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Releasing Big Male Bluegill Reminder


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Hi everybody!

I put this topic out there last year. I just wanted to bring it up again before the Bluegills start spawning again this year. Hopefully this will help our Big Bluegill lakes.

The reminder is to release all big mature male bluegills. These bulls protect the nests from smaller mature males, which have the small size genetics. If we as fishermen pull all big mature males off the nest, these smaller fish fertilize the nests and produce a much smaller fish population, which leads to stunting. The next thing you know is all you have is 5-6 inch fish, which are very hard to clean. My suggestion is to release the big males over 7 inches.

Every lake is going to be different on how big the bulls will be. A lake I fished last year only had 7 inch bulls, but I would rather catch 7 inch fish in the future than 5 or 6 inchers.

You can keep some females because sunfish are very prolific reproducers, but the majority of the fish kept should be the smaller mature males. Here is a link to help you identify the different bluegills.

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Please educate those you know and enjoy big bluegills for a lifetime.

Avid

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+1 = I agree.

When I'm out with my Aunts catching sunnies, they keep anything they catch of size. I try to convince them to release the males on nests and other big fish, but I just get a blank stare.

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What is the difference, I mean, in appearance?

and

is there any way I could have asked that without sounding stupid?

Maybe there's some HSOforum that features this kind of thing?

Not that I'm into that kind of thing.

Really, I'd just want to do my share...without being weird.

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+2...also supporting Avid on this one. I have fished some lakes where pressure is not an issue (out west) whistle and it is pretty awesome to see how big a bluegill can get with being left alone for awhile.

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