as it wouldnt be managed for muskies.and I agree if your spearing and you cant tell the differnce between a northern and a muskie you have problems and shouldnt be spearing in the first place!!!

[noodlerod]

WELL SAID , ikatcher !!!!

[noodlerod]

rockman , thankyou for the info !!! I was always told by the oldtimers they were herring , maybe they were tulibees all along . my dad and grandpa said they used to catch them once in a while while fishing sunnies and crappies in the winter . and they see them come through the spear hole so thick you couldnt see bottem. also a lot of old timers used to net them in the lake .

[Bohonk316]

Cisco,Herring,Tullibe are the same fish. Check the DNR web site under fish of Minnesota. Lake Whitefish are a whole different fish.

[rockman]

Thanks, Bohonk, I stand corrected. I checked the DNR's webpage on it. A guy can learn something new on this forum everyday.

[Bohonk316]

No problem