Thread: Friendly discussion about Bream Limits

Kentucky Lake's bluegill/redear fishing will go the way of Reelfoot and every other once-great bluegill fishery if the current state of no regulations on bluegill continues. That bluegill/redear fishery is a pretty recent development; when I was a kid the lake had water that was more turbid and no one fished for the bluegill or redear because they were small. Hydrilla, watermilfoil, and other aquatic vegetation have become more prominent in the last couple decades, which has created better conditions for bluegill and redear. But the best conditions in the world can't counteract overharvest and Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley both are getting pounded every year. The fishing pressure will lessen before too long because bluegill and redear size will drop off and the meathogs will wonder what happened to all the big sunfish.

I fish mainly Al waters and we have a limit of 50 on BG/SC with no slot limit. When I fish it is to feed a family of 6. The last thing I need is a slot limit for the high number of fish I hook. My question is what do you all do with the fish you gut hook or the times when you are fishing 25+fow and say the fish is too big or too small? Do you just throw it back and tell yourself it will live?

Originally Posted by tnpondmanager

Kentucky Lake's bluegill/redear fishing will go the way of Reelfoot and every other once-great bluegill fishery if the current state of no regulations on bluegill continues. That bluegill/redear fishery is a pretty recent development; when I was a kid the lake had water that was more turbid and no one fished for the bluegill or redear because they were small. Hydrilla, watermilfoil, and other aquatic vegetation have become more prominent in the last couple decades, which has created better conditions for bluegill and redear. But the best conditions in the world can't counteract overharvest and Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley both are getting pounded every year. The fishing pressure will lessen before too long because bluegill and redear size will drop off and the meathogs will wonder what happened to all the big sunfish.

Curious, what in your mind constitutes a "meathog"?

Originally Posted by catchNgrease

I fish mainly Al waters and we have a limit of 50 on BG/SC with no slot limit. When I fish it is to feed a family of 6. The last thing I need is a slot limit for the high number of fish I hook. My question is what do you all do with the fish you gut hook or the times when you are fishing 25+fow and say the fish is too big or too small? Do you just throw it back and tell yourself it will live?

I don't think I have ever gut hooked a Gill since going to strictly micro jigs. If I did gut hook one I would give it to someone who was keeping fish because it most likely will die....or if that is one of the days I am keeping fish it just goes in the box with the rest. I would love to see Tennessee do what Alabama has done on limits. There has been a lot of good discussion in this thread. I certainly don't know of all the different state regs but the states around TN have much better controls in place than we do here. I am on the water 4-5 days a week....wind and cold permitting.....and in the spring I see folks taking several hundred Gills off of Kentucky Lake....Pickwick Lake....for a lengthy period in the spring. I mean that can't be good. TWRA has slot limits on a few specie but as I have been told many times the TWRA Commission does not like having complicated regs in place. So I don't think we will ever see slot limits in place for Gills and or crappie here.

Regards

Originally Posted by Alphahawk

I don't think I have ever gut hooked a Gill since going to strictly micro jigs.

Same here. Even when using bait, you will rarely gut hook a fish with a jig hook.

I think my fish must be hungrier than yalls. #4 aberdeen hooks or 1/32 with #4 hooks there are fish I catch that are hooked deep whether in the gills or deeper. Not always in the lip.

Originally Posted by catchNgrease

I think my fish must be hungrier than yalls. #4 aberdeen hooks or 1/32 with #4 hooks there are fish I catch that are hooked deep whether in the gills or deeper. Not always in the lip.

Are you using bait...nothing wrong with fishing bait I just use artificials. The jig head I fish with is a 1/64 Trout Magnet jig head and a Trout Magnet body. The rods I use are extremely sensitive so the hook set is quick.


Regards

Originally Posted by catchNgrease

I think my fish must be hungrier than yalls. #4 aberdeen hooks or 1/32 with #4 hooks there are fish I catch that are hooked deep whether in the gills or deeper. Not always in the lip.

I don't know what to tell you.

I mostly use the trout magnet head, which is 1/64 with a #8 hook. I don't think I've ever gut hooked a fish with it.