What is the reason??

[Nick Holt]

I watch a number of you tube videos featuring some of our members catching big gills and crackers.  My question is why do you release them?  Is it simply that your freezers are full, or is there a state regulation on length limits?  I know that in some private compounds such as Richmond Mills that you folks catch and release because you want the population to grow.  If that is the case, doesn't the lake get to the point where you need to take a few out?  Please understand that I'm not critisizing any one of you.  Just trying to understand.  Thanks, Nick 

[jim cosgrove]

although i agree with all the posts so far,my reasons for releasing fish are more personal.fishing is an escape for me,i feel good when i am out there.i live near a very large metro area and the fish are making a comeback.some waters i fish are fishable for the first time in over 100 years.i know i guy that carp fishes a lot.something he said has stuck with me.we polluted the water to the point where only carp can live in it and then blame the lack of fish on the carp.people near me are quite simply ignorant and stupid.they will put anything on a stringer or in a bucket without a thought.i mostly flyfish anymore because it is more challenging .i like to stalk the fish rather than wait for them to come to me.have i kept 50 panfish a day?yes i have.getting older and not only do iwant to leave some fish for the next angler i just don't like to kill anything just to bring home a limit to boost my own ego.if the fish are abundant where you fish keep and eat all you want.but when they keep getting smaller and smaller it is not the fish's fault.

[Tony Livingston]

Well thought-out replies from both Walt and Jim. As was stated earlier, there is no short, easy answer!

Here in Indiana, I see the largest harvests occurring during the spawn, and also through the ice...... Many anglers I correspond with aren't shy about stating on other forums that ice fishing is for filling the freezer..... including big Bluegill! When the fish are on, pulling them through the ice can be addictive, as well as a lot of fun. Unfortunately, it doesn't matter to the dynamics of a lake whether or not those fish were caught by one angler during the course of a single day's "hot" winter bite, or spread out over a week's time with the total catch distributed among many anglers............either way, those fish are gone and their influence is no longer felt in that BOW. That's the hardest part to get winter anglers to understand. Some of them will acknowledge the vulnerability of big male BG during the spawn, but continue to harvest large amounts of big fish through the ice. Somehow, they don't equate it to being the same thing.

I should also add, as Jim alluded too also, that state policies may not be quite in tune with the latest data regarding Bluegill Harvests and sustainability of big fish. If the angler is following the regulations set forth by the governing body, then he or she is within their rights to harvest as they see fit. Changes, if needed, must come from the top.

[Jim Gronaw]

I hope I can shed a little light on the purpose of catch and release panfishing...

The main reason that I have a self-imposed release policy for all bluegills over 10 inches is, simply, there just aren't that many 10 inch bluegills around! Even in quality private venues, ten inch gills are somewhat rare. In a intensely managed lake such as Richmond Mill, those 12 inch bluegills are what keeps their clientel coming back, and this water is the very rare exception on the big bluegill map, being primarily a bass fishing destination.

Old school mentality says that, when panfishing, always harvest the biggest fish in the system, with the concept that the smaller members of the specie will always recruit into the same size dimensions that the larger fish currently occupy. This usually does not happen, as angler harvest can greatly reduce size-structure for panfish species like bluegill and crappies and yellow perch. Many old school management policies in many states have either very liberal or no limits on panfish harvest, thus allowing for the continual removal of the top-end fish in many systems. Panfish anglers are by far more adept at catching these fish now than they were even just 10 years ago, and there are a lot more of us doing it now as well. So, let's say you keep 50, and Joe keeps 50 and Bruce keeps 50 and so on, and this occurs repeatedly over the course of a couple of seasons, day after day, even during the spawn, then you will very likely see size-structure diminish during those few years.

The number one complaint I hear, year after year, from panfishermen all over the East and Mid-Atlantic areas is 'Where have all the big fish gone?' That's easy to answer...the largest fish have been removed from the system and the 10 inch gills that were once keepers are then down to 8.5 inchers for the top-end fish and then people are settling for mere 7 inch class fish as the current 'keepers' in the lake. Yet the overwhelming majority of these anglers refuse to believe that angler pressure and harvest can have any effect on the lack of big fish in their once, favorite honey hole. Intelligent angling pressure and harvest can certainly fish down 'size', but it is much more difficult to fish down 'numbers'. I personally, am not interested in 7 inch bluegills, except to harvest some occassionally for a meal.

