This really depends on the size of fish in a system. Most all of a bluegills energy goes into growth until they reach sexual maturity. In other words they will grow quickly until they participate in spawning. This is determind by the size of the biggest fish in the system. If you remove the big fish smaller and smaller fish will begin spawning slowing growth and eventually stunting the system. Because some people consider a 6 inch fish a keeper the limits are set very high. Some states 25 per person. When keeping 9.5 inch bluegills in these numbers you can quickly stunt a system. My suggestion to all bluegill fisherman is to slot limit yourself 7.0-9.5 inch fish, and no more than 15. This will keep your fishery healthy and those big ones coming in. Making it much easier to fill your bucket.