"I'm posting parts of that hijacked thread here that might be of value" Slab
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"I'm posting parts of that hijacked thread here that might be of value" Slab
I don't want to cause a knock-down drag-out argument so hopefully this will be taken in the non-confrontational, purely educational spirit it is intended...And, if the water you're fishing is your own private pond, completely disregard this.
There have been multiple articles published just in the past few months, among them a recent one by In-Fisherman magazine, on the harmful, often permanent, negative effect overharvest of keeper-size bluegill can have on the size structure of a bluegill population. It was indeed believed at one time by scientists that bluegill could not be overfished, and that removing large numbers of them, even from larger lakes, could do nothing but help. Now there is ample evidence, from several studies done in several states including Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin, South Dakota, etc., that proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that overharvest by anglers is permanently reducing the average size structure of bluegill in public lakes all across the U.S. Several states have already enacted regulations informed by this research, including Illinois, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, and Wisconsin; those regulations usually include a minimum length, and a drastically-reduced creel limit. Here is a recent article that covers the science behind why overharvest kills bluegill size - there are many more:
Why Everything You Know About Bluegill Management is Wrong – Cool Green Science
Here is basically the same science explained in a more prestigious publication i.e. In-Fisherman:
Managing Bluegills - In-Fisherman
Please, please know that I have already argued with multiple posters on multiple other forums, including this one a couple years ago, about this, and never in any of those instances have I failed to have been personally insulted while at the same time having my seventeen years of knowledge as a professional fisheries manager being entirely discounted along with the reams of scientific research that has been done by fisheries scientists on this subject; please know that I mean it when I say I really don't want to argue, trade personal attacks, etc.
All I want to say is this: there was a time in this country when it was socially acceptable to keep a stringerful of big largemouth or smallmouth or walleye. At some point enough anglers realized that that was a pretty selfish thing to do, and that fisheries around the country were being negatively impacted by this outlook, and enough anglers stopped doing it that it became socially unacceptable to keep ten largemouth from three to five pounds (or four to six or five to ten) each. I still like to believe that bluegill anglers can have the same consideration for their fellow angler that led to the sea-change in thinking thirty- or forty-odd years ago among bass fishermen, and that there have to be bluegill anglers out there that will actually care when they read what their keeping of a coolerful of bluegill every time out is doing to the resource, and other anglers' ability to enjoy said resource.
I speak from firsthand experience. I would personally have multiple world-class public bluegill lakes to fish within thirty miles of me if it were not for overhavest; and not just me, but every angler who lives within driving distance of those small impoundments would have access to that level of fishing. And there are tens of thousands of ponds and lakes and rivers all across the country that would have bluegill fisheries the like of which most anglers have never dreamed of, if enough anglers began thinking of the future of the resource, and their fellow angler, each time they fished.
For those who would counter that it's legal, not too long ago it was legal in this country to smoke in public, long after there was incontrovertible proof that second-hand smoke was the second leading cause of cancer behind first-hand smoke. If enough anglers in states such as Tennessee, Alabama, etc. demanded that their DNRs actually protect and preserve bluegill fisheries just as they do every other popular freshwater species, regulations would follow.
I agree 100% . I hate to see spawning season come where I've seen folks sit on the beds with bait and clean out the beds . These are the same folks who cant understand why a lake was great one year and be void of big gills for the next 3-4 years .
I've seen it happen in small ponds and larger water reservoirs .
In most lakes it take 4-5 years for a bluegill to grow to decent size .
Kirby
Thanks, Kirby, nice to know I'm not the only one. I really don't think the people keeping too many are bad people - just a bad habit, a way of thinking that hopefully will change so we can all have better fishing.
Agree with ya on catch and release but don't think On the Arkansas river it's a viable thing to do since it spans several states. I have learned the hard way that you can over fish a lake. Now a lot of my fishing is catch and release on the ponds and lakes. But I will keep what I want to eat on that occasion. I have fished the Arkansas river from 100 miles north of home to 100 miles south of my home and still catch the same size gills. While they are not as big as some of the northern states and smaller impoundments catching a trophy on the Arkansas river probably isn't gonna happen for me.
Thanks for posting such a well researched message on the subject of over harvesting. I completely agree with you and wish there were more regulations in place to protect bluegill. It would be great to have to public waters with bluegill the size of those in the ponds you manage. Keep spreading the message and hopefully over time it will catch on with the general public.
