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Anyone panfishing yet?


FishingTheFL

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 Several times to skaneatles past few months.. last trip mid last week was not great, maybe a total of 8 keeper  fish .. Some nice size perch up to about 12 inches, couple nice size rockies, a massive sunny, and a short LMB... Several toss back perch .. Wind was brutal, due south and I was at the north end.. Just raging whitecaps until noon... By then the bite was totally dead... Skinny has been ok for me this summer, not great numbers but many nice fish, and they are really sweet eating compared to other lakes..  Personally, I have no need to limit out on panfish.. If I get say 10 nice size mixed panfish, its a good trip for me.. That will last me a week...bob

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I would love to see them knock the limit down on perch, and maybe a size minimum as well.  Maybe help to sustain the fishery? I'm no biologist but I've seen many places on the ice where there are just tons of little perch being taken that maybe have a filet a little bigger than a cigarette.  They are fun to catch and taste good, lets keep 'em around!  I'll get off my soap box now.

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2 hours ago, DJ 17 said:

I would love to see them knock the limit down on perch, and maybe a size minimum as well.  Maybe help to sustain the fishery? I'm no biologist but I've seen many places on the ice where there are just tons of little perch being taken that maybe have a filet a little bigger than a cigarette.  They are fun to catch and taste good, lets keep 'em around!  I'll get off my soap box now.

 

Problem is, everyone culls the biggest and best.. When that happens you are eliminating the big breeders.. Its just human nature I guess..

 I noticed the same thing years ago with Crappies in some lakes... Today some lakes with a lot of crappies, are loaded with  5-6 inchers, and very few keeper size..   Thick shouldered  12 inchers???.. good luck, in much of NY state these days.. They get taken and eaten every spring, as soon as they reach 9 inches.. Last time I went Crappie fishing  this spring a 9 incher was hard to come by.. Same thing  could happen to perch,, Just so many people after them these days.. bob

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There are a lot perch out there. Last night they would just come up and look at it. Part of fishing. With gobies the size of small perch that basically eat anything that hangs out near the bottom... no wonder there are less fish. There are a lot of fish there, just figuring out what they want and how they want it presented.

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20 hours ago, bulletbob said:

 

Problem is, everyone culls the biggest and best.. When that happens you are eliminating the big breeders.. Its just human nature I guess..

 I noticed the same thing years ago with Crappies in some lakes... Today some lakes with a lot of crappies, are loaded with  5-6 inchers, and very few keeper size..   Thick shouldered  12 inchers???.. good luck, in much of NY state these days.. They get taken and eaten every spring, as soon as they reach 9 inches.. Last time I went Crappie fishing  this spring a 9 incher was hard to come by.. Same thing  could happen to perch,, Just so many people after them these days.. bob

I don't necessarily disagree with some of what you are saying, but if they could only keep half as many, then we would be twice as far ahead.

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It has been a common misconception for as long as there has been panfishing that they are so prolific that you can not fish down the populations.  This has been proven wrong by many fisheries biologists and researchers over the past decade.  Minnesota and Wisconsin are far and away the 2 states that have been leading the charge in reducing panfish limits based on sound research.  For example, one small lake in Wisconsin gets heavy pressure but consistently year after year produces the largest sized bluegills in the state.  Bag limit - 5/day.

Coincidence? I think not.

Speaking of bluegills (my favorite), type in "sneaker male bluegills" on google search.  You will find information on how these stunted male genetic clones of the big parental male takes over breeding when the parental males are removed from the spawning beds.  End result, a lake full of stunted bluegills.  I can name several lakes in NY where this has happened.  And, once the sneakers take over a lake the quality fishing is gone, forever.

When it comes to managing our panfish populations, DEC is living in the dark ages.

