Center Hill Gills

[DUCK_2]

Hey guys,

Wanted to see if anyone out there has any helpful advice on going after bluegill and shellcrackers at Center Hill this spring. I have never really fished that lake and have heard there is some big ones there. I have a goal this year to catch a TARP-gill and shellcracker. Any tips and places to start looking? Do they spawn on the rock or do they find gravel like other lakes? What's the average depth to find them during the spawn? I'm so use to KY & Nickajack Lake that fishing rock will be weird to me.

Thanks guys!

[tnpondmanager]

If you don't mind paying a guide fee, I can put you on a TARP bluegill and it would probably take all of an hour or less. Although you would also be at risk for catching an 11" or 12". There are also shellcracker in these ponds, and if you catch one it will probably be a TARP.

http://fishingtn.com/<a href=https://flic.kr/p/tzLh9J target=_blank>[img]https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7767/18103716362_06af53afae_b.jpgThe three biggest caught by clients of mine last spring went 1.6, 1.91, and 1.99 lbs. I had one party that I lost count at ten of bluegill over twenty ounces. I'm attaching a few photos.

By the way, this is just outside Columbia...

[tnpondmanager]

Forgot the shellcracker pics-

[Alphahawk]

Walt....those are fine fish...no doubt. If I were worth a lot of money I would have me some private lakes....hire a biologist to take care of it....feed the fish so they grow quite large....fish the fire out of it and be happy. If I could fish out of a lake where Gills are that big I would do so. But I don't see how anyone can equate a TARP fish out of a lake where fish are fed to obtain that size to a TARP fish out of public waters......just not the same. Just my two cents.


Regards

[tnpondmanager]

Randy, TWRA doesn't have a requirement that a TARP fish come from public or non-managed waters. I have worked on a lot of ponds in this state and several others, and can speak from firsthand observation that it is anything but a simple matter to get bluegill to the size I have gotten them to in that pond (all of those fish came from one one-acre pond). It took seven years to get that pond to the state it is in now.

As an example, there are multiple very large companies that come into Tennessee from other states and employ several times as many people as I do, that compete with me for customers. I know of one lake, a sixty-acre lake in Mississippi managed by a company an hour north of Atlanta, that has bluegill fishing that approaches what I've been able to do with my best pond; there's a 130-acre lake in North Carolina that's managed by a biologist from Texas that produces a lot of very big bluegill; there's a pond manager in Illinois that has a thirty-acre lake that has produced a lot of bluegill in the twenty- to twenty-four-ounce range. Those are the only private waters I'm aware of that have bluegill fishing approaching what I've been able to create. As another example, there's a place in Texas where they have several private ponds with rental log cabins, and they do brisk business because every now and then somebody catches a ten-inch bluegill.

Don't get me wrong - there are private ponds here and there across the country that have some big bluegill. But anyone who thinks it's simply a matter of finding a pond and throwing some food at the bluegill to get two-pounders, is in for a rude awakening when you try it.

One of my competitors, the largest pond management company in this region, has a picture of a ten-inch bluegill on their website. They probably have about five times as many customers as I do across the Southeast, meaning they have far more ponds they work on; and yet that seemed a notable fish to them. None of the ones I posted photos of are less than 11".

It's easier, by a long shot, to grow a largemouth to ten pounds than it is to get a bluegill to two pounds. Most avid anglers know someone who has caught a ten-pound bass - how many know someone who has caught a two-pound, pure-strain bluegill, and one that was actually weighed as opposed to just estimated? A prominent outdoor writer recently compared a two-pound bluegill to a fourteen-pound largemouth, and I think that's a pretty accurate analogy in terms of how rare they are.

[Alphahawk]

I am well aware it is not a requirement to have a TARP from public waters only. You took it that I somehow assumed you did not have to work to get your ponds like they are. I did not say that. I am sure you are very good at pond management. My point is no one needs to pay a fee to fish for a 10 inch Gill in Center Hill...Laurel Hill...or any other public lake. Ten inch Gills are rare....but they are in public waters. In public waters fish only have their natural food source. In a managed private lake they are more than likely fed. I venture to say of the ponds...lakes...you manage there is a feeding process. If I had the money I would go and spend weeks at Richmond Mill having the time of my life catching two pound Gills. But I would also know that for the fact of other than having fun I had not accomplished much......Richmond Mills is full of two pound Gills.....and we both know they have invested a fortune there to get them like that. But I would still fish it had I the funds. I look upon bass lakes as the same. In a public lake you have to hunt them out....in managed lakes they are readily available. I choose to fish for Gills. In TN a 9 inch Gill in public waters is a big fish.....as you and I both agree.....a 10 inch fish is a real trophy. A guide I know just recently caught his first 10 inch Gill out of public waters....he was extremely proud, as he should be. He had caught 10 inch Gills before out of private managed lakes but was proud that this one came out of the Tennessee River. Don't have the funds to fish the lakes you manage...but if there is ever an invite I am all in....or we could all just move to Lake Perris or Lake Havasu and have the time of our lives. Just got a lead on a spot that holds a lot of 9.5 inch Gills....saw the pics......so will be heading there as soon as weather is better.....has to be a ten incher around there somewhere.

Regards

[tnpondmanager]

Ten-inch bluegill are rare not just in public waters in general, as you note, but including Laurel Hill. Thirty years ago they were a little closer to common in that lake, but still uncommon; now they are undoubtedly an event, as scanning the photos that the people who run the bait shop post on Facebook, will prove.

Bluegill over ten inches could indeed be closer to common in public waters in this state if they were managed but they're not. There have been articles in multiple magazines, In-Fisherman among them, in the past few years that note the importance of creel limits on bluegill in public waters, but TWRA seems to think every bluegill angler in this state is purely a meat fisherman, so our big bluegill get fished out. I caught half a dozen 10" bluegill in a one-month period in the late '80's out of a TWRA-managed lake, New Lake in Lewisburg, and a year later they were gone, and the lake hasn't recovered since. Same thing with Shellcracker Lake in Williamsport - I didn't catch any 10"s there but I caught several close to it over a couple trips back in 2009, and the lake got hammered and is a shadow of what it could have been.

Your chances of catching a TARP bluegill in public water in this state are better than winning the lottery, but not by a lot. There's a great difference between using skill to catch something that's actually there, and using skill to try to pull out of the air (or in this case the water) something that, most of the time, just isn't there. To me it just makes a lot more sense, if TARP is the goal, to go somewhere where you have a reasonable chance of actually getting your bait in front of such a fish.