Thanks, Rambler. We can only hope. I caught six bluegill that weighed a pound apiece in a one-month period in May 1987 from a 40-acre lake, New Lake, just outside Lewisburg, and heard stories of two-pounders having been caught recently before that. The lake is managed by TWRA, and has no limit on bluegill, and literally a year after I caught the giants, it was over. The same thing happened with another TWRA lake, 46-acre Shellcracker Lake in Williamsport, in 2009 - I didn't catch any pounders, but did catch several close to that, and a year later it was all over. In both instances I heard anglers brag about hauling out boatloads of big bluegill. It's really unconscionable considering how many millions more people there are today who fish public water than there were forty years ago when catch-and-release first starting catching on among bass fishermen.
I am pretty ignorant on what it takes to change regulations. What would be the process on how to go about getting something accomplished for us here in Tennessee and how many people would need to be onboard to have a chance at succeeding?
I have been working on this for sometime now.....as best as a person who is not a celebrity can work on it. What I mean by that is in TN TWRA puts a lot of stock in opinions of well known fisherman with TV personalities if you understand my meaning. There are many who fish different lakes 3-5 times a week and are a wealth of knowledge about what is going on in a fishery. But it is hard to be heard. TWRA will have a meeting if they are going to recommend changes to a lake...stream....whatever the case may be. The meeting will be public so all can go and have input. But I must tell you that the chance of TWRA doing anything different than what they plan to do, being changed, are slim and none. Notice I said they have a meeting to discuss their plans. They never have meetings open for discussions on what fisherman may see as a want and need of a particular body off water. In my fishing travels I have identified 4 bodies of waters that there should be a need for concern. I will give you my first hand experience of how this has gone. I know the shocking crews for these bodies of water....not personally but have seen them on the waters many times and had lengthy conversations. The bluegill in the Williamsport Lakes are heavily harvested.....20 per day per angler. I have had the biologist tell me many times that if he was a bluegill, and wanted to grow up big and strong the Williamsport Lakes are not the place to do it. Why?......because they never have a chance to get to that 9 and 10 inch mark. Those are very fertile waters there and before the lakes were turned over to the state they produced trophy bluegills on a regular basis. But due to the number of people fishing there since becoming state lakes, there are so many taken out the chance now of 9 and 10 inch fish are rare. There is another example of the lakes at Williamsport. The two main lakes are over stocked with crappie...as a matter of fact TWRA never stocked them with crappie. Some how they got put into the lakes. They are all black nose crappie.....in there by the thousands. TWRA does not want them in there. I have been told that should I catch a legal size fish would I please take everyone of them out that I can legally. This is a TWRA biologist telling me this as he knows they need to be gotten out of there or thinned out dramatically. Catches of 100 crappie a day are the norm...most just under 10 inches....which is the legal length fish. One may catch a limit of 15 legal fish but it would be an all day affair. TWRA does not want them in there yet they will not lower the restrictions....seems odd as other TWRA Lakes with same problem have had reduced length limits and higher creel limits. Do I know more than the biologist....the answer is no. But when the biologist are the one telling you to get the crappie out of there....and that too many bluegill are being harvested you have to ask yourself is he giving the same recommendations to his superiors who then decide what to do or not. Same as Laurel Hill Lake...known for years as trophy bluegill fishery....and to some extent still is...but is on the down hill slide with fewer and fewer trophies showing up. Too many people taking 20 fish a day out. I have been down there and stayed all day and know first hand that in the spring there are two to three thousand fish a day going out that gate for about a 2 month period. The lake is over 300 acres but it can't take that kind of pressure. The same situation exists at VFW Lake. Too much harvesting. I hear so many times from people that TWRA is not political.....nothing could be further from the truth. The commissioners are appointed by the governor....the speaker of the house...the speaker....or head of the senate. That's not political.....sure sounds political. So If you have the ear of a commissioner you might get somewhere...but even then I am not sure how far that would get you. Bluegill and crappie are looked at by so many as a food source. Doesn't come across too good with folks who harvest thousands of those specie each year....to tell them you are reducing it....and in their minds taking food off their table from what many consider to be an unlimited resource. The good news is it will happen.....the bad news is that it will take a long time. It will require the continual decline of the bodies of water that I have mentioned here and then when the very folks who are really the problem start complaining in mass someone will look into it. Up until about 3 years ago I could catch plenty of 9 inch bluegill at VFW...not anymore. Still good fishing and there are plenty of 7 and 8 inch Gills and because I use 2# test and UL rods I can have fun...but nothing close to what it was. There is no easy answer for those of us who would like to see these regs on bluegill changed. I have no problem with people keeping fish but there has to be good management policies in place. I was reluctant to post this as this topic usually starts bad blood and I hope that does not happen. I just will not participate in a flame war on a forum.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rambler24
Regards
You either manage the lake for big gills etc. Or Bass!!!
