12,000 gills a summer

[thomas j swank]

I ran into a fella while getting my car fixed and the conversation turned to fishing. He told me that he and three buddies took 12,000 bluegill out of a local lake last year. He further stated that they kept and cleaned every fish. I told him that appeared to be a little excessive and that i didn't keep anything under seven inches and limited my catch to a maximun of 25 and released any thing over nine inches. He said they didn't catch many fish over seven inches. I wonder why? I'm looking for comments on both sides. I think 25 gills a day is plenty!

Tom Swank

[Greg McWilliams]

I am a thinking the guys catching 12,000 gill in 6 months was probably using dynamite or an old tyme telefone and calling them up!!!!!!!!!!

[thomas j swank]

Could be Greg, Could be.
Thanks for your comment!
Tom Swank

[Nick Holt]

Don't know where in the U.S. you're fishing, but I'm pretty positive that there are limits to the number of bream that can be kept during a fishing trip. Don't want to sound like a whistle blower, but sometimes we legit law abiding fishermen need to let authorities know what the situation is with some folks. I'd be willing to bet you that there wasn't a fishing lisence between the three of them either. Nick.

[Bruce Condello]

In Nebraska, no individual fisherman can be in posession of more than sixty bluegill, or other panfish in combination, at any one time.

[Magnolia Rick]

There would be reports of my death if I was to bring 60 fish home and tell mawmaw clean these

[Zach Pierce]

I may be wrong but I do not think Oklahoma has a limit on BG, GSF, RES, ETC, now some lakes may have their own.

I hope this is the case as we used to catch GSF by the hundreds to use as Flat Head bait.

Then again most “Big Bluegillers” and “Pond Owners” would rather have them eradicated so I doubt that offends anyone.

LOL

[Greg McWilliams]

Zack, You are right there is no limit to the number Bluegill or their cousins that you can keep. It is up to the individual, and most of what is kept is used for bait.

[John Cachel]

Now Cook County forest Preserve around Chicago lakes that you can keep up to only 25 bluegills/sunfish per day and I hope it would improve bigger 'gills but we will see what happen in a few years later! Recemtly min. 8 inch and 10 per day is not work very well! Diffcult to keep good fishing in millions of fishermen around Chicago! If my own ponds and it would be protect between 8 and 10 inch and keep only one over 10 inch!

[trent houtz]

i only keep a max of fifteen and they have to be bigger then my hand

[Howard Webster]

I fish on lake Champlain there is a huge perch and Bluegill market undressed fish will bring as much as 1.50 per pound there are people catching and selling over 12000 fish per year. My feelings is to stop this practice. these people fish every day weather allows out of boats and on the ice all year many reaching a 50 pound average per day. It is not even stopped when the fish are spawing. This is taking its toll and no we are not catching bigger fish than we were 20 years ago. Oh and by the way one may catch and sell 25 crappies per dayat 2.75 per pound live weight. It is tragic that this is allowed to go on

[Bill "Musky" Modica]

Wow....that almost sounds criminal!...Is there not a FDA guideline for fish brought into this almost black market?....or does it not matter if the sold fish come from toxic water?........The sale of fish in my state (Illinois) is limited to licensed commercial fisherman.....that just sounds crazy!

[Howard Webster]

Bill it is tempers flare between the market fishermen and the sportsman the biologist feel the lake will be over run with stunted perch and sunnies. The do not listen to the sportsmen who have been fishing this lake for years. One has to put a lot more sffort to catch sizeable fish and the numbers are down. The local buyers all pay in cash so this income is not taxed . Most of these fish are shipped to New York city