What size to keep

I am curious what size fish, in particular perch, crappie and bluegills do you personally need to have a minimum size on to keep? Not trying to start a war but I saw another website with a report put out by a guide of the days catch and pictures and was kind of surprised at the size of some of the perch. I know pictures are not always accurate but it looked as if they were keeping 6-7″ perch in some cases. I am all for people keeping a catch of fish to eat and I understand the guide is looking to put people on fish they can keep but some of these seem a little small to me. I did not see any jumbos in their photos so maybe they are keeping smaller ones and letting the big girls go back? I hope that is the case.

Perch I keep from 9-13″ The only ones I have kept bigger went on the wall and very few others I have let go. I keep all sizes of Crappie. 10+” I occasionally release the larger fish but that’s just when it comes to mind.

Bluegills are a totally different story. I won’t keep a gill over 9″ and no one in my boat is allowed to either. I started fishing them hard a few years ago and have noticed how fast the sizes are declining in NE SD. I realized I was part of the problem keeping all of the big fish. If you care to do any reading look up a few articles about gills and they explain why you should keep the big males. I think one is ‘The Secret Life of Bluegills’. More or less once you take the big males out the smaller ones start spawning and slow their growth way down. They never reach their maximum size because they are expounding energy into spawning. Once that happens it is a very long road to getting that size structure back into the lake. Some contend it is dang near impossible without a kill off of the lake. That might have been more than you wanted to know but I love me gills.

Big sunnies and big perch get released always. Size is all relative to the lake being fished.

Have no problem with lil fish being kept, they fry up real crispy!

I like a 9″ crappie.

As a disclaimer, I do not like eating fish that was frozen. Therefore, it’s rare that I keep fish or more than enough to feed 2-3 people. In most cases I don’t go out with the intentions to keep fish. I’ll throw back a handful of keeper sized fish before thinking to call the Mrs. and see if she’d like some for dinner that evening.

Crappies 9-12″ anything bigger or smaller goes back
Perch 9-12″ anything bigger or smaller goes back (all obvious plump females go back in Spring)
Bluegills 8-9″ anything bigger or smaller goes back

Perch – 8″ and up, I don’t ever catch any over 12″.
Crappie – 8 – 11″
Bluegill 7 – 8.5″

It’s definitely lake and day specific but in general Crappie 9, Perch 9, Bluegill 8. That’s bottom of the barrel, smallest I’ll keep anywhere.

I make it a point to release big bluegills for the health of the population in that lake. I’ve read enough reports and articles written by biologists that I know it makes a difference due to their unique genetics.

Crappies and perch not so much. I have never seen a scientific report or study that claims releasing big perch or crappies will help their population numbers or size structure in that lake.

Feathers wrote:

On a related note I would love to see the crappie and gill limits cut in half and more special slots put in place on lakes. Some of the lakes with panfish slots in the western part of our state are showing some impressive results.

Agree on the 5 fish limits

Couple of the lakes I fish have minimum size on Crappie; 11″ on one lake 10.5″ on another so anything smaller has to go back and it really keeps the population and size up…otherwise people would be going off with limit after limit of 9-10″ crappies.

I am for reducing the limit to 5 on crappies and 10 on gills for any lake in MN.

perch 9″-12″
crappie 9″-12″
gills 7″-9″

Anything under or almost everything over goes back. I’m not perfect but try my best to let all the big ones swim away.

Slabhunter wrote:

I am for reducing the limit to 5 on crappies and 10 on gills for any lake in MN.

same here
I stopped keeping Gills 4 years ago. I am hoping their sizes will come back quicker with a bigger population in the lake and the way their growth get stunted. I keep what I am going to eat that day and only if they are not too big or small.

I live in the Milwaukee area and the lakes here get pounded so I rarely keep any. When we go to the bigger lakes, say Winnebago or Poygan. I, like most on here try to stay in the 9-12 for perch and crappie. I don’t see big bluegills very often so that’s not a problem. I would be all for a reduction in bag limits for panfish.

perch 9″ minimum
crappie 10″ minimum
Gill 7.5″ minimum