Of growing concern

Department of Conservation

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- If you love catching bluegill, you will be glad to know that the Missouri Department of Conservation is launching a plan to improve your favorite kind of fishing. When the project is complete, the Conservation Department and private pond owners will know more about how to produce quality bluegill fishing.

Scrappy, widespread and prolific, the bluegill is the classic panfish. According to Conservation Department studies, anglers catch more bluegills than any other fish in impoundments of 10 to 1,000 acres. Though they aren't considered "game fish" under the Missouri Wildlife Code, surveys show that more than 300,000 people pursue bluegill and other panfish each year.

Altogether, they spend more than 3 million days a year dunking worms, jigs and other bait trying to land their favorite fish. That makes panfish the third-most-sought-after fish, after bass and catfish.

Conservation Department Fisheries Management Biologist Joe Bonneau says a good deal already is known about bluegill population dynamics. Until now, however, active management of the species has taken a back seat to higher-profile species like trout, bass, crappie and catfish.

But he said the 10-year bluegill management plan is aimed at developing strategies for ponds and lakes where bluegill fishing is the primary goal.

Predators needed

Among the things that biologists already know about bluegill is that they need lots of predators to keep their numbers under control. Lakes with an abundance of small largemouth bass tend to have very good bluegill fishing. That is because the hungry bass eat most of the small bluegill.

Thinning the bluegill ranks guarantees that the few panfish that grow too large for the bass to eat will have plenty of food. As a result, they grow much faster and larger than bluegills in lakes where there are only a few large bass.

Bonneau said biologists also have documented a connection between certain habitat conditions and the quality of bluegill fishing. Clear water and a moderate amount of submerged vegetation favor robust panfish populations.

Finally, fish experts have noticed that bluegill do best in lakes and ponds with fairly simple fish populations. The best bluegill fishing is found in lakes without common carp or gizzard shad.

With these factors in mind, the Conservation Department plans to identify lakes with the best bluegill management potential and test different harvest regulations to see which produces the best fishing.

Under current regulations, anglers can keep up to 50 nongame fish, including bluegills, taken by pole and line daily in most waters of the state. Regulations at some public lakes restrict anglers to 20 panfish daily. The bluegill management plan will test the theory that reducing the daily limit on sunfish will allow more of the fish to reach larger sizes.

At present, only 3 percent of Missouri's small impoundments have even a few bluegills measuring 9 inches or longer. Only one in three has bluegill 8 inches or longer. To change this situation in a few heavily fished lakes, the Conservation Department plans to use a combination of smaller daily limits and minimum length limits to protect bluegill until they reach a target length of 8 inches.

The Conservation Department will evaluate regulations on a few, heavily-fished lakes statewide that already have good habitat, enough predator fish, and a lack of undesirable fishes. Bonneau said that in many cases, good bluegill fishing can be achieved without regulation changes by improving habitat, maintaining predator densities and keeping undesirable fishes out.

To increase the chances of success, the Conservation Department will test the new creel limits and other bluegill management strategies on lakes with clear water and plenty of submerged vegetation. In some cases, mud may be dredged from lake bottoms. Erosion control in lake watersheds may be necessary in other areas, or shorelines may need protection to keep the water clear.

Finding the right lakes

Biologists will look for lakes without gizzard shad or common carp. Bass management will be part of the strategy, too. Regulations at lakes being managed for bluegill will aim at producing an abundance of small bass. This is the opposite of what is done at lakes where quality bass fishing is the primary goal.

Bonneau said the Conservation Department expects to begin seeing results from the bluegill management plan within a few years. It will collect data on catch rates, fish numbers and sizes and issue progress reports in 2004, 2007 and 2010. Summarizing their findings every three years will allow biologists to fine-tune regulations at bluegill lakes throughout the study.

"The knowledge we gain in developing bluegill management strategies for public lakes will be useful to private pond owners, too," said Bonneau. "The work we are doing now should one day yield enormous benefits on thousands upon thousands of acres of the best fishing water in the state."