What size Bluegill is a keeper?

[early007]

I'm kind of new to the Bluegill game. Wondering what you guys consider a keeper bluegill. Is a 6" gill keeping size? What size is a trophy fish?

Jason

[Matt Johnson]

It all depends on your preferrence. If I'm keeping gills I like the 6-8 inchers, I typically won't keep any over 8 inches. Anything over 10 inches is a trophy in my mind, but a solid/thick 9.5 incher is a nice fish too. If you get an 11 incher then your got yourself a dandy. I've seen a few 12 inchers but never had the priviledge of catching one over 11.5 inches, hopefully someday

Late ice is a good time to get those big gills, a lot of 10 inchers and bigger will be caught the next couple weeks. My biggest gills were caught in the month of March. Good luck!

Good Fishin,
Matt Johnson

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[Kidd]

My rule of thumb is; any fish big enough to fillet is a keeper. However, if the bite is good and your looking for a meal, determine the midsize range your catching and keep those. Throw back the big and little ones.

[RHW]

Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. Yes, I have kept some 6" gills. Don't let lenght alone determine whether you keep them or not.
Some of those 6" were wide across the back. Like little pumpkins, offering up a good fillet. When I catch a questionable gill, the first thing I look at is the shoulders, not the lenght.
Usually I target 7 to 8's. Have caught some dandy 9+, but never a 10 or above. If I catch a 10, he is going on the wall.
On occasion, not often, I have been into a flurry of 7 and 8's, good table fare and then when I would hook up into a 9 or above, I let them go. Those big ones are the genetics of Blue Gill fisheries. Appreciate and respect any Gill that is at least 7+.
It angers me when I hear stories of guys who have slain well over their limit of any panfish because they are of the mentality that panfish are so prolific they can rebound no matter how hard the harvest.
Bottom line, selective harvest. Keep only what you can eat for ONE meal, let the others go for another day. A 7 or 8 is hard to beat for eating. 9's and above are our future.

[early007]

I kept a few 7-8 inchers the other day. Threw a few 7s back that I thought were marginal. I can't imagine hooking a 10" through the ice, what a battle. Thanks for the replys.

Jason

[CrookedHook]

Guys I am up near Winnie next weekend. If I am on a lake, where would I begin to look for Gills? Drop offs? Reeds? I know of a lake that produced some nice gills last spring but that was in June. Where would I look with ice? Any thoughts would be helpful.

I actually saw 4 guys fill a cooler of gills in less than 2 hours. We found them in June but could not get a bite. I am going back to this same lake in a week. Helpis appreciated.

[CrappieMagnet]

CrookedHook...
I would try this time of the year, transition areas.The most likely places would be deep water off sharp drop-offs,deep water off shoreline points,inside turns of shoreline breaks,and deep holes and bays.
Look for tips of emergent weeds,such as bulrushes,projecting above the ice.Sunfish hold near the weedline late in the season.
Use the smallest line,even going as far as using sewing needle thread and the smallest hooks you can find,and also the smallest jigs tipped with Bio-Bait,waxies,and euro-larvae.Use really small floats or a plain spring bobber.

Hope this helps...

Good Luck at Winnie!

CM

[This message has been edited by CrappieMagnet (edited 02-25-2004).]

[Matt Breuer]

Depends on the lake, I was out hitting 'gills today, well trying at least... I hit two different lakes, in one, which is in my backyard, I keep 7-9 inch fish, in the other, which is 30 miles away, I keep 6-8 inch fish. If you know what the lake holds, you can make a good judgement!

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[RHW]

Any of you gill hunters try that new bait, Cheno?

[CrookedHook]

Thanks for the input. I'll let you know. The lake we are on has a good deal of bullrushes and a drop about 30 yards away. The other bullrushes are on a flat in 4 foot of water but the drop off is a considerable distance. The lake has a ton of lilly pads in the summer. There is a very nice hole near a shore but no bullrushes. If we find em I will pass the lake on to ya. Also have been able to get some nice 16 inch crappie out of here as well. But again in spring. I'll let you know.
CH

[hanronson]

I keep sunnies that are 7" and up unless I am very hungry for fish and the crops are not biting, then I will keep 6" and up. Sunnies over 9" are so rare that I would probably release or mount it depending on the size. My biggest is 12" but that was a very long time ago and I ate it.(I know it was'nt the right thing to do now but I was only 14 at the time)

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[Dynasty]

Usually release gills over 9". But this weekend was an exception. Me and my dad found a lake with big sunnies. You dont catch fish one after another but when you do get one its a keeper! We kept 20 sunnies, smallest was 6.5, and the 9 biggest were all 9" or a tad bigger. These big sunnies were swimming in schools of a few other big sunnies along with bass.

[This message has been edited by Dynasty (edited 02-28-2004).]