[tnpondmanager]

I have managed multiple ponds entirely without supplemental feeding where 10" bluegill were common. It's harder to do but very doable if every detail is in place. I caught a twenty-two ounce bluegill from such a pond, and a 1.75-lb. 'gill was caught from another such pond I managed. One of those ponds was four acres and the other was three. Entirely natural food - they were fertilized once monthly, but of course TWRA does that on their lakes as well.

[DUCK_2]

Well honestly guys, I was just trying to find a reason to get out on Center Hill since I have never fished it before. Honestly I am not opposed to fishing a private or public lake for a TARP. Thanks tnpondmanager for the offer and I might hit you up for that sometime. Alpha- thanks for your help. I know your always on the Gill/Cracker. You have talked about Laurel Hill for along time. I have been there three times in the past three years and I don't seem to do any good. I fish it just like I do at KY lake. Not sure what I'm doing wrong. I know there is fish there, but I must have bad luck there????

However, I do feel like I want to spend more time on area lakes (the big waters) and figure out good spots to take my son fishing. He's not a year old, so I got to time and I need to have a few different places in my pocket to take him. I thought that Center Hill and Dale Hollow would be a good place to take a trip or vacation with the family.

On Center Hill or Dale, what is the average depth you guys are sitting your float or tightlining? Can you give a good creek or area of the lake to focus on. I always pictured a lot of rock and not a lot of gravel on the Hill. Guess I need to go to find out! haha

Thanks guys. Didn't mean to cause a big discussion over it. Just looking for information on lakes I hear you guys talking about. Nice to talk to some Columbia boys.

[agelesssone]

I enjoy these discussions from a couple of pros, guys who know their species and tactics. Keep it going!

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

[tnpondmanager]

Thanks, Ageless!

Here are a couple links regarding overharvest of big bluegill in public waters if anyone is interested:

http://blog.nature.org/science/2015/10/15/why-everything-you-know-bluegill-management-wrong-fish-fisheries-panfish-fishing/

http://www.in-fisherman.com/panfish/bluegill/managing-bluegills/

http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/fishing/documents/outreach/PanfishRealityCheck.pdf

http://www.startribune.com/the-lunkers-are-gone-it-s-time-to-restore-our-bluegill-fishery/291972441/

https://www.sdstate.edu/nrm/outreach/pond/upload/Bluegill-Size-and-Age-at-Maturity.pdf

[Alphahawk]

Well honestly guys, I was just trying to find a reason to get out on Center Hill since I have never fished it before. Honestly I am not opposed to fishing a private or public lake for a TARP. Thanks tnpondmanager for the offer and I might hit you up for that sometime. Alpha- thanks for your help. I know your always on the Gill/Cracker. You have talked about Laurel Hill for along time. I have been there three times in the past three years and I don't seem to do any good. I fish it just like I do at KY lake. Not sure what I'm doing wrong. I know there is fish there, but I must have bad luck there????

However, I do feel like I want to spend more time on area lakes (the big waters) and figure out good spots to take my son fishing. He's not a year old, so I got to time and I need to have a few different places in my pocket to take him. I thought that Center Hill and Dale Hollow would be a good place to take a trip or vacation with the family.

On Center Hill or Dale, what is the average depth you guys are sitting your float or tightlining? Can you give a good creek or area of the lake to focus on. I always pictured a lot of rock and not a lot of gravel on the Hill. Guess I need to go to find out! haha

Thanks guys. Didn't mean to cause a big discussion over it. Just looking for information on lakes I hear you guys talking about. Nice to talk to some Columbia boys.

I'm assuming you have a boat. On Center Hill I twitch for the Gills....but there are times I use the Trout Magnet under a float just like the Float'N Fly method....about 6 feet deep. Gills are not hard to find in the spring up at the Hill. Before I had a kayak...or boat...I just beat the banks. But since getting a kayak...and now a boat the whole lake is open to me. You can look for the flats where there will be sand...gravel...not hard to find. Indian Creek....Mine Lick Creek.....are just a couple of good creek areas. I have had an si sonar unit for a couple years now and it makes finding Gills a piece of cake. When fishing for Gills in the spring at the Hill you're going to be catching a lot of big Smallies also....find the Gills....Smallies are there. You are subject to get into beds of shell cracker in spring as much as Gills. Center Hill is a shell cracker lake extraordinaire. Lots of big ones. In mid summer you can catch Gills off the bluffs in 30 feet of water. At Laurel Hill Gills are all over the lake in the spring. My advantage is knowing where every bedding area is in the lake. I am not opposed to sharing that info. On Dale Hollow timing is everything for the Gill bite there. Miss that first spawn and the good times are over quick up there for Gills....they go deep and become hard to find. Most who fish it for Gills plan their trip for Memorial Day weekend...give or take a day. But from year to year that can be hit or miss. The shell cracker bite at Dale Hollow is awesome also. Since moving to Murfreesboro I will be spending more time than ever at the Hill. I will try and post when the Gills start showing up shallow at the Hill this spring. I will be checking for Gills there starting in March. If you are at the fishing show in Nashville stop by the Trout Magnet booth and I will tell you where to go at Laurel Hill to catch some Gills.

Regards

[Alphahawk]

Williamsport is a great spot for Gills...those fish have great genes there...the problem....they never get a chance to grow up. Thousands of fish are removed from there each week in the spring for about 6 weeks straight. KY Lake is still great spot for Gills with plenty of 9 inch fish up there. Nickajack has good Gills and I hear Chickamauga is pretty awesome also....but never fished it....but will this year. We are never going to have 10 inch Gills being more common here until the limits are changed. Minnesota has many lakes with only a 5 fish limit. Look at those Gills out of there...pretty darn big. We just harvest too many of them in TN.

Regards

[jad2t]

Williamsport is a great spot for Gills...those fish have great genes there...the problem....they never get a chance to grow up. Thousands of fish are removed from there each week in the spring for about 6 weeks straight. KY Lake is still great spot for Gills with plenty of 9 inch fish up there. Nickajack has good Gills and I hear Chickamauga is pretty awesome also....but never fished it....but will this year. We are never going to have 10 inch Gills being more common here until the limits are changed. Minnesota has many lakes with only a 5 fish limit. Look at those Gills out of there...pretty darn big. We just harvest too many of them in TN.