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I'd be worried about the gobies before over fishing... can't put a bait on bottom without catching them. Some are the size of perch or bigger. I imagine they eat eggs out of the nest, perch eggs, trout eggs... yep caught gobies in the mouth of finger lakes tribs. I pretty much only fish one lake so I don't get to see how other lakes compare... Cayuga seems to be doing well... Better then I remember except the small mouths... they seem to be completely gone...

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 Should be a  10 fish limit on any one species, and maybe a 25 limit mixed bag.. 25 Perch , Sunfish, Crappie,, Rock Bass, White Perch White Bass etc is really plenty for anyone.. If you really need  more than 25 panfish a day, you might want to rethink your dietary  habits...
 

 i love panfish, and even 10 fish total  bag would suffice for me personally, but thats still low..  I feel the  25 limit on mixed species is the way to go.. Just too many very good, very efficient anglers with a lot of leisure time and simply  incredible space age equipment [GoPro Underwater video] these days...

 Its getting to the point that the fish just don't have a chance to get old and  big... bob

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Not everyone goes fishing to catch that "one" meal. Some people don't get out much and will freeze their fish to last a long time.
Also, why even have a 5 gill limit on that lake? I won't break the knife out till a dozen.

Lake Ontario salmon fishing charters

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I find it interesting that there is a 25 fish limit on Crappies yet 50 for perch. Why not make it consistent and 25 for all panfish? One of the things that may help too is putting back the large spawner female perch and selectively taking ones that are of edible size (e.g. 10-12 inches) and a 9 inch minimal size limit. Every year I see folks keeping a multitude of small perch (both shore fishing and ice fishing) that I wonder how they have enough to even fillet and whether they are destined for their aquarium or something:lol: .Some of us have routinely practiced throwing some big ones back over the years but the selling of perch being allowed is also a big threat in some areas despite the feelings and opinions of the folks who do it. Every time this is mentioned though the proponents of this practice have a fit  as though their whole livelyhood is being threatened and their human rights are being violated.  A lot of emotiopnal attachment on both sides of the issue.

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I'll be honest. In 20 years of fishing(I'll never claim to have the knowledge that someone much older than I has) I've never seen the perch population struggle in the big water I fish. I hit the big spring runs of the st Lawrence and on Lake Ontario. Despite no limit in those areas not one year have I said man the numbers are down. Every year seems just as amazing as the last. Some days you can catch hundreds of pounds. I'll only sell occasionally in the spring and that's it. Otherwise I've never kept more than 50. However in smaller bodies of water inland I could see why a 25 fish limit would

be smart. The big water I think can sustain the population but the smaller bodies of water I could see overfishing create more of as issue just an opinion on the matter 

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I'll be honest. In 20 years of fishing(I'll never claim to have the knowledge that someone much older than I has) I've never seen the perch population struggle in the big water I fish. I hit the big spring runs of the st Lawrence and on Lake Ontario. Despite no limit in those areas not one year have I said man the numbers are down. Every year seems just as amazing as the last. Some days you can catch hundreds of pounds. I'll only sell occasionally in the spring and that's it. Otherwise I've never kept more than 50. However in smaller bodies of water inland I could see why a 25 fish limit would
be smart. The big water I think can sustain the population bit the smaller bodies of water I could see overfishing create more of as issue just an opinion on the matter 



Sent from my XT1609 using Lake Ontario United mobile app

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I'll be honest. In 20 years of fishing(I'll never claim to have the knowledge that someone much older than I has) I've never seen the perch population struggle in the big water I fish. I hit the big spring runs of the st Lawrence and on Lake Ontario. Despite no limit in those areas not one year have I said man the numbers are down. Every year seems just as amazing as the last. Some days you can catch hundreds of pounds. I'll only sell occasionally in the spring and that's it. Otherwise I've never kept more than 50. However in smaller bodies of water inland I could see why a 25 fish limit would
be smart. The big water I think can sustain the population bit the smaller bodies of water I could see overfishing create more of as issue just an opinion on the matter 



Sent from my XT1609 using Lake Ontario United mobile app

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