What do you consider Keeper size.

[Agronomist_at_IA]

Just want to know what most of you consider keeper size on crappie, bluegill, and perch.

[Kyle Sandberg]

I like a 10-12 inch crappie. I don't like to keep sunfish becuase they are a pain, for me, to clean. Perch, above 10 inches.

[freezdried]

Crappie 9" and up Gill 7" and up and Perch 10" and up

But thats just me

[TurnUpTheFishing]

Ive set slots for myself.

crappies 9"-11"

bluegill 6.5 or 7"-8"

perch really depends on the body of water

[Jim Hudson]

Keepers definately depend on the lake I fish... Knowing the bodies of water and the size structure of the fish is key on this aspect.. At times, some just cant handle a lot of keeping of some species, due to density numbers from say winter dies offs, down swings in populations, or say up swings as well..

But usually, for crappies I am looking to 9 to 10 inchers.. 'Gills are usually 7 to 9... and Perch 8 to 12 inches...

[thirtysomething]

I second Jim, depends on the lake. Around the metro lakes I often just release everything. If I'm on a trip far from home, we may keep smaller ones that we normally would if we're trying to get a meal. Crappies 10" up, Perch 11" up. Depends who's turn it is to clean too!

[slipperybob]

crappies 10" up (URL any 14"+

perch 11" up (Mille Lacs still aiming for 14"+)

walleye's 15" up (URL lucky to get one under 17" or what was the slot)

so most of the time, I end up releasing....

[maros91]

Crappies and Perch 9" and up

Haven't targeted bluegills in many years. Maybe I will try this year.

[Matt Johnson]

I'm also with Jim on this one. Crappies 9-11 inches and gills 7-8.5 inches are the norm. Red Lake being an exception where a crappie under 11 inches can be hard to come by

[livintofish]

Depends on the lake....but I guess I don't keep the larger sized fish that I want to keep, but decent sized fish that still have some meat on them. I do this for good managment reasons, and apperently this is rare. Panfish are the toughest fish to manage and large ones are getting tougher to find, with exception some large lakes of course. Large fish are females typically and are valueable for a couple of reasons. They have higher spawning success, due to holding a much larger quantity of eggs. Also they are genetically superior fish, a number of genetic attributes are the cause for causing it to get that big. These traits can be passed on to future generations if they are not harvested. So crappies I would say 8 to 9 in, gills about six. This type of managment practice is easily put into use on larger species, due to the fact that there is still plenty of meat on a 16 in walleye, but is seldom used on smaller species. I don't take home pails or limits of pannies either, I take what I will eat and take a few more next time I'm out, so you will still see the big ones down the road.

[chris63]

How hungry am I?c63