Regards

Do you eat the gills from Williamsport? I've always wondered about the safety of eating fish out of former chemical tailing ponds. I know there are some good sized Shellcrackers in there too.

[Alphahawk]

Do you eat the gills from Williamsport? I've always wondered about the safety of eating fish out of former chemical tailing ponds. I know there are some good sized Shellcrackers in there too.


Never any chemicals out there. Just dirt and phosphate rock. They used that area to wash the rock before they took it to the chemical plants. Those are probably the only TWRA lakes that are never fertilized.....natural fertilizer already in the lake from all the phosphate. Yes I have eaten fish from there.

Regards


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[tnpondmanager]

Couldn't agree more. Pennsylvania also has reduced their creel limits on bluegill in several public waters, as have Illinois and Missouri, along with the aforementioned Wisconsin and Minnesota. Perhaps one of these days state biologists in the South will realize that the meat hogs are a minority and there are actually a lot of responsible bluegill anglers who would greatly appreciate regulations in tune with the current science, regulations that would protect rather than destroy our bluegill fisheries. We can only hope.

Williamsport is a great spot for Gills...those fish have great genes there...the problem....they never get a chance to grow up. Thousands of fish are removed from there each week in the spring for about 6 weeks straight. KY Lake is still great spot for Gills with plenty of 9 inch fish up there. Nickajack has good Gills and I hear Chickamauga is pretty awesome also....but never fished it....but will this year. We are never going to have 10 inch Gills being more common here until the limits are changed. Minnesota has many lakes with only a 5 fish limit. Look at those Gills out of there...pretty darn big. We just harvest too many of them in TN.

Regards

[notorious]

I always catch large Blue Gill and Shell Crackers while walleye fishing on Center Hill. It seems the target depth averages 18-25' in early-late summer if that helps. I generally fish JPP and DH in spring.

[DUCK_2]

Thanks guys. This does help a lot. I do have a boat and SI. I hope that I do get a chance to meet you alpha and will try to make it to the show so I can learn more about places in TN. It's hard to hit all these places and work around a full time job..:D. I'm like you, I want to go to the Chick as well. I have heard great things about it as well. Anyone out there ever fished it for shellcracker? Thanks to all you for help.

[SAMBOLIE]

Couldn't agree more. Pennsylvania also has reduced their creel limits on bluegill in several public waters, as have Illinois and Missouri, along with the aforementioned Wisconsin and Minnesota. Perhaps one of these days state biologists in the South will realize that the meat hogs are a minority and there are actually a lot of responsible bluegill anglers who would greatly appreciate regulations in tune with the current science, regulations that would protect rather than destroy our bluegill fisheries. We can only hope.

Seems that you have a hard on for those who eat fish (meat hogs). Wild game was not put here by our creator for the sport of catching or killing and then photographing and boasting of the catch/kill. Game is food.

For the record I have not kept a fish in over 20 years. Still, I have no problem with those choosing to eat what they catch (legally). I am not convinced that keeping fish to eat is the primary cause of our depleting fisheries. Creeks that I fished as a kid and young adult produced in quantity and size. Most of those same waters are now filled with silt or other debris and seldom produce a good day of fishing. Crop poisons and other chemicals have taken their share of the fisheries IMO.

If you choose to raise a fish to monstrous size like a body builder that is your prerogative. I certainly hope your fish are steroid free, unlike most muscle builders of today. Never really understood why a man wanted shoulders so wide and arms so big he could not reach around to scratch his ass.

Just my 2 cents for the day.

A note to Merv, Juice and Jimmy before you comment. I have caught a fish in the last 20 years.:D

[tnpondmanager]

There are numerous scriptures in the Bible that deal both directly and indirectly with both gluttony and greed, so I would challenge the idea that God made fish to be kept by the hundreds by people who have plenty to eat.

I have no problem with someone keeping a handful of bluegill for a meal. The problem lies with the mentality that it's not bream fishing (bluegill or shellcracker either one) unless one keeps enough to make the photo with two hundred dead fish laid out on the pavement/dock/truck bed. It's excess and narcissism at its worst. If I had a dollar for every time I have seen someone post photos of a cooler full of bluegill and then brag about how they were providing all the fish for a fish fry for a large group of people, I could buy a few Stradics. It would be one thing if the people keeping inordinate numbers of bluegill were on the brink of death by starvation, but typically those photos are taken in front of a $20K bass boat parked in front of a $200K house. It's just greed and selfishness at its worst. If it didn't directly affect the ability of other anglers to enjoy that resource in the future, it would be different, but it does directly affect said enjoyment or lack thereof by other anglers, and it affects it greatly and for years to come.

As to the assertion that overharvest is not the cause of the problem: I am not the lone voice in the wilderness crying that anglers keeping too many large bluegill is killing bluegill fisheries. To a man, every bluegill writer I know of, every avid, devoted bluegill angler I have read an article or blog or anything by in the last fifteen years, is in agreement on this. But even if all the bluegill nuts were in agreement and the science was against us, we would not have a case.

It's been proven, numerous times, by numerous fisheries biologists with exhaustive, scientifically vetted studies. Average bluegill size structure is improving in the states where informed regulations have been put in place.

For Pete's sake - even another expert bluegill angler in this same thread who disagrees with me on almost everything else, agrees with me on the effect of overharvest.

It used to be socially acceptable among anglers to keep a stringerful of big largemouth. At some point enough scientific evidence accumulated proving beyond a doubt that this was having a deleterious effect on the quality of fishing in public waters, and catch-and-release became the norm. Anglers' attitudes changed. They can change on bluegill but it will take the already-conscientious anglers refusing any longer to allow their fisheries to be raped by self-centered anglers who think of no one but themselves, and demanding that DNRs actually preserve those fisheries and treat them as valuable just as they do bass, catfish, etc. It used to be legal to keep a boatload of big largemouth or smallmouth - did that make it the conscientious thing to do?

People argued for years that the world was flat after we had proof to the contrary. It didn't make the world flat.

[XxthejuicexX]

Samblie, you must have known as you were typing where we would go with your comment :) I have no issue with a creel limit on Bluegill. I think 30 or so would be plenty. I will say that growing up we did keep coolers full of fish, bluegill, bass, catfish what ever we caught. We also used that to supplement buying meat from the grocery store because we were pretty close to being damn poor. TNpond, those bluegill are impressive. I know it's not true but in my imagination I can see them having a hard time staying upright because of how big they are. Looking at those pictures that has to be the most Merican fish there is. Do they make rascal scooters that small?