The money is behind the Bass not the Gills!!! Bass feed on smaller gills so Biologist go with Politics and Money!!!!!!!!!
Sign me up!!!! I can ride by trolling motor And Usually Smell me up a mess of Gil!L's!!!!
Thanks for the opportunity to make another post, DBD. Rambler, to answer your question, I had an experience with TWRA and bluegill regulations that was in some ways similar, and in some ways dissimilar, to what Alpha has had.
In 2009 I contacted Jim Pipas, the man that at that time was the head over fisheries for Region 2 of TWRA (I don't remember his name). I talked to him about the possibility of implementing new regulations for bluegill on one of the lakes at Williamsport; I was hoping to get said regulations for Shellcracker Lake, the lake that at that time was starting to have some big bluegill, but I felt that any one of those lakes could be made into an exceptional bluegill lake with the proper regulations. I also offered to help manage whichever lake they might choose for the regulations, at no cost. I told the fisheries head that there were other things that could be done, such as stocking coppernose bluegill, that would improve the level of bluegill fishing.
The fisheries head seemed open to my ideas, but said a year-long angler survey would need to be done to see if anyone was fishing for bluegill. (Yes, he said this.) We talked one time on the phone for perhaps fifteen minutes; I tried several times to follow up with him but he never returned my calls or e-mails. And, of course, within six months of when I initially spoke with him the bluegill anglers he wasn't sure existed had fished out Shellcracker Lake.
My take on actually getting the regulations changed is this: Yes, TWRA is a good-ol'-boy agency. However, every one of their salaries, from the chief down to the technicians, is paid for by taxpayers, i.e. you and me. One or two individuals is easy for them to ignore; if on the other hand there were five thousand or ten thousand signatures on a petition, or a conference was held and they were invited and it was publicized, and they continued to ignore the demand for change, I think they would have a problem. This is, after all, a democracy we live in, and they can't act ignore the people who pay their salaries on a major issue; this would just have to be made a major issue.
I don't think TWRA wants to have to put out a press release stating that they don't give a whit about the tens of thousands of bluegill fishermen in the state and they're going to do what they want because they feel like it. That in effect is what their actions are saying at the moment, and they'll continue that course as long as it's expedient for them. When it becomes more difficult/inconvenient/hazardous to their job security to keep the outdated regulations than to change them, they'll change them.
If people on this site, want to post info about why you should or not keep fish, they should have the decency to make those posts in their own posts. Not on a post of someone sharing their day with all of us here. It is not your place to ruin someone else post. We all have opinions, but, start your own, and not abuse others. If I was mod of this board, I would have deleted your posts from this one, and have P"Med those who were involved as to why they were deleted.
If someone is within their legal limits and not wasting fish, who am I or you to judge? If you think someone is beyond their legal limits a call to game commission is needed. Bashing them on here is mute. And a big body of water that has 100 boats fishing it may look like a lot, but how many are actually catching a limit or even 10 fish? Same I see here in Florida Crappie fishing, lake will be packed but only a small portion of people will do well. Looks can be deceiving and Kudos are in order for a great day fishing.
I'm not done here with these threads. But I will say one thing, bashing someone posting their catch here will not be tolerated.
^^^^thank you.
i agree,i do fish a lake every year with a bunch of guys.a little before the spawn.it used to be all about the big bluegills.now its all about how small the gills have gotten.the big males are the key.let them go after a few pics and keep all you want of the rest,this annual trip has been going for a couple decades now.the lake had an explosion of crappies a few years ago.we were getting 16s and 17s.it was the spawn and i made everyone who fished with me release those big females.it was real easy to get a limit of crappies over 12.now 5 years later everyone is complaing about the small crappies and lack of crappies in general.this is a lake that needs bluegill limits and a slot limit on crappies.i love a fish meal as much as anyone but love to catch fish even moreQuote:
Originally Posted by arkansasbowhunter
i also agree with you,what do they call it?selective harvest.i have bass tourney buddies who flip out when they see someone keep a bass for dinner.many lakes have too many bass and keeping a limit of bass for dinner is no different than a limit of anything.my point is that a big bluegill is becoming as rare as a 10lb bass in my area.want my grandkids to be able to catch a 1lb bluegill with their grandkids.Quote:
Originally Posted by Slab
up north the better panfish lakes have good populations of large bass.nothing crazier than having an 8 inch bluegill on the line of a little 3wt flyrod and having it swallowed by a 6lb bass.the waters that have big flatheads and muskies also have bigger sunfish and crappies.if large male bluegills are released during the spawn the bluegills will flourish.Quote:
Originally Posted by sharphook
I guess every lake is different . There will not be 100 folks bream fish that lake " unless" it's a high water year . then every road bed has the bigger ones . I hear people say it was great at one time before the white bass population exploded.
