5 sunfish is utterly ridiculous

I mostly panfish and mostly in the metro. Dropping the sunfish limit to 5 on so many lakes is the most moronic thing I have heard of from our DNR…and that is saying something. I’m seriously thinking of not getting a license this year and getting rid of the boat. A lake that doesn’t get fished that hard in open water that I have been getting huge sunnies on for several years now is on the list. Putting that on the list when there is hardly any boats on it fishing for pannies does not make any sense. If I do get a license this year (seriously I don’t think I will) you can bet I will be pulling out every MONSTER sunny I catch!

Everyone go ahead and rip away…I DO NOT CARE! 5 SUNFISH IS RIDICULOUS!!

I tend to agree. It seems like a size limit (zero or one over X”) would have been more appropriate and probably even more effective to accomplish the goal of having more large panfish.

Relax they raised the walleye limit to 10 on island reservoir

I understand your frustration. Personally I would rather see them implement a season and protect them on the beds like they do for game fish.

I agree John23 having a size limit would be way better.

suzuki wrote:

I understand your frustration. Personally I would rather see them implement a season and protect them on the beds.

I totally agree with the special regs on certain lakes, I have witnessed too much carnage on the sunfish and crappies, plenty of lakes to catch your numbers of fish, too many people, good eqipment, knowledge,, give these fish a break, its only in some special lakes

shefland wrote:

I totally agree with the special regs on certain lakes, I have witnessed too much carnage on the sunfish and crappies, plenty of lakes to catch your numbers of fish, too many people, good eqipment, knowledge,, give these fish a break, its only in some special lakes

I’d look a again. It is on A LOT of lakes…way more than a few special lakes!!

People already biatch enough about dnr looking in their boats, checking licenses etc. Get the ruler out for every single panfish they got, not happening.

Dnr has a budget, they are already stretched thin, rules matter less if they can’t be effectively enforced. This is an easier way to enforce, and will have a positive effect on size structure.

All those compelled to not buy licenses here in the metro, go for it. Less people on lakes I fish. Five fish is plenty! Win win for me

Deuces wrote:

People already biatch enough about dnr looking in their boats, checking licenses etc. Get the ruler out for every single <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>panfish they got, not happening.

Dnr has a budget, they are already stretched thin, rules matter less if they can’t be effectively enforced. This is an easier way to enforce, and will have a positive effect on size structure.

All those compelled to not buy licenses here in the metro, go for it. Less people on lakes I fish. Five fish is plenty! Win win for me

Agree…..plenty of lakes and places to catch eater fish. I’d rather preserve the lakes and catch big fish. The panfish lakes around here get eviscerated in the winter. Too many lakes near the metro chock full of 8” crappies and 6” sunnies.

Deuces wrote:

Less people on lakes I fish.

More room for wake surfing.

I understand the frustration. I believe it was ripjigen who said in another thread that nothing that comes out will make everyone happy.

I guess my personal feeling is that I’d fish catch and release the rest of my life if it meant that my two very young boys could have good fishing in their prime years.

brewerybuilder wrote:

I’d look a again. It is on A LOT of lakes…way more than a few special lakes!!

New special panfish regs on 94 lakes. It’s not the end of the world.

brewerybuilder wrote:

I mostly panfish and mostly in the metro. Dropping the sunfish limit to 5 on so many lakes is the most moronic thing I have heard of from our DNR…and that is saying something. I’m seriously thinking of not getting a license this year and getting rid of the boat. A lake that doesn’t get fished that hard in open water that I have been getting huge sunnies on for several years now is on the list. Putting that on the list when there is hardly any boats on it fishing for pannies does not make any sense. If I do get a license this year (seriously I don’t think I will) you can bet I will be pulling out every MONSTER sunny I catch!

Everyone go ahead and rip away…I DO NOT CARE! 5 SUNFISH IS RIDICULOUS!!

You were pulling out every MONSTER sunny you caught before. Sounds like you will continue to do so. So what’s the difference?

This is the land of 10,000 lakes. Plus miles of river. Find a new location to fish. Or stay home.

I’ll bet the daily pike limit is 10 there so go ahead and start filling your bucket with those!

Good sell your boat, don’t fish, and keep less fish so the lakes will be better.

Some of the best sunfish I’ve ever caught have been on the experimental lakes. I’m all for the entire state going to the experimental regs.

But I’m not a bucket filler anyway so who cares…right?

5 gills and 5 crappies are plenty for a meal. Zero frustration on my end. You will be just fine. Plus now maybe some of these bulls will have a chance to protect the nest.

