2016 Panfishing

[bwframe]

Caught five pounds of fillets last week between weather fluctuations. Mostly males with the occasional female with eggs.

 

[Slawburger]

Nice mess of fish.

 

[mom45]

I've got a little over 300 filets in the freezer so far....fishing continues as we speak. Hubby went without me today. They really started hitting in the past week or two.

 

[BiscuitNaBasket]

Had some fun this evening:

 

[mom45]

I'm getting tired of cleaning fish. Did a tally of the freezer and there are over 500 bluegill filets in there already.

 

[Frosty]

I'm getting tired of cleaning fish. Did a tally of the freezer and there are over 500 bluegill filets in there already.

Sounds like a first world problem mom... My new place to fish is to far of a walk to keep the fish, but some bluegill fillets sound tasty

 

[mom45]

Sounds like a first world problem mom... My new place to fish is to far of a walk to keep the fish, but some bluegill fillets sound tasty

Both of our boats have been spending a fair amount of time in the water this year. The bigger boat won't go in some of the lakes we like to fish since they don't have boat ramps, but the little coleman boat sneaks right into those and can go in very shallow water where the gills are hanging out.

 

[Frosty]

Both of our boats have been spending a fair amount of time in the water this year. The bigger boat won't go in some of the lakes we like to fish since they don't have boat ramps, but the little coleman boat sneaks right into those and can go in very shallow water where the gills are hanging out.

I'm looking at a little 12' Jon boat myself. The strip pits down in clay county have some great fishing if you can get back off the bank. Me and dad had a 14' full V that was very tippy, but it would run into the shallows really good.

 

[mom45]

I'm looking at a little 12' Jon boat myself. The strip pits down in clay county have some great fishing if you can get back off the bank. Me and dad had a 14' full V that was very tippy, but it would run into the shallows really good.

We have a little Coleman Crawdad...plastic flat bottom boat. It is light enough that we can easily put it in and out of the truck bed to haul it around, but we can use the 5hp outboard or the trolling motor on it. The other boat is a 14' Lund that I found on FB right before Christmas. The guy was selling it cause he needed money for Christmas. We paid his asking price...$800 for the boat, trailer, 25 hp Evinrude, gas tank, trolling motor, pole holders, anchors, new winch, fish finder, etc...he threw in all kinds of stuff. Hubby replaced the plywood flooring and added indoor/outdoor carpeting and added a few things he wanted. It was too good to pass up even though we didn't really need another boat.

 

[Frosty]

We have a little Coleman Crawdad...plastic flat bottom boat. It is light enough that we can easily put it in and out of the truck bed to haul it around, but we can use the 5hp outboard or the trolling motor on it. The other boat is a 14' Lund that I found on FB right before Christmas. The guy was selling it cause he needed money for Christmas. We paid his asking price...$800 for the boat, trailer, 25 hp Evinrude, gas tank, trolling motor, pole holders, anchors, new winch, fish finder, etc...he threw in all kinds of stuff. Hubby replaced the plywood flooring and added indoor/outdoor carpeting and added a few things he wanted. It was too good to pass up even though we didn't really need another boat.

That's a heck of a deal, I think I'd have a hard time passing that up to! The little Jon boat I was looking at is only 100 lbs, so I can just slide it in the back of the truck, but all I'll have on it is a trolling motor, so not much added weight besides the battery. Hopefully I can pick one up before winter, but winter might be the time to buy?

 

[mom45]

That's a heck of a deal, I think I'd have a hard time passing that up to! The little Jon boat I was looking at is only 100 lbs, so I can just slide it in the back of the truck, but all I'll have on it is a trolling motor, so not much added weight besides the battery. Hopefully I can pick one up before winter, but winter might be the time to buy?

I've seen quite a few for sale on FB. Ours was sitting in some guy's yard with a sign on it when we bought it. I see them fairly often around here, but we are pretty far north for you. Fall or winter when people don't want to store them and need cash is always a good time to shop for boats and motorcycles.

 

[bwframe]

I'm gonna have to get on my game here. You folks are loading the freezer while I'm busy with silly stuff like work and family issues...

 

[mom45]

I'm gonna have to get on my game here. You folks are loading the freezer while I'm busy with silly stuff like work and family issues...

I think we are going out again tomorrow.

 

[bwframe]

I think we are going out again tomorrow.

Not for sure if I can get to the water tomorrow, but I'm hoping to get the canoe and gear loaded in the truck.

Only 6# of bluegill in the freezer and I'm hoping to put up a lot more.

 

[mom45]

It was pretty windy today but it was still nice to be out on the water. I caught a bass first thing and we caught some bluegill, but they were all pretty small so we didn't keep anything today. I think hubby had one crappie and we each had another bass before we left. I was having fun playing with a little weedless frog that I bought. That thing hops across the lilly pads like nothing...had a big bass hit it. I think we may try a different lake tomorrow with the smaller boat. I know there are a lot of bass in that one, and there are tons of lilly pads I can play in.