[TNBronzeback]

There are numerous scriptures in the Bible that deal both directly and indirectly with both gluttony and greed, so I would challenge the idea that God made fish to be kept by the hundreds by people who have plenty to eat.

I have no problem with someone keeping a handful of bluegill for a meal. The problem lies with the mentality that it's not bream fishing (bluegill or shellcracker either one) unless one keeps enough to make the photo with two hundred dead fish laid out on the pavement/dock/truck bed. It's excess and narcissism at its worst. If I had a dollar for every time I have seen someone post photos of a cooler full of bluegill and then brag about how they were providing all the fish for a fish fry for a large group of people, I could buy a few Stradics. It would be one thing if the people keeping inordinate numbers of bluegill were on the brink of death by starvation, but typically those photos are taken in front of a $20K bass boat parked in front of a $200K house. It's just greed and selfishness at its worst. If it didn't directly affect the ability of other anglers to enjoy that resource in the future, it would be different, but it does directly affect said enjoyment or lack thereof by other anglers, and it affects it greatly and for years to come.

As to the assertion that overharvest is not the cause of the problem: I am not the lone voice in the wilderness crying that anglers keeping too many large bluegill is killing bluegill fisheries. To a man, every bluegill writer I know of, every avid, devoted bluegill angler I have read an article or blog or anything by in the last fifteen years, is in agreement on this. But even if all the bluegill nuts were in agreement and the science was against us, we would not have a case.

It's been proven, numerous times, by numerous fisheries biologists with exhaustive, scientifically vetted studies. Average bluegill size structure is improving in the states where informed regulations have been put in place.

For Pete's sake - even another expert bluegill angler in this same thread who disagrees with me on almost everything else, agrees with me on the effect of overharvest.

It used to be socially acceptable among anglers to keep a stringerful of big largemouth. At some point enough scientific evidence accumulated proving beyond a doubt that this was having a deleterious effect on the quality of fishing in public waters, and catch-and-release became the norm. Anglers' attitudes changed. They can change on bluegill but it will take the already-conscientious anglers refusing any longer to allow their fisheries to be raped by self-centered anglers who think of no one but themselves, and demanding that DNRs actually preserve those fisheries and treat them as valuable just as they do bass, catfish, etc. It used to be legal to keep a boatload of big largemouth or smallmouth - did that make it the conscientious thing to do?

People argued for years that the world was flat after we had proof to the contrary. It didn't make the world flat.

you raise some very good points and i understand what you are saying. the uphill battle with the bass vs bluegill argument is nobody is demanding "Bluegill Boats" , Bluegill Tournament Trails, Bluegill Pro Shops. Find a way to make OTHER people money on bluegills and you will be on your way to trophy fishery mentality While the bluegill advocates such as yourself are trying to fight what you feel is the good fight, weekend anglers, the everyday bobber & worm throwers dont give a rats rear end about bluegill management and future fisheries. they always have been and always will be the "first fish for kids and grandkids and such" the food supply in ponds for bass and other predatory fish. thats the way it has been for years and years and years and i personally dont think that mindset will ever change, right wrong or indifferent. there just is not a large enough following with a loud enough voice to make a change. peoples perception of them is they are in every cove in every lake in the country, every farm pond across the states and they are just little bait stealing thieves.
its a matter of glory and sadly the lonely bluegill never has and never will get a money making or trophy status with the group on a national scale. Sure there will always be the Havasu's and Santee Coopers dotted across the country and such, but those are the exception.
like i said, im not trying to argue with you or in any way knock the bluegill or the life that he has provided for you and your family and clients and i can understand where you're frustration comes from.
as far as the limits argument, well, some people may raise hell with me for having 3 legal & processed deer in my freezer. Wont one be enough for the year? well sure im sure it could be, same as the 2 dozen plus sauger and walleye filets sitting next to the deer. i eat alot of fish and venison. the minor cost of getting a 90-100lb field dressed deer processed for $80 2-3 times a year makes a hell of alot more financial sense than paying kroger or walmart $20 for 1 steak. its better for you and saves money in the long run, why would i not do that if its legal to? hell i would tag out every year if i had the time to. I look at it as buying in bulk and storing, like costco.
and the fish, well again, im not fishing for tonights dinner everytime i hit the water. if i can boat 30 keeper crappies today, im gonna do it, tomorrow too. that never happens to me, lol, but i may not be able to fish again for month or more and in that timeframe, the first 60 filets will most likely be gone with family gatherings and giving some to my older neighbor across the street, or the guy whos property i shoot my deer on. Again, $20 in truck and boat gas and $5 in minnows goes alot farther then $25 at the store in regards to groceries. i dont think that is abusing the resources at all. I keep what i keep by my own will and choice and i clean and freeze them for later.
again, im not looking to pick a fight or knock you or you're opinions.
the above is my opinion and mine alone, maybe everybody here will hate me for it, or agree. but im not gonna stop what im doing or how i do it. just another way of looking at things. In no way am i trying to be a negative person on any of what your saying, cause its a great fight, but its a tough one to try and turn heads and change the old way of thinking. you clearly to do a great job managing those beasts that you post pictures of and my hats off to you for dedicating the time and spreading the word.

[Headhunter]

Priest has some great bluegill. catch a 9" fairly often in may, early June. Absolute tons of 8" fish. Crickets is the key.

[tnpondmanager]

I think bluegill are more popular than some anglers realize. If they weren't popular they wouldn't get yanked out by the thousands every spring as Alpha notes. One of the articles I linked to stated that they were the most popular fish in that particular state, and it's a state that has a lot more people than the one we live in. I do think that there are a lot of anglers who look at bluegill as "kid's fish;" but this mentality has not always been prevalent; it wasn't, for instance, when I was first getting serious about bluegill fishing back in the late eighties. It was a regular thing then for Fishing Facts, which at the time was the one serious magazine about fishing and had much better articles and content than the rest, to have full-length articles devoted to finding and catching big bluegill, and none of those articles were either written to kids, or even mentioned kids.

The problem does stem largely from the bass tournament crowd, I believe, because those anglers do look down on bluegill and think of them as kid's fish, and they have spread that perception. I bristle every time I hear it.

But it's a misconception that it was always that way - I have a collection of hundreds of fishing magazines, not just Fishing Facts but also Outdoor Life and Field and Stream and a few other publications as well, to prove it. And along those same lines, even though bass fishermen easily spend more money per fish on unnecessary stuff, there's still an awful lot of money spent every year in this country, easily millions, by bluegill anglers.

