Finally got out!

[Nick Holt]

I finally got out to one of the local fishing spots for around an hour yesterday. Was throwing a black and chartreuse 1" curltail. Ended up with two 7" crappie and 4 7-8" gills. Not big, but great when fried up whole. On the way back to the car, I ran into the local game warden. He noticed the size of the fish and I told him that I couldn't catch anything bigger. He told me that it was okay to take these fish, as the lake has many stunted gills and crappie, and that I was doing the right thing. He encouraged me to take as many of this size as I can. Hey!! What the heck!! They're still bream and crappie and they still taste just as good as their larger counterparts. By the way, has anyone checked into the prospects of hand-pouring their own jigs yet? Nick.

[Jim Gronaw]

I'll take 7 to 8 inch eaters all day!

[Bruce Condello]

Good report, Nick.

The game warden was correct. It is often beneficial to a fishery to harvest gills in the 7-8 inch range. And great tasting, too! Everybody wins.