I agree. Every lake is different, and so is every fisherman. There are many lakes in the south that have been known for producing limits of big bream for decades, and in many cases there was no limit at all. I'm one that prefers to catch and clean a bunch at a time rather than 6 - 10 per trip. I might have two catches of 30 bream each year and then it's catch and release the remainder of the year.
The Arkansas River which is around 1600 miles long and dumps into the Mississippi River which is around 2400 miles long can't be managed due to traversing multi states. Just my opinion. Take managing a small pond 120 acres and smaller I can agree with if that is the individuals desire.
I catch and release way more than I keep but nothing wrong with keeping some to eat.
I catch and release most bream, but when I am hungry for some, I keep enough for a mess for me and my wife. Around 10 out of every 100/200 or more I catch.
Couldn't agree with you more. Many states are way ahead of good management for bluegill than we are here in TN....including Arkansas. On our major reservoirs there are no limits on Gills. The big reservoirs are much more resilient than our agency lakes. It is the agency lakes that are seeing declines of large Gills. Just so many are taken out each year the average size is getting smaller as each year goes by. I keep fish also but am mainly catch and release....among other reasons I also don't enjoy cleaning a bunch of fish at one time...LOL. Large reservoirs are where I keep my fish from. On the agency lakes it is always catch and release for me. There are two reasons for that. I don't want to be the person that takes from the already over fished lakes and since I am blessed to travel the state fishing I need to leave those fish to the many people who can't travel any further to enjoy fishing and take a limit home. Our problem will get fixed simply because it will have to. May take a few years but as time goes by TWRA will see the decline and act on it. You remarked that your odds of you catching a trophy Gill on the Arkansas River was unlikely. In your posts I see many Gills that look as if they are at the 9 inch mark. To me anything that is 8 inches and above here in TN is a top quality fish. I catch a lot of 9 inch fish...and on occasion one that will go ten inches. A 10 inch Gill is rare unless one is fortunate to be fishing one of a few lakes around the county such as Lake Perris in California.....Lake Havasu in Arizona....and there are a few others. Am impressed with your ability to catch Gills in those numbers in winter. It is not easy catching them things in winter in big numbers.Quote:
Originally Posted by arkansasbowhunter
Regards
Thank you. The lakes I fished as a kid have always had small gills. Large gills have never been common. I mean anything 10 inches of larger. Average gills here run 8-10 inches and I would rather keep them in the winter when they are far and offer better fillet of meat than in the spawn when they are thinner. I have caught my share in the spawn but I am getting into the less crowded winter time action. Been around this state for 40 plus years and have never caught fish larger than 10 inches in any lake I have fished.
Just what I have seen with the bass management in smaller lakes in the beginning its good but then the fish get stunted or it is hard to catch a fish above the minimum length required to keep one. A lot of study has been done on slot limits, length limits but here I have not seen any of them work. Prime example lake Monticello Arkansas. Was a one time the top fishery in Arkansas for bass greater 10 lb but now it's a joke. Had great crappie fishing too but that has went by the side.
I have been gill fishing 53 yrs... I agree ponds and land locked ponds can be trophy fisheries or fishedx out!!! Reservoirs and rivers are controlled more by nature. Therefore these fisheries can and will support Grocery Fishing!!
Anyone actually interested in facts rather than rationalization might want to read the studies I linked to. As I have already stated more than once, these studies were NOT done on small impoundments such as the TWRA fee lakes, nor were they done on ponds like I manage: they were done on large public lakes. And they found a consistent and undeniable trend of steadily-decreasing bluegill size structure in lakes that had liberal or no limits on bluegill. And, when stricter limits were imposed, bluegill size began to improve almost across the board.