I would argue that the biggest thing keeping bluegill from being taken a lot more seriously, in this particular state we live in, and pursued on a regular rather than once-yearly basis by a lot more anglers, is the comparatively poor fishing for them in public water compared to what is available for the species that are actually being managed with somewhat up-to-date regulations, i.e. largemouth, smallmouth, stripers, etc. Laurel Hill, VFW, and Williamsport could all have bluegill that averaged 9" and 11" fish could be a regular thing if regulations like the ones that are already in place in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Missouri, etc. were put into place.

I was all about bass fishing all through high school and most of undergrad - most of my fishing was for largemouth, and I was pretty good at it. The first time I caught a one-pound bluegill, from New Lake in May 1987, my bass obsession was obliterated. I have a Fishing Facts that I got from my grandfather, an issue from the early '70's, that was all about finding bluegill over a pound on deep-water structure in reservoirs; the author of the article was a fisheries biologist, and he claimed that most biologists only had a passing interest in bass because they were obsessed with big bluegill. I realize it's a different world now; but there has been a time when bluegill were taken very seriously by very skilled anglers, and I would venture that if the resource were better stewarded such that more anglers could encounter truly large bluegill, there would suddenly be a lot of new tackle being made and sold specifically for bluegill.

And just for the record, a big percentage of my pond management clients want big bass, not big bluegill. I've been fortunate to be able to create some pretty special bass fisheries; and a good portion of my living is made from pond owners who want big bass; so I have nothing at all against bass fishing. I just wish anglers who don't have access to private water could experience exceptional bluegill fishing; anyone with a Tennessee fishing license can go to Chickamauga and have a very good shot at landing a ten-pound largemouth; but one's odds of landing an eleven-inch bluegill from public water in this state are not much better than Powerball.

[jad2t]

It would be one thing if the people keeping inordinate numbers of bluegill were on the brink of death by starvation, but typically those photos are taken in front of a $20K bass boat parked in front of a $200K house.



Good thing I fish from a kayak or I'd be subject to that kind of harsh judgement. I guess I need to stay in the yak or the fires I start about catch and eat fishing would get much worse.

[jad2t]

It boils down to this:

If you want to eat fish, and most do, you have two choices. You are either buying farmed fish from a contaminated pond from some crap 3rd world country that was fed hormones, or you are paying very high prices for truly wild caught fish.

My choice - catch and eat responsibly. I eat whatever I feel like eating. I happen to like bass and have a strong feeling that people who think they don't taste good either suck at cooking or just have the idea in their head that bass don't taste good that was given to them by catch and release nuts. I also like bluegill and let's be real, nobody wants to waste time filleting a 5 inch bluegill. Give me a cooler full of 9+ inch fish and I'll get the knife out.

I hunt and fish for a reason, to acquire wild protein for me and my family.

[jad2t]

There are numerous scriptures in the Bible that deal both directly and indirectly with both gluttony and greed, so I would challenge the idea that God made fish to be kept by the hundreds by people who have plenty to eat.



So what is the cutoff financially or in terms of how much meat you already have in your freezer vs mouths to feed where I'm not allowed to harvest a bass or a stringer of bluegill? Come on man, that sounds like some Bernie Sanders crap right there.

I'm well aware of what is in the Bible, countless points of wisdom. I am not aware of the part that says if you make enough money or already have dinner planned for the night, you have to release all your fish or not go hunting.

[SAMBOLIE]

tnpond manager,
Thanks for a civil response to my comments.
However, you did not respond to my concern about your fish being fed steroids.
Are they?

[XxthejuicexX]

tnpond manager,
thanks for a civil response to my comments.
However, you did not respond to my concern about your fish being fed steroids.
Are they?


pefd's?

[Heiny57]

Blue gills are for people who can't catch Crappie. LOL 😎

[TNBronzeback]

Blue gills are for people who can't catch Crappie. LOL 😎
Thats what bass are for! LMAO :D

[Alphahawk]

Blue gills are for people who can't catch Crappie. LOL 😎

Somebody forgot to tell me that.....LOL.


Regards

[jad2t]

Blue gills are for people who can't catch Crappie. LOL 😎

Crappie are for people who can't catch bass :D haha

I do like the taste of Crappie but I hate that they're so mushy. I like more dense flakes of fish. Crappie consistency is like baby food.

You Crappie guys need to grow past the baby food and become men...fishers of men - another Bible reference. Eat bass, grow a beard, and wash it down with a sip of bourbon.

[TNBronzeback]

I think bluegill are more popular than some anglers realize. If they weren't popular they wouldn't get yanked out by the thousands every spring as Alpha notes. .

I have no doubts they are a very popular targeted fish by many anglers. But in reality, every fish is popular in the spring. look at JPP dam on the lake side every spring and the dozens and dozens of bank anglers casting for hybrids. those guys couldnt care less about chasing those fish once the spring run is over with im sure a few exceptions. same thing with Crappies during the spawn, bedding bass, white bass runs in the rivers in the spring, saugers below the dams in the winter. People target the easy to catch fish cause they dont have to put forth as much effort or knowledge to aquire them. i dont target bluegills, but, if im cruising through the shallows and visibly spot thier beds with my eyes or on my sonar, you better believe im gonna stop and catch a few, cause its easy. when the hybrids are running by the hundreds along JPP dam and will destroy and bait that looks like food, yeah, im gonna target them, cause they are easy. once the weather heats up, i turn my focus to another species, much like alot of other fisherman do. its easy pickings. like bluegills, maybe not the giants, but youve got to be pretty hard pressed to fish 4-10ft in priest in the spring/summer/fall and not run into a ton of bluegills of all sizes and they will hit a WIDE array of baits and lures, which again makes them easy. Then you have your more hardcore anglers like yourself and Alpha who dedicate thier time to locating the big ones, and you all do a wonderful job at that cause that is your nitch. your basic fun fisherman just wants to catch something he/she can eat and sadly for the bluegills, through thier internal wiring, they make themselves very easy to catch.
thats just my 2 cents. again, not trying to pick a fight, just elaborating on the comment of people taking them out in big numbers.....its cause its easy in the spring, which begins your concern of the overharvest of smaller fish that dont have the chance to get big. vicious circle, no easy solution other than a slot size and quantity limit.

