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Reply With QuoteDepends who I'm cooking for. My wife like 4 finger to just hand size. I would rather catch 1.25 pound or better, but they harder to clean. Harder to cook too. I been filleting one side off.
Trophy King II
Size you keep?
What's a good rule of thumb on Bluegill? Is there a length that you all use to distinguish a keeper from a throw back?
It is what it is!
Crappie.com 3K Star General
Depends who I'm cooking for. My wife like 4 finger to just hand size. I would rather catch 1.25 pound or better, but they harder to clean. Harder to cook too. I been filleting one side off.
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I like them hand sized or better. But I fillet everything so I don't have to deal with any bones.
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I will keep them 7" but prefer 8 if they're biting good. I fillet them for myself and my family.
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While I'm not particularly in the habit of fishing for them ... if I catch any that are longer than my hand, they have been known to end up in the livewell
My hand, from fingertip to base of the palm is 8" long. I clean them according to who's going to be eating them ... filleted for family/friends - scaled/gutted for myself (or filleted if mixed with Crappie).
... cp
Trophy King
All waters are different of course but if the lake is supporting chunky fish I like them in the 8" area.
Slabmaster II
7" and up - I try to keep mostly females
Crappie.com 1K Star General
I try to keep 7-1/2" and up but I prefer to clean 8" because I filet them.
A Bad Day of Fishing is Better Than a Good Day of Work!
Keeper
I don't measure them; if it feels like it's got meat on it when I'm removing the hook, it goes on ice.
Crappie.com 1K Star General
Those few times a year we treat to crappie and bluegill fillets, we want crappies 10" and over and bluegills (and other sunfish) 8" and over. We also want them to be thick not paper thin fish. This year the bluegills and sunnies are all coming up noticeably thick, but we are not keeping anything we are now catching inside the City (Minneapolis), although a number of the sunnies last evening were definitely long and thick enough.
