A Recipe for Large Bluegills

Urban fisheries management by the Minnesota DNR Fishing in the Neighborhood (FiN) program primarily revolves around the stocking of Bluegill Sunfish (Lepomis Macrochirus) into small lakes and ponds in the Minneapolis and Saint Paul metropolitan area. A common theme among Minnesota anglers is the desire to catch larger Bluegills. The FiN program has responded by growing and stocking larger Bluegills into select lakes and ponds. During spring harvest, Bluegills are removed from a lake with a high density of smaller Bluegills (25-50 grams each) and stocked into grow-out ponds. Being moved from a high density environment to a low-density, predator-free pond, these Bluegills typically exhibit rapid growth over the course of the summer. Weight gains of over 500% have been documented in these fish during the 100-200 days in the grow-out ponds. Fall harvest returns from grow-out ponds have ranged from 7% up to 54% and the cost per fish varied from $1.23 up to $8.11. Characteristics of a successful grow-out pond include frequent winterkill, a small size of 12 hectares or less, shallow depth <3m, and high productivity. Stocking these large Bluegills provides a quality angling opportunity close to home for urban anglers that would not otherwise be available.