[tnpondmanager]

I am not aware of steroids that are available for fish. The bluegill I posted photos of are fed a high-protein, fishmeal-based food that I get from Utah and sell to a lot of my customers in addition to feeding it to the bluegill in ponds I guide on. The food by itself doesn't get them that big; it takes a lot of careful, precise management. Overlook any one of several key details and you can throw all the premium food you want at them and they won't get past nine inches.

As to the issue of overharvest, I really don't have a desire to debate this ad nauseum with people who have a different worldview than I do. I do my best to live by the golden rule; doing so means that I don't simply do things because I feel like it, without considering the impact my actions have on others. It's still legal to smoke in a lot of bars in this state; from time to time I have had the bad fortune to be with a group of people who wanted to go to such a place, and so I was rewarded for simply wanting to spend time with my friends by the wonderful gift of highly carcinogenic second-hand smoke. It is astounding to me that with what is known now about what smoking does not only to the smoker but those in his vicinity, how many millions of people in this country don't hesitate to smoke around non-smokers in public establishments. I don't think I could bring myself to give someone else the risk of cancer simply for the sake of my own pleasure. But I do realize that that kind of thinking is prevalent in the world we live in today. I just don't think it's a great way to treat people.

As I already stated, I don't have issue with keeping a handful of bluegill for a meal. And, if it didn't directly affect a lot of other people, I wouldn't have issue with keeping more than a handful: if, for instance, you own a ten-acre lake and want to keep a thousand bluegill out of it a year, you're affecting no one but yourself, so have at it. If on the other hand you're fishing a public water that is fished by hundreds or thousands of other anglers a year, and you choose to ignore the proven science of what your actions will do to the fishery, i.e. how those actions will affect the future enjoyment or lack thereof of those thousands of other anglers, and keep a coolerful because it's legal and you can, to my mind you're just a narcissist.

[jad2t]

Are you seriously comparing people who chose to catch and eat instead of catch and release to people who, as you put it, will gladly increase other's risk for cancer just to satisfy themselves?

Golden Rule? What about the treatment of the fish? Do you think that in the wild when a fish or game animal dies it just falls asleep peacefully and never wakes up? Nope. They get disease. They get sluggish and slow moving and are devoured by a bigger animal or fish. It's not pretty. I'm sure a 10 inch bluegill would much rather be caught by me, bopped on the head real quick, and eaten, than die slowly of infection or being grabbed by a bird and torn apart alive.

That's why I find it laughable, at best, when people who will gladly fish with a crankbait or other multi-treble hooked lure will poke several holes in a fish's face, eyes, gills, back, stomack (foul hook), etc. but release the fish and pound their chest about how ethical they are. Give me a break. If I catch a keeper Smallie on a single hook, I'll consider releasing it and I have in the past. If I catch it on a crankbait, it hits hot butter.

Some fish for meat, some fish for trophies. Public lakes are fished by both types of fishermen. You can't claim that you're the "right" angler and the guys who harvest fish are "wrong" so things have to be done your way. Do that on your private pond. Public water is open to the public, and paid for by the public, to use as they please.

[Heiny57]

Crappie are for people who can't catch bass :D haha

I do like the taste of Crappie but I hate that they're so mushy. I like more dense flakes of fish. Crappie consistency is like baby food.

You Crappie guys need to grow past the baby food and become men...fishers of men - another Bible reference. Eat bass, grow a beard, and wash it down with a sip of bourbon.

They are crispy when dipped in egg, then cornmeal, and deep fried.

[Heiny57]

I will quote a fishing guide in Arkansas that said while cleaning a cooler full of fish we caught,,,,,," the state puts them in, we take em out".

Just sayin. :D

[tnpondmanager]

You have my word that this is my last post: the narcissists can rationalize all they want and I promise to let them have the last word.

All I will say is this: I have used a treble-hook lure for bluegill, or had any of my clients do so, exactly once in the four years I have been running the guide business, and for all of about ten minutes. This is how careless I am of the big bluegill I catch: I don't even allow clients who paid me hundreds of dollars for one day's fishing to take more than one photo of any given fish. I used to allow more, but inevitably one photo turns into five turns into ten because they're excited and want to make sure they get the perfect shot, and in the meantime the fish is out of the water.

Fish that are quickly released with a minimum of handling have a pretty high survival rate with no adverse effects - there have been numerous studies on this topic. Don't take my word for it - research it online.

The fact that someone in this thread had to make an incorrect assumption about my fish handling techniques to validate his argument, speaks volumes about said argument, I think.

I can promise you, 100% beyond a doubt, that a goodly number of the two-pound bluegill that will be caught by clients of mine this spring, were caught as half-pounders or one-pounders or one-and-a-half-pounders in seasons past, i.e. they never would have made it to two pounds if I had killed them the first time they were caught. And, they'll be released again this spring, and will have the chance to grow to three pounds. If it hasn't died of old age, there's already one that size in my best pond - I got a very good look at it in September 2014. I didn't see it last year so it may have died last winter.

As to the public using the water as they please: what you really mean is, you want to use it as you please, and to hell with everybody else. You by yourself do not constitute the whole of the public: this may be a shock and a revelation to you, but I am every bit as much a part of the public as you are, and your rights to the water don't trump mine. When I release a 9" bluegill I catch in Shellcracker Lake, it doesn't in any way negatively impact your future ability to enjoy that lake; but when you keep twenty or fifty or 100 from 7-9", you directly impact my future ability to enjoy that resource. And not just me, but Alpha, and thousands of other anglers who are more polite than I am and secretly wish you would stop raping their waters but would never tell you so.

If two anglers fish for a day and keep ten 8-9" bluegill, which is where the slot should be set, those ten fish will make a nice meal for them, and the fishery for the larger fish that avid bluegill anglers pursue will not be harmed; in other words, both camps can use the resource and enjoy it. The meat-fisherman paradigm, conversely, only benefits one camp, while completely bulldozing the other.

I wonder how many people on this thread arguing for the right to be able to keep two hundred bluegill in a day, have ever fished for trophy largemouth on a lake specifically managed for such, and been thankful when you caught a large bass that would not have been possible without regulation? If it's valid and even important for there to be regulations on bass, then it's valid and important for regulations to be on bluegill. I'm sure there are plenty of meat fishermen who would keep thirty or fifty big bass in a day if the law allowed; so why don't we just do away with all fishing regulations and let everybody keep whatever they want and fill their freezers?