Don’t worry about stuff you can’t control. You can control going fishing and having a good day on the lake.

brewerybuilder wrote:

I mostly panfish and mostly in the metro. Dropping the sunfish limit to 5 on so many lakes is the most moronic thing I have heard of from our DNR…and that is saying something. I’m seriously thinking of not getting a license this year and getting rid of the boat. A lake that doesn’t get fished that hard in open water that I have been getting huge sunnies on for several years now is on the list. Putting that on the list when there is hardly any boats on it fishing for pannies does not make any sense. If I do get a license this year (seriously I don’t think I will) you can bet I will be pulling out every MONSTER sunny I catch!

Everyone go ahead and rip away…I DO NOT CARE! 5 SUNFISH IS RIDICULOUS!!

I don’t have a dog in the fight but I will consider buying your boat. Shoot me a PM with what you have and how much you want.

brewerybuilder wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>shefland wrote:</div>
I totally agree with the special regs on certain lakes, I have witnessed too much carnage on the sunfish and crappies, plenty of lakes to catch your numbers of fish, too many people, good eqipment, knowledge,, give these fish a break, its only in some special lakes

I’d look a again. It is on A LOT of lakes…way more than a few special lakes!!

“A LOT” of lakes is subjective. There are A LOT (thousands actually) more lakes without special regs. Go fish a different one.

I’m ok with you not getting a license. Rather that than you keep every MONSTER sunfish you catch to stick it to who exactly….

This thread is starting to turn weird. I Think there should be protected lakes and size limits. I get it the DNR does not have much funding however I’m not a scientist there are lakes with stunted growth and small fish. It does make for a hell of a fishing regulation hand book. All I can say is this. I grew up in Minnesota and used to go to my grandparents in northern Wisconsin. Me and my grandpa would catch tons of big bulls withs damn near horns on their heads and take a few for eating. Now there are barely any fish left do to regulations and over fishing. We used to catch them on fly rods. What a fight and I’m only 32 years old. Thats the memories we want to build for future generation. I get it there is a lot to be done on many different aspects however this is a start.

Ralph Wiggum wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Mr.Beads wrote:</div>
Less people on lakes I fish.

More room for wake surfing.

Not good for me. I don’t have a wake surfing boat. I need the weight of the extra sunnies to help make my wake.
DT

deertracker wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Ralph Wiggum wrote:</div>

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Mr.Beads wrote:</div>
Less people on lakes I fish.

More room for wake surfing.

Not good for me. I don’t have a wake surfing boat. I need the weight of the extra sunnies to help make my wake.
DT

Deuces wrote:

All those compelled to not buy licenses here in the metro, go for it. Less people on lakes I fish. Five fish is plenty! Win win for m

That would be best for you and lots of other people. But what about all the stuff I always hear about we “need to get more people into fishing”…”take someone fishing”? 5 panfish is a good way to reverse that.

You were pulling out every MONSTER sunny you caught before. Sounds like you will continue to do so. So what’s the difference?

[/quote]

Where did you get that? Have you ever seen me fish, and keep monsters? I often release many of the larger fish. But, I was able to keep a reasonable amount of fish. If I decide to purchase a license this year (again on the fence) I will be keeping as many of the larger fish I can, and would expect LOTS of people will be doing the same thing.

I realize no one cares what I do, that’s fine. We used to have a cabin on Mille Lacs and because of the way that has been so screwed up we sold that years ago. What they are doing is driving people away from fishing instead of doing the opposite which is what they always preach.

You only practice conservation if it benefits you, got it. I hear Taylormade makes a good product. Let me know if you’re dumping any Husky Jerks

Increasing the number of fish by lowering the amount taken doesn’t hurt license sales at all. People will catch their Sunnies, move onto Crappie or Walleye. Go catch your 5, it’s all you need anyway.

The one thing about the lower limits that worries me a little is that instead of keeping 10 or 20 smaller fish some people ( like the original poster ) will now decide to keep the biggest fish possible to make up for the amount of meat lost from fewer fish. This will have the opposite result on what the regulation are intended to accomplish. I would have been more in favor of a statewide decrease to a limit of 10 sunfish and had size restrictions added to certain lakes. Yes it would be a little more complicated but not really all that much more than it already is going to be. Like others have said, all the regulations are worthless unless they have enough manpower to enforce them and fines big enough to make a difference

Trade your fishing boat in for a wake board boat, jet ski or skiing boat. Plenty of ways to enjoy the lake….