Thread: Keeper Size?

I keep hand size and up.

I got spoiled livin in FL and gettin a bunch that you couldn't get your hand around every trip, so I like fillet's. Never been much for pickin bones, but to each his own.

... on a old man I knew, when I was a kid. He didn't fish, but he'd take any size sunfish (as long as it had eyes & a tail, it was big enough for him )

He'd clean them itty bitty fish ... then put them in a grinder :p ... guess he made Panfish Patties out of them All I know is ... he'd never turn down a bucket full of finger length sunfish


I think the smallest sunfish I've ever cleaned & eaten .... I caught out of my Great Uncle's farm pond. Four to five inch Bluegills were "hogs" out of that pond :D ... and I did him a double favor by fishing for them, & catching and eating them --- I picked Potato Bugs out of his garden for bait, and helped thin out the overpopulated pond. I thought I was "some kinda fisherman" :D ... well, I thought so - until one day we walked a couple of miles to a neighbors pond (small lake). My uncle caught a Bluegill that was "humongus" :p ... seriously !! When it was cleaned (head off) and cooked ... it still covered a full size dinner plate Biggest Bluegill I'd ever seen ... heck, I didn't even know a Bluegill GOT that big :D


... cp

It's all personnal preference, I only keep what I will cook and clean. I usually will not keep anything smaller than 6". But to each his own.

I fillet all my fish and gills need to be bigger than my hand,about 8" or bigger.

I prefer them to be as big or bigger than my hand if I'm going to mess with cleanin them..

10 " Min. for me !

I prefer 8+ but will keep some smaller to fill the bucket