Fishing the panfish beds.

[harvey lee]

I found this article online and it made me really think for a minute if I should even fish these areas. makes one think a bit.

I always thought that even though I caught somne gills off thier bbeds the eggs would srtill hatch, I guess I was wrong there. I do not believe I will fish these beds any longer for the future of these fish.

At different times of the year, fish pair up for their annual spawning ritual. In the warmer climates, bass and bream are answering the call of nature right now, and anglers are seeing them on the beds. In a month or two, spots further north will see bass and panfish doing the same thing. Some trout and steelhead set up redds in rivers in the spring while other trout and salmon spawn in the fall. When fish move into the shallows they are easy to spot, and some anglers who target them use the phrase “I spot ‘em, I got ‘em.”

There are a few guys I know who head to the shorelines when the bass and panfish start to spawn. They drop a lure, bait or fly in front of a fish that hits it without hesitation. The fight is on in seconds, and the action can be fast and furious. But it begs a question even for fish that are released: is it a good idea to catch fish that are sitting on a spawning bed?

The knife cuts both ways, particularly ‘cause it’s an attitude. On the one hand, fishing is fishing and catching ‘em up is what it’s all about. Kudos to the angler who finds fish, bravo that their quarry eats easily, and good for him that his daily catch is of epic proportion. Lots of action makes for a fun day, and I can see that side of the coin.

But on the flip side, is catching a fish on a bed a good idea for maintaining a quality fishery over time? When a momma fish is pulled off the bed, her eggs are left wide open to predators. Some get vacuumed up by carp or suckers, while other eggs are covered up by silt caused from the fight. If this year’s hatch is a poor one, then what does that mean for next year’s numbers? Are we shorting out the recruitment of new and more fish to fill our ponds, lakes and rivers? Is it a short-sighted approach that we should consider before doing?

It’s an interesting topic and I’m going to noodle it around with some friends to get their thoughts. Personally, for fish that I catch with frequency I’m fine with leaving spawning fish alone and tossing back smaller fish. Some times I practice catch and release, other times catch and eat. What about you? Do you fish the spawning beds?

[Rick G]

Good topic Tom. I have to say, I used to fish for spawning fish every year and kept my fair share. Now I am inclined to take either smaller{not spawning size} fish or just CPR at that time of year.

[monstermoose78]

I to have pulled many bulls off their beds in the spring time. It is so easy to find them light colored circles in the shallow water with that nice big dark bull gill sitting in its bed guarding his eggs. I have kept many of the gills when fishing with my grandpa, but once he got older he taught me we had to be more careful about just taking the biggest gills in the lake. I dont fish the beds much if at all any more because it makes me sad when you pull the big bull gill off his bed full eggs and watch them perch race in and eat them all. However I do fish pre spawn fish when they first come into the shallow to feed. I know it is about the same but there is smaller fish mixed in with the big ones. I practice selective harvest and all gills over 8.5 inches go back and crappies over 12 are free to swim another day. I have a trip planned to fish for big pannies when the ice comes off for the pre-spawn bite. I am taking my father inlaw and his brother and we will bring home some nice fish for a fish fry, but not one of them fish will be a big one. Unless they catch trophy and want to get it mounted. I just picked up crappies from the taxidermist today for my brother inlaw from last spring and boy did they turn out awesome. I will see if I can find my cord to transfer them to the computer and then I will post them. Remember this a trophy is in the eyes of the beholder. Great thread you got here. Good luck fishing.

[skocsuhs]

problem is not many will respect the fishery enough to refrain...

[monstermoose78]

Crappies prespawn

[Rick G]

Nice! I like the fireball jig and line coming from the bottom ones mouth.

[pushbutton]

I am pretty much done fishing the beds. Did my fair share as well in the past, caught plenty and plenty of big fish that way, but it's not about the numbers and size for me anymore...... personally get more enjoyment seeing my elderly father, kid, or god daughter catch a medium sized fish than I would get topping a previous PB; and simply, not fishing those beds will help the future generations of both fish and anglers out. Not preaching....just saying.

[Jim Uran]

problem is not many will respect the fishery enough to refrain...

Exactly!! Stay off of the beds, go out and fish those stinking walleyes when the crappies and gills are spawning!

[Scott M]

Bluegills and crappies are some of the most prolific spawners out there, not to mention that they are notorious for significant investments into parental care. Most lakes don't have problems with a lack of reproduction. There is something to be said about harvesting fish on the beds as it relates to parental males and protecting genetics, but overall it's not hurting much to take a few fish. The problem is most people are selecting those large fish and going from bed to bed to do so.

Every lake is a little bit different. I do know of a small lake near our family's cabin with huge crappies. It's a low density, high average size situation. In this case, there is so little spawning habitat that it is probably the limiting factor, so staying off the nests does make a difference in the long run for crappies in the lake. I do love the look of spawning crappies, luckily you can catch them in those colors before they make their nests.