Because, believe it or not meat fishermen, the world does not revolve around you, and your right to do "whatever you want" to the water ends where mine begins. Legally, at the moment, you can keep as many as you want; perhaps one of these days enough conscientious, conservation-minded bluegill anglers will get tired of your b.s. to rise up and demand that TWRA and agencies in other southern states (it has already happened in many northern states as previously noted) take the decision out of your hands.

[jad2t]

What is it with you and calling everyone who disagrees with you a narcissist?

I don't recall anyone saying there was a need to keep 200 bluegill in a day so I'm not sure why you keep mentioning that...

Also, I never accused you of using treble hooks on fish. I very clearly did NOT use your name in that statement. I said anglers who use them, I didn't mention anyone specific.

"As to the public using the water as they please: what you really mean is, you want to use it as you please, and to hell with everybody else."

No, that is not correct. What I said is exactly what I meant. It's public water. Some guys like me, because we're all narcissists, choose to harvest some of the fish we catch. Some guys want to release those fish. Some guys don't fish at all and only want to get hammered and ride jet skis. Do they not have a right to do that because you want to catch and release your bluegill? It's public water. We're free to do whatever is legal whether it be fishing, swimming, wakeboarding, etc. Sure, I hate the wakeboarders in the Summer but they have every right to do so.

You may want to release a 9" bluegill in a public lake in hopes that next season you catch it and it will be 10 inches. That's fine and I wish you the best of luck at catching it again but don't be pissed at someone for catching it before you and eating it because they don't give a crap about bragging on FishingTN about a trophy fish, they just want to eat. It's like passing on a 1.5 year old 6 point buck and hoping next season it will have a wide 8 point rack and 20 pounds more of meat. Great idea, but you do risk it wandering on someone else's property during the rut and getting shot. Are you going to call that hunter a narcissist too? Maybe you would, but most people wouldn't.

[Headhunter]

Tnpondmanage, So you know more than the TWRA fisheries biologist?

[tnpondmanager]

I know I said I wouldn't reply again, and who knows but the last post was made out of an effort purely to get me to do otherwise, in which case it succeeded.

TWRA biologists are generalists, meaning they have to know a little about a lot of things. The listed education requirement for their biologist positions is a degree in wildlife or fisheries management, meaning one can be hired for the position without having many, or even any, classes in fisheries science. The experience requirement for their entry-level biologist position is none; for their level 2 biologist one has to have one year of experience, in either wildlife or fisheries; for their highest-level biologist position one has to have two years of experience, again in either wildlife or fisheries. So one can be hired to be a biologist for TWRA with no experience whatsoever, and no education whatsoever, in fisheries management.

I have seventeen years of fisheries management experience and have worked on hundreds of private ponds and lakes up to 120 acres in Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Arkansas, South Carolina, and Indiana. Just last year I worked on ponds and lakes in all of the above states with the exception of Alabama.

Even if I had no experience and knew nothing, I would think an intelligent person who took the time to read the articles I linked to, all of which either were written by fisheries biologists or quote studies by such, might note the fact that there is a consistent pattern of bluegill fishing improving in states that have implemented regulations based on the recent research on this topic, and might be able to conclude that perhaps TWRA is not doing the world's greatest job of managing bluegill in this state.

And with that I am done, finito, au revoir, hasta la vista, over and out. Feel free to plunder public resources at your pleasure because it is, after all, allowed by the law.

[Heiny57]

Speaking of fish

[XxthejuicexX]

I plan on working up one hell of a number 6 on the crappie this spring. I will leave the bluegill alone, they are good eating but unless they are on the larger size I don't like cleaning them. Here's to public water!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EM-lxsxeXBI

[XxthejuicexX]

Speaking of fish


Looks good, I need to thaw some out and have a fish fry.

[SAMBOLIE]

Speaking of fish

I see you cook your fish like a man should.

Still some prefer feminine fish recipes like those used by chef Ben Dover out in CA.

[Heiny57]

In the garage also, with fries and egg plant.

[XxthejuicexX]

I see you cook your fish like a man should.

Still some prefer feminine fish recipes like those used by chef Ben Dover out in CA.

You spelled Jimmy wrong.

[TroutFiend]

You spelled Jimmy wrong.


Well played juice... Well played.
😆


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[SAMBOLIE]

you spelled jimmy wrong.


:d:d

[SAMBOLIE]

In the garage also, with fries and egg plant.

Man, that looks and sounds delicious.

A couple of PBR's while it cooks, another couple with the meal.

Afterwards a good glass of bourbon or white lightning and a half pack of Lucky Strikes. Sit around and discuss strategies for catching large stringers in a realistic environment.

Catching a large fish in a controlled environment is like finding a beauty in a CAT house. Not really much to brag about like it is when you have to pursue them and they finally go for your bait.

[skillet]

I plan on working up one hell of a number 6 on the crappie this spring. I will leave the bluegill alone, they are good eating but unless they are on the larger size I don't like cleaning them. Here's to public water!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EM-lxsxeXBI

Lmao!!!! Wow!!!! I'm with this guy!!! Im gonna pull a number 6 on them crappie and bass this spring myself. And if a big gill bites, his ass will be in the box too!!!! Just know that they are safe and I won't target your precious blue gill. 😇😇

[XxthejuicexX]

Man, that looks and sounds delicious.

A couple of PBR's while it cooks, another couple with the meal.

Afterwards a good glass of bourbon or white lightning and a half pack of Lucky Strikes. Sit around and discuss strategies for catching large stringers in a realistic environment.

Catching a large fish in a controlled environment is like finding a beauty in a CAT house. Not really much to brag about like it is when you have to pursue them and they finally go for your bait.

I say you only get to live once, might as well get it over fast. Fried food, PBR, bourbon and loose women. That sounds almost as good as an alcohol, tabaco and firearms party. This is the most excitement this forum has seen in a long time, carry on!

[SAMBOLIE]

I say you only get to live once, might as well get it over fast. Fried food, PBR, bourbon and loose women. That sounds almost as good as an alcohol, tabaco and firearms party. This is the most excitement this forum has seen in a long time, carry on!


Women are not loose to all. Just need the proper tool to tighten things.:)

[XxthejuicexX]

Women are not loose to all. Just need the proper tool to tighten things.:)

I never claimed to be a handy man.

[notorious]

Man is the ultimate predator... catch all the fish you can, have a fish fry and invite your friends...don't ask for permission nor ask for forgiveness...man law.

