Panfish limits...

[NEANGLER]

Here in Nebraska we have size limits on specific lakes and it has helped tremendously. Crappies have to be 10" and bluegills 8" and on some of those lakes the bag limits are smaller as well. We also have a few lakes that are C&R only - those tend to be ones that have just been through renovation projects to get the stocked fish going. I don't know about anybody else but after about 10 pannies I am tried of cleaning them anyway let alone 20 or more.

[Corey Bechtold]

The DNR has also been doing some tinkering on a few lakes here in MN. It has been proven that it works to either have slots on Panfish or reduced limits.

But here's a funny story... Yesterday I was fishing with my Dad and there was this one boat with 2 guys that I saw out on Saturday, (I didn't fish Sunday but I assume they were there), Monday and yesterday. I asked them how they did on Monday and they said they did "OK". I know that meant 2 more limits because I never saw a fish released. I asked tried to be polite when I told them that Monday when fishing with my kids we returned every fish we caught. And today my Dad was only going to take 6 smaller fish home for a meal for he and ma. This guy then went on to try and tell me that we needed to take out the Panfish so that larger gamefish could make it.(???) He said he had done studies on it and too many Panfish were bad for a lake.(???) I asked him if he worked for the DNR and he said no. I tried to argue my points a bit but he was obviously an expert on every subject and couldn't be told otherwise .

Panfish are a true sportfish and are a valuable (and voulnerable) fish to have in a system. Taking, taking, and taking can damage the lake and throw off the balance. Being selective and practicing good angling ethics ensures us a bright future for fishing for all species.

Good fishing,

Corey Bechtold

[vikingtom]

Sounds like my brother. A know-it-all.

[Down to Earth]

Too me a slot would make more sense than a minimum size limit. Otherwise would you end up having a lake with stunted populations? If the only ones being kept are the larger fish how are these fish going to be protected to reproduce?

[mplspug]

I am pretty much a catch and release guy all the way. I keep some every once in a while. When it comes to panfish, I think it's good for the ecosystem when people take them and thin them out. However, most of us are in the habit of keeping the bigger fish and culling that way. That's what screws up the resource. I wouldn't mind a slot limit. I doubt that would ever happen for panfish though. I think getting the word out and educating people about selective harvest is the way to go.

[FRESHWATER PETIE]

I like what JKING said," maybe they should shut down panfishing in April." Maybe run panfish season with the gamefish season.

In Wisconsin they have odd/even lakes for trout. Maybe thats a idea for MN panfish. Closed to panfish one year then opened the next year. What do you think??

[walleyeking#8]

I don't think so! Maybe a few more people should just learn to practice catch and release. Correct me if I am wrong, I hear of more people catching large sunfish and crappies and putting them into the livewell till they have there limits, coming back day after day till there either fished out or the bite has ended. Let the larger fish go, keep the smaller fish for tablefare. I would support slots on all species of fish in minnesota, but I feel one lake should be treated like all the rest. What I mean by that is if so and so lake has a slot of 11" to 15" on crappies they all should have that slot. This is how I feel about it.

[mplspug]

Ecxactly. I don't think closing panfish will effect them in anyway. People just have to "cull" correctly. What we need to stop doing is catching a fish and asking our partner, "Is this a keeper?", "Is it big enough?". We need to start saying, "Is she too big to keep?". I'll admit that how I was raised, this is counter intuitive. But in terms of natural selection it makes sense. You want to keep catching big fish, you need to put the big fish back. Also thinning out the smaller ones allows that class to get bigger, faster.

And actually I am against catch and release of panfish, except the larger ones. Why? Because we need to reverse the trend and start getting larger fish back. IMO, this also leads to larger gamefish as a positive side effect. Because it reduces forage, reducing the numbers. Reduced numbers leads to faster growing fish that get larger.

If you check surveys at the DNR, you'll spot a trend that usually low abundance is accompanied by larger quality fish. Higher density of fish usually means smaller fish.

