# What has happened to the Panfishing???



## T3|-| F7U&gt;&lt; C4P4C41

In the past decade, I've seen a real decline in the lakes around here for panfishing. I suppose it's due to the people who have stringers full of 6" bluegill, but I could be wrong. :******: I would definitely support a slot limit and/or a reduction in the limit. For here in Michigan, the limit is 50 panfish a day, regardless of water. Think of this impact on a small inland lake...


----------



## johnsona

I know exactly what you mean.

There's a medium-sized lake that I fish from time to time that holds decent numbers of crappie, but the numbers of bluegill have never been that great, especially good-sized ones. Every year that I have been there during the spring, there's numerous people lined up along the shore, pulling panfish (mostly bluegills) out one after the other, until they've got a 5 gallon bucket filled up. When I fish it during the winter, the crappies seem pretty abundant, but the bluegills are much more rare. Now, you'd have to get a biologist to tell if that's part of the reason that the numbers seem so low, but I personally feel that all those people taking limits of fish out during the pre-spawn period might be why. I don't have a problem with people taking fish out, but that many? Another thing - every few years word gets out about a hot little panfish lake, and it gets fished hard for a few years, and after that it's barely worth fishing because the numbers have been reduced so much. I would totally support having the limit for panfish cut down to 25 or so to help the smaller lakes with this same problem.


----------



## njsimonson

The NDG&F has lowered panfish limits this year, basically due to the same outcry from anglers - "what happened to these booming fisheries!?"

Apparently, with the invention of the five-gallon bucket, fisheries populations became inversely related. Couple that with the boom of internet fishing message forums, and the pressure increased directly.

Have we no hope for these fisheries on our own? Is government really necessary. Sadly, it would appear so.


----------



## T3|-| F7U&gt;&lt; C4P4C41

I have a "theory" about why a particular lake I used to fish has gone downhill... I know this may seem shallow, but I believe that since many people are keeping all the larger specimens initially, there is lesser competition for spawning grounds with smaller fish, which in turn overpopulate and stunt the growth of the whole population. If this seems wrong, please correct me...


----------



## Techhead

no real correction necessary, as what you say for the most part is true, when you take the large panfish out of population, the smaller males become sexually active at a younger age, and since the larger ones are kept more often hence the stunted panfish syndrome. I have read several studies published in ND outdoors, North American fisherman, and In fisherman magazines that coincide with this finding. I would definitely be in favor of SLOT LIMITS, a reduced overall limit, say 10 for crappies, and 20 for perch and sunnies, possession of 2X limit. Slot for sunnies between 10" and 12" all released, for crappies, 12" -16" all released with one over the 16", and for perch, all between 10" and 12" released. this would improve the stability of nice breeders and the chance for those fish to grow. Now just enforce the limits


----------



## T3|-| F7U&gt;&lt; C4P4C41

Ah, rainy days.

"Now just enforce the limits."

That is so very true. Not only would people frequently break these regulations, I don't think the department of natural resources would want to pour in the extra funding needed to pay for the salaries of extra wardens.


----------



## Techhead

i for one would be willing to donate $5 per month to the DNR, if it was used on enforcement and rebuilding the lakes, riparian land around the lakes, improved water quality and fish production. Come on I know most sportsmen on this website would be willing to do this


----------