A couple years ago a guy who guides on the St. Johns River in Florida argued with/mocked me on this forum because I took offense at him keeping coolerfuls of big bluegill from that river. He claimed it was too big to be influenced by fishing pressure. I fished the St. Johns twice this year, once in early June and once in November; both times were with experienced guides who make their living on the river; the guide I had in November specializes in bluegill. The biggest fish we caught either trip was 9". But of course that had nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that that river gets more bluegill fishing pressure in one day in the spring than any 100 small lakes in this country.
I lived in southern California from 1997 through 2007. I fished Lake Perris, which is a large reservoir, 1,800 acres at 80% of full pool, a handful of times. I caught several pound-class bluegill, but never learned the lake well enough to catch the big ones; but at that time, two-pounders were pretty common; as an example, I saw a guy catch a bluegill from the bank one day that would've gone twenty-four ounces if it weighed an ounce, and he had one that was easily two pounds or better in his fish basket (it covered most of the bottom of the basket). In my observation, two-pounders are no longer common there, nor are twenty-four-ouncers.
There's another lake out there, Lake Skinner, that right now is producing the kind of bluegill fishing that Perris was producing when I lived out there. And just on another website I'm a member of, there are multiple guys on there who regularly post photos of big messes of giant bluegill they took home to clean from Skinner. It's just a matter of time until the fishing in that lake slips into the category of, "Man, I remember what it used to be like on that lake."
Just as large reservoirs and rivers can be fished out for big bass, so can they be fished out for big bluegill. You can rationalize and claim otherwise but your argument holds about as much water as saying the earth is flat, because the science is already out there, proven by fisheries biologists. Don't twist it to justify your actions.
There are several things happening with our fisheries' currently. Part is environmental impact and part of it is overfishing . It's a serious problem worldwide. Trying to accommodate the increasing population of people is going to be hard.If not for the mass production of food through fish farming we would already be in more trouble than we are. And yes this trickles down all the way to our pan fish in rural areas. If my memory is correct Missouri dept. of conservation spends 7 percent of its budget on fishery.We should be spending 40 percent.
Only in a few places, has the state of Pennsylvania, have they lowered the limits on some pan fish, a few years ago. Have seen many fish, till they fill a three or five gallon bucket is full, before they quit for the day, which might be from dawn to dusk, and no ice on them either. There have been some who have questioned a 50 per day limit on pan fish, and the state doesn't seem to care. My self, don't keep more than ten at a time, nor do I want to keep and clean 50 at one time.
Maybe some of these trophy money lakes will start a one day a month public fishing day. Have a slot limit and let them carry home 30 small sunfish. That way people will see how well it can be if you could afford to fish there and keep larger fish. My favorite thing is to make a small fisher person to throw back the fish.
Government lakes refuse to lime and or fertilize lakes with heavy flow.a land locked impoundment can grow more fish and larger fish with optimum ph. Otherwise same discussion as to wealthy folks hunting in pens. Won't nobody know it was from an enclosure if it gets a wall mount. On the Deer shows they say what a big scoring rack . Why do the same for fish GOD put animals on earth for man to eat. I don't recall a Boone and Crockett in the bible. If you aren't helping the less fortunate on earth you are not following Christian principles. I own a 7 acre Trophy lake. Can't keep trespassers out. They do usually leave me some empty beer can floating in the shallows.
We need to stick together and support youth fishing opportunity. I let new fisher persons to keep 30 sunfish any size!! I just make sure they are taught how to clean them to eat!!
I was real serious yesterday when I brought up Bluegill tournaments. State Fishery depts. are Bass,crappie and Walleye crazy. The write off panfish as what the Poor folks fish no Money no Support for the panfish. That is in MS I have no knowledge of other states????
I think reduced limits do help in many cases, but not all. We had a local lake holding large numbers of nice bluegill and large bass that opened to the public. There was a 10 fish limit placed on the bluegill and red ear. Even without a boat ramp that lake was stripped of the largest fish. There were local people that made multiple trips per day during the spawn. It was more than the DNR could stay on top of .
There is another nice lake that the IDNR owns and is still 100 % closed to the public. I'm thinking the IDNR is trying to figure out how to open it and still avoid it's ruination.
I would like to see shore bedding areas rendered off limits in these type lakes. Extreme??? So is the problem.
I've seen this, too. People catch a limit, dump them in a cooler back in the car, then go back and repeat the process.Quote:
Originally Posted by Olegiller1
I couldnt even fathom doing that.
