With the new regulations on some WI lakes, does anyone feel there should be a size limit? I have my personal sizes at 7.5" for bluegills in the winter and 8" in the summer. I ask because I have seen people with buckets of bluegills around 5" then brag about how they caught their limit without any mention of the size. As for crappie and perch, I usually aim for 9" or bigger. I also know it's everyone's right to keep what they think but I personally prefer quality over quantity.
Panfish Fishing
Panfish size?
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What size fish to keep for eating has been discussed on many forum topics here on Lake-Link. There is the argument that a fish is too small and not worthy of keeping as well as releasing the larger fish for spawning purposes. If you want to get picky about what to keep it has to be on a basis of the particular body of water you are fishing. Some lakes produce large numbers of fish with most being average size and some produce smaller numbers of fish that get to what is considered bigger size. Maybe more important than size is the numbers of fish kept. I see no issue with harvesting what you want, within the regulations, and then utilizing them for a meal as long as they don’t go to waste. Anglers fish for different reasons, some just for sport, relaxation or to get a meal or two. To each their own and worry more about yourself than what others do.
I don’t usually pan fish. But we got into some really big bluegills on a small lake the other day. Released them. These fish are very vulnerable right now. I would think a small lake could easily be affected this time of year with panfish harvest and a low keep limit could help. It was very easy to catch some really big panfish the other day for us-because of structure on this almost structure less lake.
It really took very little talent. They could see us, but they were feeding so heavily, we could take our pick. Literally. Just my two cents here. Not really a pan fisherman.
It really took very little talent. They could see us, but they were feeding so heavily, we could take our pick. Literally. Just my two cents here. Not really a pan fisherman.