[TNBronzeback]

Ya know, i do understand what he was saying, but dont brag on your pet fish in your aquatic zoo environment about how big you can grow em. Well yeah you can grow em big raising them in a controlled environment with high protien feed and micromanaging water quality and such. Thats not real life fishing, so ya cant compare the 2, not even remotely.
Just like a deer farm, great job ya shot that Boone and Crocket buck, from a heated, insulated stand that you were driven to in an electric golf cart through the high fence property consisting of 2,000 manicured acres developed specifically for growing a protected and managed deer herd that see humans for 2 months out of the year....its apples and oranges.
But, its his opinion and he is entitled to it.

[Alphahawk]

The limit will change.....it has to.....just a matter of time. Alabama did it quite a few years back...the limit there is 50 in their big lakes. Here in TN we may be a little slow to make the changes but they will be made. Many states realize...IMHO...that there are a lot more people today than there were 40 years ago so the fish harvest rate is through the roof compared to years ago. For those of us who are a little older we can remember when there was no limit on crappie...then came limits...then came minimum lengths. Same for white bass...no limit....then 60.....then 30....now 15. I do keep fish from time to time. I will always keep Spotted bass and walleye for myself. I give most of my crappie away. I will keep Gills from time to time...I like them better than any fish out there. Here are a couple of pics of some I kept from 2010 out of Laurel Hill....the date on the pic shows 2012 but it was a camera that every time you changed the batteries out the date got messed up and half the time I would never re-enter the correct date. It was one of the very few times I ever took any Gills out of there.....but if I wanted to certainly nothing wrong in doing so. I got to fish Pickwick and other lakes a lot and thought it was just best to leave the fish there for the locals to keep. Back then I had no Hawg Trough...just a tiny narrow measuring tape to get a quick measure but it was so small wouldn't show too good in the pics. All of these fish were over 9 inches and several at 10 inches or a little over. The measurement of the drain opening is 5 inches from rim to rim to give you some scale. That year was a very special year at Laurel Hill. The fish moved up to spawn and never left the banks until October. Stop anywhere along the bank and catch them all day long like that. After that year they have never done it since. After early June they now move out deep. Don't know why they did that in 2010 but man what a year. Now I am going back to ordering some more JDM rods and reels to get ready for lots of gills this year.

Regards

[tkwalker]

The limit will change.....it has to.....just a matter of time. Alabama did it quite a few years back...the limit there is 50 in their big lakes. Here in TN we may be a little slow to make the changes but they will be made. Many states realize...IMHO...that there are a lot more people today than there were 40 years ago so the fish harvest rate is through the roof compared to years ago. For those of us who are a little older we can remember when there was no limit on crappie...then came limits...then came minimum lengths. Same for white bass...no limit....then 60.....then 30....now 15. I do keep fish from time to time. I will always keep Spotted bass and walleye for myself. I give most of my crappie away. I will keep Gills from time to time...I like them better than any fish out there. Here are a couple of pics of some I kept from 2010 out of Laurel Hill....the date on the pic shows 2012 but it was a camera that every time you changed the batteries out the date got messed up and half the time I would never re-enter the correct date. It was one of the very few times I ever took any Gills out of there.....but if I wanted to certainly nothing wrong in doing so. I got to fish Pickwick and other lakes a lot and thought it was just best to leave the fish there for the locals to keep. Back then I had no Hawg Trough...just a tiny narrow measuring tape to get a quick measure but it was so small wouldn't show too good in the pics. All of these fish were over 9 inches and several at 10 inches or a little over. The measurement of the drain opening is 5 inches from rim to rim to give you some scale. That year was a very special year at Laurel Hill. The fish moved up to spawn and never left the banks until October. Stop anywhere along the bank and catch them all day long like that. After that year they have never done it since. After early June they now move out deep. Don't know why they did that in 2010 but man what a year. Now I am going back to ordering some more JDM rods and reels to get ready for lots of gills this year.

Regards


Randy, you know I love walleye, Sauger and Gills on the huff ... That's why I had Walt stock my pond three years ago... I am about do for another stocking ... <'TK><:)

[TnCreekMaster]

They are crispy when dipped in egg, then cornmeal, and deep fried.

I only keep crappie during the winter and early spring for that reason their meat gets too mushy once the water gets warm but catch em when the water is cold and the meats as firm as a shark filet

[jad2t]

Man, that looks and sounds delicious.



Catching a large fish in a controlled environment is like finding a beauty in a CAT house. Not really much to brag about like it is when you have to pursue them and they finally go for your bait.

It's like high fence "hunting" where you sit in a heated blind with fresh made breakfast and hot coffee, wait for the guide to turn the feeder on that has been pumping the deer full of hormones to grow antlers you'd never see in the wild, and then shoot the one you can afford. Then tell everyone what a big bad hunter you are.

[jad2t]

Man is the ultimate predator... catch all the fish you can, have a fish fry and invite your friends...don't ask for permission nor ask for forgiveness...man law.

THIS!!

We didn't evolve to the top of the food chain to practice catch and release fishing. Get over it you pansies.

I honestly believe if we could go back to the hunter gatherer days and just start over, we'd discover things like fire, hunting, fishing, shelter, intercontinental trade, and maybe online dating. But catch and release fishing as a sport wouldn't happen. For selective harvest, yes. As a religion, no. It was the result of some genetic anomaly and we wouldn't make that mistake twice.

I have to give credit where it's due to Steven Rinella for that comment. I didn't take his quote directly, I added my own spice in there, but I don't want anyone accusing me of plagiarism.

[jad2t]

You spelled Jimmy wrong.

You can't make fun of me when you have a cat on your profile picture.

What does Ron Swanson say about cats?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8KXWL4al-g

[XxthejuicexX]

You can't make fun of me when you have a cat on your profile picture.

What does Ron Swanson say about cats?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8KXWL4al-g


Listen hear you terrorist, that's a freedom loving feline! Don't drag Ron Swanson into this :) You know what He also says about fish meat.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAQ4yNgXelk

[Heiny57]

I only keep crappie during the winter and early spring for that reason their meat gets too mushy once the water gets warm but catch em when the water is cold and the meats as firm as a shark filet

Winter/ spring is when I catch them. To crazy on JPP any other time.

[white95v6]

Merica!!!!!!!

[Heiny57]

Ok, I want to do the right thing while catching bait. Is it better to catch and cut up 30 9 inch gills into 90 pieces, or just catch 90 small ones?

All help appreciated.