What is a keeper?

[dmbutler47]

How big does a bream need to be for YOU to keep? I have been fishing a little creek and catching small to medium sized fish, i throw them all back and just go there for fun and to experiment with bait. I catch on average 20 though. but I do see people in other places keep really small fish that i would not even consider. they could be using them for catfish, but they look like people that use every part of the fish! What is a keeper to you?

[Illinoisgiller]

dmbutler47, That is a tough question that gets just a bit complicated.
First, I would judge a "keeper" by the size of the fish in the water you are fishing. It doesn't really take too long to figure out what the general size of the panfish are in a small body of water. Once I know that, then I try to stay in the upper ranges of size.
If a small pond or lake holds "bull" gills I return ALL the biggest males.
I have also fished 100 to 200 acre lakes that were over run with plump footballed 6 1/2 gills. In that case I took a cooler full and kept the eletric knife working for a bit to create fish chips.lol
I guess it's my opinion that it's really up to you! If I recall correctly, before I hit the reply button, it showed you being from Arkansas. I would think that that far south, I'd be looking for 8" + gills for "eaters" and straight up the scale for "braggers" :D Mike

[Roberta]

I agree, it really depends on where you are. What passes for "big" here is small in the south. We generally set a minimum for ourselves at 7", but I've cleaned plenty of 6" gills over the years. Around here, a 7" gill is thicker than an 8 or 9" crappie, usually.
When we're serious about bluegill fishing, we usually keep anything over 7" and generally catch a few in the 8" range. The largest I've caught (and released) was 9 1/2" on a firetiger Roostertail. Now, that boy put up a fight. - Roberta

[Breambuster]

Good question...

I fish Toledo Bend at least once a year and try to do more if gas prices allow (live 4.5 hrs away). I normally keep bream the size of my hand and I have XL hands. The bream I concentrate on are those that will measure to the 2nd line on my wrist or approximately7.5 - 8 inches. Now, if I'm hungry for bream and can't find those big dudes, then I keep a bunch of the 6 inchers and fry them whole...heck, I even fry the big ones whole too sometimes!

It all depends on what you are willing to clean, but first, what's legal in your state/lake waters. In Texas, we have no limit on bream.

I've caught some hefty Coppernose and Redears out of my 5 acre pond where I live in Fayette Co., and some of those placed in a 5 gallon bucket were almost as long as it is wide...no joke! I would have never believed it until my nephews hollered at me to come and see what they caught.

Chris

[Bluegillfreak]

around here palm sized or a little underis keeping size but i have caught some that hang over the tips of my fingers and onto my arm but not many if they fit into my hand and measure from fingers to just above my thumb they are keeping size

[ncnat]

If it measures 7 inches in my crappie E-Z Checker it's a keeper. At Lake George, Florida, 9 inches is the mininum.

[dixieangler]

I can fillet them easier at 9 inch or better but I will not keep all I catch that are 9 inch or better. More often than not, I catch and release no matter what size. But when I do keep bream, they are usually 9 inch or better because I can fillet them easier. Same for Specks.

[J White]

Heard an old fellow say one time, "If they can pee all the way over the side
of the boat when you squeeze 'em to get the hook out, they're keepers" :D

[quackermasher]

minimum of 8", otherwise to much of a pain to fillet.

[wrwest]

There is a lot of good advice here. Personaly I release all small fish. Crappie 9 to 10 inches or smaller I release so they can grow up to be BIG CRAPPIE...