What far-sighted panfishers should embrace is the simple fact that huge panfish are rare and are worthy of catch-and release status. This does not mean that you can't keep that trophy bluegill or crappie for your wall, by all means you probably earned it! But a better concept from efficient anglers is to release the majority of the larger fish they catch, and keep medium size to smaller fish for the pan, as they are much more abundant and likely need some removal to enhance growth-rates of those remaining fish of that year class.

There are some waters that can tolerate high harvest rates simply due to size and angling pressure. BBG member Jeffrey Abney is blessed with thousands of acres of quality bluegill waters and big fish with the N. Carolina blackwater rivers right at his door. Very few people fish for them. Even though he is catching a ton of 10 inch class bluegills, he is releaesing the majority of those big fish, and harvesting the nine inch class fish, which are in huge abundance. Even in small ponds, harvest of panfish plays an important role. It's just a matter of harvesting the 'right sized' fish to perpetuate quality fishing for years to come.

I love to eat bluegills and crappies and keep fish to eat. But I release the larger specimens so that I have places to go where I know that 10  to 11 inch bluegills and 14 inch crappies are available to catch and enjoy. The rank and file 8 to 9 inch gills taste just as good as the bigger fish. And if you are within your state or local limits, I personally have no complaint or criticism of harvest practices. But understand that once 'big' fish are gone, it takes about a decade to replace them, and some waters never recover.

Catch and release of trophy panfish is the 'final frontier' of catch and release angling in this nation. It works to maintain top fisheries, nationwide. I hope these thoughts answer some of your questions as to why some of us release the bigger panfish we catch.

[Walt Foreman]

Just to add a little to Tony's excellent answer for you, Nick: fisheries biologists in Illinois did an in-depth study a few years ago in which they discovered the phenomenon of "sneaker male" bluegill.  Sneaker males are males within any bluegill population that mature sexually at a much smaller size than other males.  They are able to pass themselves off as females because they don't yet have the physical features of a mature male, and will go to a nest on which a mature male is present, and sometimes the mature male thinks the sneaker is a female and lets it onto the nest - and the sneaker fertilizes the nest, and the genetics of the lake just got a little worse.  If there are lots of mature males in a population, there's a better likelihood that they'll be able to keep the sneaker males from successfully propagating their inferior genetics; but if the mature males get yanked out, the sneakers have free rein, and before long the genetics of the entire lake are permanently ruined unless significant corrective action is taken.  I've personally seen it happen to public waters more than once, and there's nothing in the world more disheartening.

[Tony Livingston]

Good question Nick, and there's no short, easy answer! This topic has been debated on the forum before, however since our membership is growing perhaps we should revisit this subject from time to time.

First off, thanks for not being critical of anyone else's harvest practices. Here at BBG we strive to accomodate all types of BG anglers, regardless of  how many fish they do, or do not keep. I personally believe that adherence to that philosophy is a cornerstone of this forum's success, and as long as an angler is abiding by the laws governing a particular BOW, then it is up to him/her to decide what to keep, and what goes back.

Many of us here have adopted a policy of returning the biggest male BG. The science behind this is simple, as it has been proven that allowing the largest males to remain in the water tends to delay maturity of the smaller males. Once a male BG becomes sexually mature, his growth slows down. By delaying maturity, he will continue to grow until he reaches a size that will allow him to compete for females during the spawn. If the biggest males are removed from a BOW, the smaller males will have no reason to grow any larger, as they are now the dominant size class. This cycle can continue on heavily fished lakes until you see 4-5", or even smaller, fish guarding nests. The BG have become stunted.

Returning females is not as critical, although certainly having good genetics remain in the pond from BOTH sexes is a good thing, as Vince suggested.

And yes, harvest is an integral, and necessary part of managing any BOW. What we advocate here at BBG is selective harvest, returning those fish that are contributing to  the average size of the individual BG's growing ever larger.

There's a saying among knowledgeable Gill' anglers.... " It's a lot harder to fish down the number of Bluegills, than it is to fish down their size" This can be very true.

It's OK to keep Bluegills for the table. In fact, you NEED to keep BG's for the table. It's a matter of balancing quantity of Gills' kept, vs. quality of Gills' kept.

[Vince Fusco]

I sometimes release nice gills to keep the good gene pool going in the waters I am fishing. Yesterday we caught quite s few gills and three shellcrackers. When I cleaned them, the largest cracker had eggs. Had I noticed this, and she had not swallowed the hook deep, I would have let her go to keep her good genes going in the lake we fished. I hope this clarifies why sometimes good fish are released.