# What size for a keeper?



## Shortdrift (Apr 5, 2004)

Just wondering what size panfish you consider a keeper? I set my limit at nine inches for gil's and ten inches for crappie.


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## CavemaNdisguisE (Jul 10, 2012)

Agreed. I'll keep a shorter gill if it has shoulders and I need some for the pan.


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## Gills63 (Mar 29, 2012)

I'm 8 on gills 9 on crappie. Depends on if there fat and how well the bite is going.


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## Panfish_Hunter (Jan 12, 2016)

gills if their larger than my hands finger tips to wrist and crappie depends on thickness wont keep any under 9


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## AtticaFish (Nov 23, 2008)

Wow.... only 9" and up for a bluegill? I wouldn't be eating much bluegill through the year if that was my personal size limit. I am selective according to where i am fishing for bluegill. 7.5" and up is fair game for the cutting board but have one place that is over run with 7" fish and will keep them there. I just cut the fish finger shoulder out and then pull off the meat from the belly. 7.5" on perch as well. It all depends how my day is going i guess. Crappie i stick to 9" and up. Any smaller crappie than that and i will be cussing while cleaning them.


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## 9Left (Jun 23, 2012)

No kidding! 9" for gills??? That must be a hell of a fishery... Pretty much every SW Ohio lake I've fished , anything over 8" is a great fish( bluegill) 
Now as far as crappie goes, 10" is a good keeper size, even if the size limit is 9".


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## Fish2Win (Jan 21, 2009)

8 inch on gills and 10.5 and up for crappie.


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## Panfish_Hunter (Jan 12, 2016)

9Left said:


> No kidding! 9" for gills??? That must be a hell of a fishery... Pretty much every SW Ohio lake I've fished , anything over 8" is a great fish( bluegill)
> Now as far as crappie goes, 10" is a good keeper size, even if the size limit is 9".


 I have good luck with nice size gills but i take panfishing seriously. theres several lakes in southwest ohio and up north a little that consistenly produce large fish. i do hear people bitching all the time saying they dont catch anything or there all.small. just have to put.the time in to find holes and the right technique


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## snag (Dec 27, 2005)

8 + for gills and 9 for crappie and 10 in for perch.


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## Cajunsaugeye (Apr 9, 2013)

Any size that's legal! Quite a "pot stirring" thread!


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## ress (Jan 1, 2008)

8 and 8 and 8.


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## mastercatman (Jan 30, 2005)

I agree with 7.5" for the gills. 8-9" wouldn't put enough on the fillet board in most lakes I fish. As far as perch and crappie, 9" most days. It really just depends on quality of the fish and what I expect from the fishery. There's only a couple of lakes that come to mind where catching multiple 8" gills is possible, but 0 that come to mind for multiple 9"+ gills(public). If I were retired and had more time to fish and was only feeding myself, a 9" personal limit on gills would be okay. However, I have little time to fish, three kids, and a plump old lady to feed!


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## Flathead76 (May 2, 2010)

Having a drum scaler gills 7.5+ and crappies 9+ go for a spin 30 at a time. Best investment ever.


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## sherman51 (Apr 12, 2011)

the lake where I fish doesn't have a size limit. so I just don't measure. if gills and crappie are nice sized fish and I want them for eating I keep them. a nice hand sized gill or a little larger crappie is fair game.
sherman


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## tomb (Oct 9, 2004)

9" for gills and 10" for crappie. Unless they're bleeders. I mostly ice fish Mosquito and LaDue inland. Not all lakes have that kind of consistent size.


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## randymcfishnsfun2 (Dec 24, 2014)

9" for crappie. I just go by looks for the rest. Nice Cameron, haha.


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## Shortdrift (Apr 5, 2004)

9Left said:


> No kidding! 9" for gills??? That must be a hell of a fishery... Pretty much every SW Ohio lake I've fished , anything over 8" is a great fish( bluegill)
> Now as far as crappie goes, 10" is a good keeper size, even if the size limit is 9".


Yes, It is a helluva fishery which is why I no longer share it with those that came and refused to return the fish under nine and also took fifty or more fish. After experiencing this "take all you can" attitude, I un-invited those individuals and work with the owner of the lake in keeping unwanted persons off the ice. No crappies or perch in this lake, only bass and gil's. BTW; I have no problem with the size limits set by others on the lakes they fish. I just don't like to clean fish under the size range I have set.


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## wolfenstein (Jan 6, 2014)

I keep EVERYTHING! I've got a lot of stray cats to feed. Oh, nothing under 8" for the walleye.


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## Shortdrift (Apr 5, 2004)

Cajunsaugeye said:


> Any size that's legal! Quite a "pot stirring" thread!


Don't know where you got the idea that this was meant to stir the pot. This was a simple question to see what the membership response would be which most responded to in a straight forward and unbiased manner.


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## guppygill (May 8, 2004)

I release maybe 90% of my fish, but I like to keep 8 to 9 inch gills, and 9 to 11 inch crappies. I do release the larger gills and crappies though. Keep a lot during ice season though, nothing better than gills, crappie, and perch from the ice.


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## OHsportsman (Mar 29, 2014)

guppygill said:


> I release maybe 90% of my fish, but I like to keep 8 to 9 inch gills, and 9 to 11 inch crappies. I do release the larger gills and crappies though. Keep a lot during ice season though, nothing better than gills, crappie, and perch from the ice.


I'll second that!! During summer I don't keep many fish but there really is something about them coming out of briskly cold water that IMO improves the taste and even more improves the texture


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## Whaler (Nov 16, 2004)

Whatever is big enough to make a sandwich !


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## Whaler (Nov 16, 2004)

Wolfenstein, didn't you mean 8 pounds on Walleyes and not 8 inches ?


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## Shortdrift (Apr 5, 2004)

wolfenstein said:


> I keep EVERYTHING! I've got a lot of stray cats to feed. Oh, nothing under 8" for the walleye.


8" walleye is like those tasty smelt.


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## AtticaFish (Nov 23, 2008)

Whaler said:


> Wolfenstein, didn't you mean 8 pounds on Walleyes and not 8 inches ?


I think he meant what he said in the exact way that it got your attention. 

BUT.... i have seen people on inland lakes that do not have a size limit keep walleye under 10". They sounded like they just won the lottery too. If it's legal, no one can complain.


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## wolfenstein (Jan 6, 2014)

Yeah, just messing around. I hit a spillway today and hooked small walleye almost every cast. Probably hooked around 40 and not one keeper. Biggest was probably around 13". Usually it seems like gills are around 8" and crappie around 10". Never really measure anything unless it's really big.


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