[eyepatrol]

One thing I've noticed is that the newspapers ask people to bring pictures of their big fish in so that they can post them in the paper for everyone to see. This seems to be incentive to the local angler to keep those bigger fish so that people can see how "good" of an angler they are. Sure, they are keeping the fish within the rules and regulations of the DNR, and they have every legal right to, but as I mentioned, it gives fisherman incentive to keep those big girls (bluegill, crappie, walleye...what have you) and to "show" them off.

I see LOTS of big fish pictures in newspapers, and most of the time these pics are taken on shore, at bait shops, at home, etc. I'm happy for the guy/girl who caught the fish, but it's also disheartening to see to the extent that these fish are removed from the system. Slot limits (and angler education) could help this situation out IMO.

[Corey Bechtold]

I really agree with "angler education" Basscatcher! Selective Harvest along with Catch and Release can really help improve the fishing and quality of fish in our lakes.

Good luck,

Corey Bechtold

[mplspug]

Digital cameras have helped a lot. Now people can snap a photo and return them to the water. Hopefully the shots of them on shore means the fish went back. The more I come back here and post, the more i want to start a movement to educate people on keeping the little ones and returning the big ones. Look how well it has helped walleye fishing. Everyone likes keeping the "eaters" and not the big ones. that's good selective harvest. We need to spread it to panfish.

Onother thing i haven't mentioned is the bigger the sunfish, the less likely they are competing with the fry of the bigger gamefish. Keeping the smaller ones helps ease the competition of adult (but small) sunfish with other gamefish fry.

[riverrat56]

I don't think that a slot is the answer, there are to many variables from lake to lake. Some lakes, the biggest sunfish is only around 8 in with an occasional 9, but on others more 9 in fish are avalible, or maybe a 7 incher is big for that lake. Educating anglers as said before is the only way to go.

The DNR has more pressing issues than panfish protection, especailly considering that there are many good panfish lakes around.

[Muddog]

I have to be very careful here.

Some people that I see fishing a spot day after day and keeping all their fish are people of limited resources and count on fish to get them through lean times. In a couple of week when the fish move out they may not catch another fish for weeks.

If you always release one (X) type of fish and keep 1/3rd of another type of fish (Y). It may end up that every time you fish for type (Z) all you catch is (X).

I also find that most of the fishermen who keep all of there catch are so excited that they are finally catching fish they just have to keep them all. Maybe we could call it a Rookie mistake. There is one more reason and they need a ticket.

T.I.P.

Last year I had someone tell me that they wouldn't fish Walleye in the weeds becase they don't taste right. He was very proud of this fact. It was a badge he wore proudly. It just told me that Walleyes were all he fished for and he wasn't throwing any back. I just sat there and wished there was something I could do.

[Skitterpop]

I don't see lowering the limits or closing the season as an answer. I rely upon panfish to feed myself and my family. I agree that there should be a slot limit in place where all sunfish larger than 8" go back. None over that period. If you want a "trophy" take a picture and some measurements and put the genes back in the lake.

I am guilty of taking my share of large sunfish out of a lake and eating them and now see the benefits of putting them back in my wiser young years. Don't make those of us who eat sunfish feel guilty for taking home 20 to eat. Catching fish is a blast but I sure enjoy eating them too. This is not intended for any particular person, just a general statement.

[The Grebe]

Boy, I don't know? One has to be living really close to the edge if they have to rely on a fish meal to get them through lean times?

For the most part, a person could buy steak for what it costs to nab a bunch of fish! Fish are expensive to go after and bringing some home doesn't bother me one bit, no matter what anyone thinks!

I turn loose my share of fish, but until the day it becomes illegal to keep some, thats what I'll do! I happen to enjoy a deep fried, pan fried or broiled filet once in awhile.

If someone doesn't understand "Why" thats alright, I don't understand how someone could actually like caviar, but people do? Different strokes for different folks!

[Corey Bechtold]

All great responses so far. I definately like to hear that I am not the only one trying to educate others on the benefits of Selective Harvest. I'm in this fishing thing for the long haul and I especially want my kids to reap the rewards of this new way of thinking regarding keeping fish. I feel truely blessed to have kids that love the outdoors and I feel that they are going to be the future ambassadors of our sport.

