Which is worse...

[Matt Breuer]

Since everyone is getting into discussions about hurting populations, keeping too many fish, etc.... I thought I would throw this one out there. I got into a discussion with a guy the other day who telling me about two hot bites he and his buddy got into this winter.

He told me about their catches and I was trying to decide which was worse, two guys keeping 80 sunnies all 7-9 inches in length in four days of fishing, or the same two guys keeping 60 crappies all 11-13 inches in four days of fishing. Both lakes are the same approx. size, and neither one gets much pressure. He told me about this, I bit my cheek and I gave him my congrats on the bites.

I hated hearing both, but thought the crappies kept hurt more than the sunnies. What do you guys think?

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Matthew J. Breuer
Northcountry Guide Service
[email protected]
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[1Yogi]

Quite the dilema Matt, I never keep more than enough to feed myself and the soon to be ex and her kids. Thats only for people so 10 0r 12 fish will do the trick. I think hawgs like you describe are the reason some lakes with little pressure eventually become overfished.
I understand wanting a meal but these guys could have fed a platoon.

[Matt Breuer]

I know, I was trying to quick count and I came up with a feast for my family, which would consist of around 30 'gills or 20 crappies for the 8 of us, and that would be a big meal of fish, I wonder if I could make some money from TIP with a phone call???

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Matthew J. Breuer
Northcountry Guide Service
[email protected]
-----------------------
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Phelps Tackle
Today's Tackle
Stone Legacy
Ice Leaders

[Thomas]

i have to ? 2 guys keeping 140 fish in 4 days. people like them are why we need to reduce the limit by law. most people seems pretty responsible, then you hear of people like them.

[BDR]

Chances are that those fish are long gone, but I know I would feel better about hearing it if I made an a call to TIP.

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I'd rather be skunked than follow the crowd!

Brian Rogers

[Matt Breuer]

These were two seperate bites on different lakes in the area. They said one was late ice and the other was mid-winter.

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Matthew J. Breuer
Northcountry Guide Service
[email protected]
-----------------------
Custom Jigs and Spins
Phelps Tackle
Today's Tackle
Stone Legacy
Ice Leaders

[BDR]

Guess I skipped over the original qestion in your first post. I have to agree with you I think if one is worse it would be Crappies. Without knowing the lakes I can only generalize but I believe the 7-9" sunnies are more common than the 11-13" Crappies. I have always went with the more common the size/species for each specific lake the more acceptable(for me) to put in the box.

I dont think I've kept that many fish of any kind in the last 5 years combined.

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I'd rather be skunked than follow the crowd!

Brian Rogers

[decoy]

Both were bad!
Possession limits are the same as daily limits...

If these guys were eating all of that fish each night. Yikes.

[Stratosman]

Look on the bright side, maybe the mercury poisoning will slow them down.

[hanson]

I think that having 4 days of fishing in a row like that would be incredible. Even better would have been to let them go and have fun fishing for them over the course of a few weeks or even longer. If the lake wasn't that pressured and they kept their mouths shut, they could have had many days of good fishing.

[This message has been edited by hanson (edited 04-20-2004).]

[RHW]

I too have heard some say they literally slaughtered the panfish. Some I suspect were exaggerating, however, in their ignorant attempt at looking big in the eyes of others, they brag it up. Yes, unfortunately there are those who have taken way more then was legal.
I can only conclude part of the reasoning for indiscriminate harvesting is they are naive when it concerns the panfish resource.
Some have been made to believe that panfish are so prolific that you can't hurt the population and actually think they are doing it a favor by thinning it out. Well we all know differently, don't we?
I have always maintained that the panfish resource is the least respected. More attention seems directed at perserving and protecting the larger species, Walleyes, Bass, Northerns,and Muskies. The lowly Crappies and Bluegills take a back seat.
This is discouraging because if one reflects back, it was probably the panfish that first got people started and interested in fishing.
Ask any resort owner or bait shop and they will tell you that panfish are the bread and butter of fishing.
The question of crappies vs sunnies should be considered by each of their own unique characteristics. It is your responsibility to know the species differences and respect them accordingly. Each species deserves equal attention.
Renneberg submitted a superb string in this forum, "Let the big boys go..." Extremely well written and I encourage all to read it.
This panfish forum is tops and we can only hope panfisher people read it and take the information to heart. There are always differences of opinion but at least we can examine those differences in here.

[TYMAN]

I was fishing at Crystal Lake in Burnsville and there were these people there who had 2 full sizes plastic clear garbage bags full ove sunnies!!! there had to be hundreds! Most not even 6 inches! Boy i wish i had known the regulations when i was seven (half a lifetime ago lol)!