Thread: Panfish size

For me- Bluegill- 8" Crappie 10".

I don't keep fish, but if I did, 8" would be my minimum for bluegills.

Some people just will not clean a small fish under any circumstances. But if you don't mind...then I would base it entirely on what's IN the body of water. If you're fishing a lake that the fisheries dept says has an "Excellent" or "Good" population of whatever species and that surveys show that 75 percent of the population is say for Crappie 9" or less and Bluegill "8" or less....then you should be keeping,eating , and enjoying those fish. AND limits of them.

If the body of water has "Excellent" or "Good" populations and they say the Crappie 11" or longer in say 55 percent of the population then I am going to chase them and throw the others back. Bluegill...high percentage of 9" fish I am going to chase them and throw the others back.

If the surveys say only "fair" or "poor" populations you should consider not keeping any. But of course they probably still have some regulations for keeping them...so let your conscience be your guide.

In some lakes that I have fished for forty plus even close to fifty years....and I know that there surveys are off...showing the populations are higher than I know they are...then I will self impose a limit.

My wife and I are older now...we aren't ravenous people. I go fishing and I keep 10 - 9" crappie...that's 20 fillets...that will make three or four meals for us.

I go to catch fish for a fish fry for 10 big old guys who are going to see how much they can eat in one sitting.....I am going to a lake with
11" fish or so and good numbers. But you'd be surprised...even in years when some of my prime spots are holding mostly 10" fish...you take 120 or 130 fillets...that will feed a lot of people.

Ever since I learned how to fillet gills with less waste and more product,I find myself keeping smaller fish.I personally don't mind keeping 6" gills under normal circumstances, though I haven't fillet any fish since I drilled through my ulnar nerve,right now I doubt I could fillet anything.

7 1/2" for gills and 9" crappie (ny law on crappie)

For me they (bluegills, shellcrackers) need to be filleting size, about 8", although if I already have a couple in the cooler and the bite slows, I'll keep smaller ones until I get at least 7 or 8 for a family meal.

For me it's about the shoulders. If I look down the back of a fish and it doesn't pooch out from the spine very far, he gets a pass. A skinny 12" fish would get a pass. Gills the same way. If it isn't a candidate for the fillet knife, he swims on. It's seldom that a small fish comes home, unless mortally wounded. Not using live bait that doesn't happen often.

Scaled and fillet by hand ,they all taste good .