 

[Sniper 79]

Been out a couple times. Crappie, Bass, and Pike caught. All released except one nice Pike for the grill. Nice to clean one fish and feed my family.

Would be nice to put up some Crappie although am concerned people are taking too many.

 

[mom45]

Been out a couple times. Crappie, Bass, and Pike caught. All released except one nice Pike for the grill. Nice to clean one fish and feed my family.

Would be nice to put up some Crappie although am concerned people are taking too many.

We hardly ever see crappie anymore.

 

[Hardscrable]

Been out a couple times. Crappie, Bass, and Pike caught. All released except one nice Pike for the grill. Nice to clean one fish and feed my family.

Would be nice to put up some Crappie although am concerned people are taking too many.

Crappie numbers and large/slab gills and red ear are definitely greatly declined on our lake. Too many people taking too many are in my mind a big problem. About 3 years ago heard one ice fisherman state that he and his buddy had taken 1800 gills in a couple weeks. Personally saw a guy shore fishing just across my property line leave to empty his buckets and was back in couple hours fishing again and stated he had 139 in the first batch.

I have read numerous articles the last few years regarding panfish size, reproduction, genetics, etc. linking larger gills with producing larger growing offspring. This translates into the fishery benefiting by releasing slab size fish and only keeping ones of moderate size. The May 2016 In-Fisherman magazine has an article regarding selective blue gill harvest and how it relates to the continuation of large fish in a lake. It also discusses how over taking can ruin a fishery in a very short time and that it may take decades ( if ever ) to recover. I fully believe this has happened to our lake. Our lake is rated average or even below on growth rates, etc. due to habitat, food, structure, etc. Several years of the last 10, we have had an extraordinarily good spring fishing. Large numbers of very large gills & red ears were very easy to catch. One year in particular we were over run with fisherman. Found out some one had posted the info on Internet including the exact spots to fish. There were cars parked along the road for several weeks with people swarming available ( and many private ) shorelines. Something similar happened during ice fishing 6-8 years ago. There has been a decline in size of fish caught ever since. Recent DNR studies have shown large numbers of gills ( reduced red ear & greatly reduced crappie ) but much smaller sizes. I think that thanks to "fish hogs " we have been screwed for years to come.

 

[bwframe]

Finally got the canoe in the water! Caught a couple foot long channel cats and 9 or 10 decent bluegills.

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On a side note. I spent 4-5ish hours on a beautiful small public lake. When boat and bank fishermen came rolling in toward dusk, I left the lake to them. With an hour of light left, I decided to quit griping about the heathens that frequent public waterways and do something positive.

Picked up trash around the boat ramp for a half an hour. I'll never understand why idiots think that a boat ramp is a good place for their campfire and to then fill the inappropriate fire with beer cans and bottles (the one's that didn't just get heaved anywhere around.)

The next generation will be better about this though? We're all "greener" right?
Insult to injury was the half dozen diapers I picked up. All were tossed away from easy access, some in the water, some in the briars.

I made sure I was quite obvious and loud about what I was doing for everyone on and around the lake to see. They are bound to catch on right?

 

[mom45]

Finally got the canoe in the water! Caught a couple foot long channel cats and 9 or 10 decent bluegills.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On a side note. I spent 4-5ish hours on a beautiful small public lake. When boat and bank fishermen came rolling in toward dusk, I left the lake to them. With an hour of light left, I decided to quit griping about the heathens that frequent public waterways and do something positive.

Picked up trash around the boat ramp for a half an hour. I'll never understand why idiots think that a boat ramp is a good place for their campfire and to then fill the inappropriate fire with beer cans and bottles (the one's that didn't just get heaved anywhere around.)

The next generation will be better about this though? We're all "greener" right?
Insult to injury was the half dozen diapers I picked up. All were tossed away from easy access, some in the water, some in the briars.

I made sure I was quite obvious and loud about what I was doing for everyone on and around the lake to see. They are bound to catch on right?

I hate the litter that people leave behind. My theory is leave it cleaner than I found it, but way too many don't. We have one lake we go to that is on private property down a rather long lane. They allow the public to use it and have clean up days scheduled a few times in the summer. People dump so much trash back there...not just the bait containers, beer cans, etc, but tires, appliances, etc. It is secluded so it is a prime dumping spot. When we were there the other day, there was a tent in the woods where someone was camping. The grass had just been mowed and the big pile of trash/campfire remains that was there a few days earlier was gone. It makes me nuts. Our road in front of our house is just as bad. I pick up trash there constantly.