MikeWright Posted September 26, 2016 Posted September 26, 2016 How big does a sunfish need to be to qualify as eating size? And how many do you need? Super easy target, but what size of target to make a sweet buttered meal out of? Quote
riverbasser Posted September 26, 2016 Posted September 26, 2016 Round here we call em bream but I think its the same thing. Pretty much any the size of your hand are big enough to eat. Anything smaller is more work than its worth. Any more than 10 is considered a mess and enough for a good meal for 2 or 3 3 Quote
Super User Jar11591 Posted September 26, 2016 Super User Posted September 26, 2016 Any that is big enough to get a decent fillet off of. I know a lot of people keep any sized sunfish and fry them up bones and all. Quote
Global Moderator Bluebasser86 Posted September 26, 2016 Global Moderator Posted September 26, 2016 When they're too big to use for bait Something like this. 8 Quote
Super User gim Posted September 27, 2016 Super User Posted September 27, 2016 I refuse to keep and clean any sunfish under 8 inches long, perch that are 9 inches long, or crappies under 10 inches long simply because its not worth the effort cleaning them for the filet that comes off of them. I've tried to clean smaller ones before and I just butchered those things so I stick to a firm minimum now on panfish. Like Jar said, some people keep the 5 inchers. They can be seen toting buckets around and standing on shore by the dozen. I don't know what they do with them but they presumably just run em though a scaler or deep fry the whole thing. Quote
Super User scaleface Posted September 27, 2016 Super User Posted September 27, 2016 I use the hand also. 1 Quote
MikeWright Posted September 29, 2016 Author Posted September 29, 2016 @Bluebasser86 I'm pretty positive that your bluegill there would shatter my home lakes record.... Quote
Global Moderator Bluebasser86 Posted September 29, 2016 Global Moderator Posted September 29, 2016 5 hours ago, MikeWright said: @Bluebasser86 I'm pretty positive that your bluegill there would shatter my home lakes record.... It's one of the biggest redear sunfish I've ever caught too. I usually just grabbed them and if I could barely get my haND around them, they were big enough. Quote
bassh8er Posted October 4, 2016 Posted October 4, 2016 On 9/26/2016 at 5:35 AM, Bluebasser86 said: When they're too big to use for bait Something like this. A sunfish that big should go back in the lake in my opinion. I love hearing people say that they only keep crappie over 10", gills over 9", and so on. A 9" crappie is plenty easy to clean and you get a nice fillet. Obviously not as much as a 14" crappie, but a fish that big should go back in the water. I read an In-Fisherman article where they said you would go to fisherman's hell if you kept a gill over 9". My dad and I caught a 2-man limit of 9-10" crappie yesterday and they were quite tasty tonight! 1 Quote
davecon Posted October 4, 2016 Posted October 4, 2016 Wish ya'll had'nt started this thread. Now I gotta go catch some to eat. Shame on you guys. Quote
Super User soflabasser Posted October 4, 2016 Super User Posted October 4, 2016 Big bluegills are a good bait for freshwater tarpon. Quote
Global Moderator Bluebasser86 Posted October 4, 2016 Global Moderator Posted October 4, 2016 2 hours ago, bassh8er said: A sunfish that big should go back in the lake in my opinion. I love hearing people say that they only keep crappie over 10", gills over 9", and so on. A 9" crappie is plenty easy to clean and you get a nice fillet. Obviously not as much as a 14" crappie, but a fish that big should go back in the water. I read an In-Fisherman article where they said you would go to fisherman's hell if you kept a gill over 9". My dad and I caught a 2-man limit of 9-10" crappie yesterday and they were quite tasty tonight! A lot of the lakes around here crappie have to be over 10" and even over 12" to keep (used to be one they had to be over 14" but now it's "only" 12"). I don't personally keep any fish I catch, but I know plenty of people that like to eat fish so I'll keep some for others on occasion. It's been years since I've had anyone ask for gills though. Quote
Super User gim Posted October 9, 2016 Super User Posted October 9, 2016 On 10/3/2016 at 9:50 PM, bassh8er said: A 9" crappie is plenty easy to clean and you get a nice fillet. WRONG Quote
Super User Ratherbfishing Posted October 17, 2016 Super User Posted October 17, 2016 If you want future generations of large panfish, keep the medium-sized ones and release the large ones. Quote
Super User Team9nine Posted October 17, 2016 Super User Posted October 17, 2016 On 10/3/2016 at 10:50 PM, bassh8er said: A sunfish that big should go back in the lake in my opinion. I read an In-Fisherman article where they said you would go to fisherman's hell if you kept a gill over 9". "His gray matter is cluttered with the whereabouts of "bulls" (male bluegills 9 inches or longer), and it’s this knowledge that is so coveted yet hard to come by. Waters that harbor pie-plates (giant ’gills) are rare. Their names are seldom uttered publicly, to anyone, anywhere, especially at bait shops, where the walls have ears." - In-Fisherman, "Cult of the Bluegill" -T9 Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.