Keeping fish for a meal and respecting the laws about "Posession" are important. We don't need to be like the guys that made the front page of the Outdoor News last week. I think they had something like 600 fish (1200 fillets) for 2 guys! 58 packages of fish! This is a quote from the poachers... "what's the point of going fishing if we can't keep a few for a rainy day?"... I don't think Noah even had that many fish after 40 days and 40 nights!

We need to respect the laws and take care of our resources. We all know that but we need to spread the word and try and educate others on the rewards from practicing Catch and Release and Selective Harvest.

Good luck,

Corey Bechtold

[walleyeking#8]

Well put Corey. I don't think anyone is telling anyone they shouldn't keep fish for eating. Like Corey just mentioned, use selective harvest and some CPR and everyone will reap the rewards. It doesn't matter what species of fish you are looking at, they all develop in the same manner.

Too many sunfish, or walleyes or bass or any other species in one body of water will result in small fish.

Take out some of the smaller fish and the remaining ones will become larger. There are several lakes that have had special regs implemented into them and they have become a diehard fishermans dream come true. One practice I have started over the last 10 years, is to release all female panfish in the spring. It isn't very difficult to see that a sunfish or a crappie is carrying eggs in early spring. These fish should always be released in my opinion. One thing I take pride in is trying to teach someone else selective harvest and Catch Picture and Release. Don't get me wrong, I too like a meal of fish just as often as the next person, but I would rather have them fish small.

[jigginjim]

I would agree with Walleyeking, Some lakes have been fished to the point that all you get is small fish. Everyone keeping sunfish over 8",crappies 10". I wish people would keep more of the smaller fish. People think i'm meat hogish if I keep the smaller fish But I feel I'm help promote larger fish. I do like big fish but with smaller fish being plentifull it would only make sense.

[The Grebe]

Catching and releasing a sizable panfish might be a whole lot easier for a person that fishes alot, but for the occassional fishermen, it might not be such an easy undertaking? Even for some of us blooded anglers, it's sometimes hard to turn em loose.

If a person gets out only a few times a year and likes fresh fish, the biggies are going home with them, no doubt.

It's alot like deer hunting....do you let the big bucks pass by so they can go forth and multiply, spreading their superior genetics throughout the herd, so that others might see a magnificent buck in the future, or do you put the business portion of an arrow, or an ought six, right into his boiler room? How many deer hunters out there opt to take a doe to cull the herd and let the big bucks walk? For the sake of others?

I would have to think that doing that would take some kind of decipline, more then most hunters have....weither they are hunting deer, ducks, or whatever? Same with fishing, but on a different level.

How about this...everybody seems to like Tuna, Tuna sandwiches, Tuna hotdish, Tuna salad, Sushi, from what I read, Tuna are in a he11 of alot more trouble then inland panfish, does anyone go there? Does anyone think about it when they are grubbin? Nope, not if you like Tuna!

Selective harvest, keep some, let some go, if that is what you have a mind to do....but the strictly catch and release people that try shove that down our throats and try to make a person feel guilty about keeping fish, for the now, I think they have an up hill fight!

[mplspug]

I don't know that anyone is trying to shove catch and release of panfish down anyones throat. As for me, I said it before but I wantpeople harvesting panfish. I think what most of us want others to get out of this discussion is that selecting only the biggest of the catch will have a negative effect on the resource. It doesn't take long either. Just look at all the panfish in metro lakes or even out state. Since you were a kid until now, I bet you have seen a gradual decrease in the size of the average panfish caught. That has a lot to do with people only wanting to keep the biggest of the fish they catch.

On the flip side, I am not suggesting you should only keep potato chip size panfish. If you find yourself asking if it is a keeper, don't let the fact you are catching a really big one every 5-10 fish influence you. If you cull for only those big fish, yes you can impact the ecology greatly over a period of time. But if you keep most of the average, but decent sized ones and even a few of the big ones, you are harvesting within the natural ecology of the body of water. You are protecting the quality of fishing for yourself and future generations.

Another thing. I wish they would allow sunfish for bait up to a certain length. Other states let people do it and for certain specias I have heard they work real well. I would also be infavor of certain restrictions to that don't apply to other baitfish.