gill spawn

[abishop]

I did notice that the female gills had loose egg sacks yesterday. So, it looks like the spawn is about over till the next full moon.

[Spooled85]

I caught around 30 and kept 16 yesterday .all in bout 1.5 ft of water and not one female with eggs

[kevs]

 I've been on several lakes both large and small (over 100 acres and under 80 acres) and I am not finding beds or fish (Bluegills/Redears) on beds like I have in years past. I have caught female gills in deeper water off of bedding areas (staging) that were full of eggs the past couple of weeks that by now would've spawned. Some lakes the water levels are up 12" to 14" above normal pool, temps are down 7-10 deg's. I've also noticed some that lakes, especially the larger ones, have been slow in their growth of aquatic vegetation.

[northrn-duck-assassin]

I noticed... the spawn was a few weeks ago.

Just saying

[taxid]

I've had bluegills spawn up to 4 times a year in my production ponds. I've seen a bluegill hatch in September. This is why they are the best forage in a pond for largemouth bass other than perhaps tilapia that are constantly spawning but in lower numbers.

[sprkplug]

In my opinion this message should be posted at every dock, boat launch, and bait shop. It should be printed in bold type at the top of your fishing license, and stamped on packages of tackle. It’s that important:

“ Remember, while it may be difficult or extremely unlikely to fish down bluegill quantity, it is very possible to fish down bluegill quality”

[abishop]

Gills will spawn at every full moon if conditions prevail. This means 4 or 5 times a year. The biggest usually spawn first. Imho.

[taxid]

there were gills on beds yesterday.  I pulled 5 bass off a bedding area.  the bass were chasing them all over so I helped them out a bit with the buzzer.. lol  i have seen gills on beds several times through the summer.  that's why people can harvest 20,000 from a fertile lake year in and year out.

20,000 adult bluegill?  Where in Sam's hill did you get that number?    It depends on a lot of factors including fertility as you mentioned, AND size of the lake. Still your number is quite high for even some of our biggest lakes. I can't imagine anglers taking 20,000 adult bluegills a year from my favorite bluegill Lake that is about 800 acres. It would be a disaster!

Tim, I think you're also forgetting how few of the hatched fish make it to adults of the size anglers want to catch. And it takes 6 to 8 years to do that in Indiana.

[taxid]

Yep a WAG!    But I get your point. Mostly messing with you!

Speaking of Sylvan, according to one Indiana biologist in a fisheries survey, Sylvan was an example of how bluegills can be fished down by fishing pressure to the point where they are fairly scarce. I can remember Sylvan was absolutely amazing for the numbers and growth rates of bluegills back in the 60's. Survey said one of the fastest growth rates in the nation. Of course all the untreated sewage did a great job of fertilizing the water. And at some point the carp got the upper hand in pounds per acre. And lake residents were treating the weeds with arsenic based herbicides. Good way to mess up the food chain productivity over time

BTW a fertile body of water is 300 pounds of fish per acre. This included all species of fish and sizes. Fish farmers can grow many more pounds per acre that includes supplemental feed and aeration.

[taxid]

mess away but ill stand by my numbers. lol

Fair enough.

[charlys1954]

it is a WILD guess Cecil.  I know several lakes that are half the size you mentioned and get hit every day with toons of retired folks.  those retired folks commonly bring in 60-160 gills an outing.  not a guess!  add that up with say just 3 boats for a summer.(3 month)  some times there are way more boats out there.  I typically bring in 40-60 gills when I hit it with them.  my boats summer take alone is around 1000.

I try to not post upsetting post but this has to be addressed, its called respect for elders. Something allot of people now days do not have.

Seems lik you turn allot of guess work into so called facts. Have you set down and counted the gills "US" retired folks have in our livewells, I doubt it. So you have "NO" idea what we have.

You said you catch 40-60 per outing when you hit them(pot calling kettle black) and you have the nerve to blast retired folks who have "EARNED" the right to be retired. Putting down Senior Citizens is not good.

There are fisherman who are Gill Hogs, then there are fisherman with common sense who are conservative on their take home catch. These Gill Hogs can be of any age so stop blaming retired senior citizens

EDITED: Sorry folks for the venting. Pontoons full of people fishing the gill beds are from lake owners and there are allot of non retired lake owners with pontoons. So blame them all not just the retired people.

[lovetfish]

I try to not post upsetting post but this has to be addressed, its called respect for elders. Something allot of people now days do not have.

Seems lik you turn allot of guess work into so called facts. Have you set down and counted the gills "US" retired folks have in our livewells, I doubt it. So you have "NO" idea what we have.

You said you catch 40-60 per outing when you hit them(pot calling kettle black) and you have the nerve to blast retired folks who have "EARNED" the right to be retired. Putting down Senior Citizens is not good.

There are fisherman who are Gill Hogs, then there are fisherman with common sense who are conservative on their take home catch. These Gill Hogs can be of any age so stop blaming retired senior citizens

EDITED: Sorry folks for the venting. Pontoons full of people fishing the gill beds are from lake owners and there are allot of non retired lake owners with pontoons. So blame them all not just the retired people.

 

 

[taxid]

Uh oh Tim! You are on a senior citizen's sheet list! You better watch out. We can be dangerous when we get mad! 

[kfishdoctor]

Just got number 1000 tonight. Grandson and I have had the quickest year to the number. Last year took to July 21st.  2017 was aug 10th.  Of that 1000 275 were kept. Anything over 9.5" was released. My keep size is that down to 8". and this is done not fishing any beds or using any electronics or boat. Most fish are caught in 10 to 15 feet. Throw out as far as you can and enjoy the fight. Many of the fish caught tonight are getting ready to spawn  The lake we fished tonight will continue to go strong all summer. Also got my largest warmouth 9" and 1lb 4oz beauty. Released. Lake has given up 27 this year. Thickest shoulder panfish I have ever seen. I think best tasting panfish of all.  Have had the best year on crappie also. Still have not been on a river yet and don't think I will see one anytime soon. But my lakes are keeping us going good, hope yours do also.

[abishop]

Just got number 1000 tonight. Grandson and I have had the quickest year to the number. Last year took to July 21st.  2017 was aug 10th.  Of that 1000 275 were kept. Anything over 9.5" was released. My keep size is that down to 8". and this is done not fishing any beds or using any electronics or boat. Most fish are caught in 10 to 15 feet. Throw out as far as you can and enjoy the fight. Many of the fish caught tonight are getting ready to spawn  The lake we fished tonight will continue to go strong all summer. Also got my largest warmouth 9" and 1lb 4oz beauty. Released. Lake has given up 27 this year. Thickest shoulder panfish I have ever seen. I think best tasting panfish of all.  Have had the best year on crappie also. Still have not been on a river yet and don't think I will see one anytime soon. But my lakes are keeping us going good, hope yours do also.

GOOD JOB, STAY ON THEM.