[Fred_Bear]

Bluegills and crappies are some of the most prolific spawners out there, not to mention that they are notorious for significant investments into parental care. Most lakes don't have problems with a lack of reproduction. There is something to be said about harvesting fish on the beds as it relates to parental males and protecting genetics, but overall it's not hurting much to take a few fish. The problem is most people are selecting those large fish and going from bed to bed to do so.

This is right on, speaking generally of bluegills here population numbers are rarely a problem, more so size structure is the problem and that deals with genetics of the MALE building and protecting the nest. There is no "mama fish" protecting her eggs and babies, females simply come up and drop their eggs while it's the males doing all the dirty work.

The problem with keeping bluegills caught off of spawning beds is all about male genetics: Parentals vs. Cuckolds (this sounds crazy but google it and there are many scholarly articles on the subject). Parental males mature late in life and spend the majority of their years growing. Cuckold males mature very early in life thus never getting big. Parental males are the large bluegills that build and guard nests for females to drop their eggs in. Cuckold males wait for the females to move in and then attempt to fertilize eggs by either darting in while the female is dropping or they pose as a female and join the mating process fooling the parental male. Parental/Cuckold genes are passed on by their fathers and in a perfect lake there would be no Cuckold male bluegills, only Parental males.

Cuckold bluegills are in all lakes and are more commonly called "stunted". If you want more stunted bluegills in any lake and less large fish then go ahead and keep a bunch of fish off of spawning beds and take pictures to show everyone how good of a fisherman you are. If you want more large bluegills in a lake then leave the beds alone!

[Coach1310]

.... go ahead and keep a bunch of fish off of spawning beds and take pictures to show everyone how good of a fisherman you are. If you want more large bluegills in a lake then leave the beds alone!

I was enjoying your post until the bold portion.... So everyone who takes a picture with a fish is "showing off how good of a fisherman they are".... gosh forbid you take a picture of a fish to remember it or just for the fun of it. I've fished gills on their beds and taken pictures, but never knew that meant my main goal was to "show everyone how good of a fisherman I am"!!

[thatoneguy]

my profile pic is of a huge gill off a bed...which was then released, and I watched him swim right back to the bed and resume guarding.

yes, it's important not to harvest many or to overpressure bedding fish, but don't get too carried away with that train of thought...a couple of fish for the pan is OK.

[Fred_Bear]

I was enjoying your post until the bold portion.... So everyone who takes a picture with a fish is "showing off how good of a fisherman they are".... gosh forbid you take a picture of a fish to remember it or just for the fun of it. I've fished gills on their beds and taken pictures, but never knew that meant my main goal was to "show everyone how good of a fisherman I am"!!

Sorry, I don't think I quite meant it like you guys are taking it, that's my fault so I'll clarify...

If you read the beginning of my sentence before the bold, I referred to keeping a bunch of fish off spawning beds. I didn't mean pictures of a fish or two out on the water, the pictures I was getting at are the cleaning room pictures of guys with a full board of monster bluegills caught during the spawn. Sorry if I offended anyone... take all the pictures you want and post them here, I enjoy looking at them. The pictures I am talking about usually show up on facebook.

[harvey lee]

I believe many of us including myself have fished the beds for the big gills over the years.

Now, I look at what I could have done to those gills.

Yes, if people only took a few off the beds, that may be ok but when I am at the landing and see a boat of 3 come in with a limit of 60 off the beds, well, no so good for the lake. Typicall yit is boat after boat that comes in with the livewell plum full of huge gills.

We can say just take a few but my guess is, that does not work.

Everyone always wants more and nicer fish but I do not believe raping the beds is the way to get there.

That's just me and I realize everyone looks at it differently. I simply would like to make sure my grandkid's have the same opportunities that I have had over the years for the great fishing I have been fortunate enough to enjoy.

[monstermoose78]

I agree harvey. The one thing that works for the benefit of the fish is most fisher people think they spawn earlier then they do. When the fish come into the shallows to feed rate after ice out very one always says they are spawning around here. If they only knew. I have rigged up my ultra light gear ready for some ice out fish. Catch and Release is the name of the game for me. However I will out to few little lakes and ponds in search of a gill over a 1.25 pounds. I have end table waiting to get a mount put in it. It will be a ice fishing scene with my grand fathers old jiggle stick which he signed his name on.

One lake around my area some beavers dammed up creek that flows out of the lake which now prevents the fish from getting back to bay a long a dirt road. This has saved so many gills and crappies in that lake. Another lake around here a resort has planted some trees along a boat channel which will make harder to fish if they even allow people to fish there any more.

[th64]

If people would just take enough for a meal, challenge yourself to find another spot or another lake after you have taken a few-some people will go to the same lake and spot several times a week.Give it a rest.