I think last year I kept all of 7 crappie for the table, that was all year! The year before I think it was only 9 gills all year. Dont get me wrong I like to eat fish, I just dont need a freezer busting full of them (maybe its because Im the only one in the house that likes to eat fish).
Catch and release everything.....unless you need dinner that nite then keep a few.
^^^ there is where some of the problem lies. People who do not eat fish or are the only ones in a house that eat em just dont understand how far a few fish go. Your 7 crappie or 9 gills that you ate all year would make 1 meal at my house and better be heavily loaded with coleslaw, french fries and hushpuppies to stretch that. But I can say I have NEVER wasted a fish that I kept period! But going fishing and getting a limit is far from my thoughts when I hook up in the morning. Sometimes it happens but more often than not I keep between 7 and 14 fish, sometimes I keep none. And the ones who feel that they can run to the grocery store and buy nice fresh fish, bs! I know exactly how my fish were kept from removal of hook to hitting the fryer. And to try and push 1 single strategy of fish management to cover all bodies of water is ludicrous. But I do hate the bucket brigade on the banks with 10 poles, no liscense, driving a caddy and keeping everything that comes up, also despise anyone who hauls multiple limits a day with people meeting them at ramps with coolers to haul away to return again. Which I believe is the bigger problem not a person keeping a legal limit on a days fishing.
I can come at this from different angles than most others! IMHO, Bluegill/Bream fishermen have waaaay to many obstacles to overcome!
My background comes from Bass and Walleye fishing first, then Crappie later....
Bass Fishermen view Bream as FORAGE ONLY! The Big Bull Bluegill to them, serve no purpose other than something to remove! Most Believe that Big Bull Bream can upset and harm the forage balance in lakes/ponds that are growing Big Bass.
You also have Bass Fishermen, Catfishermen, and Muskie/Pike fishermen, that catch and use any size bream possible for bait!
Like it or not, Bass Fishermen are the real drivers of the fishing industry...First you have to understand the Money that is behind the Bass Industry, compared to the Panfish industry...Billions and Billions of dollars....and in ALOT of ways this is the fault of Panfish-fishermen!
Everyone wants Pan-fishing to grow, but it remains a small market because of the stubborn continual use of live-bait and techniques not conducive to ALOT of Big sponsors like Bass Fishing is! BIG Money equals regulation and Management! If you want Companies to invest, you have to use their products and win or set records...Live Bait companies and sit down techniques are not Billion Dollar Sponsors! Without Money, you get no regulations or management!
Then You have to overcome the fact that Bream are just so easy to catch all year long, especially in Ohio....unlike Crappie, smaller Bream tend to stay close to shore, don't mind high temps, and can be caught year round, by even shore fishermen, which increases pressure even more than other fish.
To be honest, I cannot force myself to eat a dark meat fish...just cannot stand them...But I watch people around my home lake keeping buckets upon buckets of 4 inch fish...Heck, I have bigger fish in my aquarium than what they keep on a DAILY basis. People catch them to grind up for dog food, etc, Ethnic groups fry the entire small fish to eat, and since Bream are considered a high reproductive forage, there are no limits whatsoever in Ohio.
As someone said earlier, those who think even a Huge lake can't be fished out, are mis-informed. Fishing Pressure increases every year as populations increase, people are needing more and more food, or supplemental food to save money...and Bream can be caught year round! Add Enviromental or Natural weather extremes and the population can be destroyed!
At my home lake (2500 acres), my son caught a 10.5 inch bluegill 3 years ago on a 3 inch swimbait....TO THIS DAY, IT IS THE BIGGEST AND ONLY FISH THAT SIZE, THAT I HAVE SEEN OR HEARD OF, COME OUT OF THAT LAKE....SINCE 1974!
With the vast majority of Panfishermen set in their ways and not receptive to change, I don't see any Bream regulations or management of any kind, coming to Ohio in my lifetime!
Fortunately we have very limited bank access on the major bodies of water here. The lizards tend to that. We do have an aggregate limit of 50 per day of all panfish species not including Crappie. And although the water bodies may look heavily pressured, most are very dissapointed at the end of the day. I see so many anchored up by a tree in the morning and ask how they are doing and not to good. Go back by hours later and ask again, and great we got 5 so far. So yes we have tons of boats out fishing but most have very little impact. We just have so much water here everyone wants to partake and enjoy and do not spend time understanding everything about our rivers to be successful. Heck I get schooled by the river here regularly. 1 minor change and the whole game changes drastically.