Mega Longear Sunfish

[Ham]

1 hour ago, Johnsfolly said:

I know a few folks that may be interested !

No disrespect to original poster, that’s a special Fish he harvested, but I’m not at all interested in trophy LES. #ZFG

[Chief Grey Bear]

2 hours ago, Johnsfolly said:

Keep and eat what you want as long as it is legal. Enjoy!

Boy I dunno. Saying that on the Meramec page may get your face on a milk carton.

[MOPanfisher]

4 hours ago, Ham said:

Please keep more Longear Sunfish! Please shoot or catch and keep the biggest you can find. There are literally 10’s of thousands of them ; Almost no one keeps them. I kind of feel like if there were a lot less of them, we would have larger individual fish. I’m not sure anyone if fishing for trophy long ear Sunfish.

The large number of LES and Green Sunfish combined with the lack of shoreline cover reduces the effectiveness of the natural Walleye spawn. Eat some Sunfish, Save a walleye. 

I am in agreement, thin down the sunfish population to make more room for carp, the baby carp will increase the number and growth rate of walleye and bass, because the studies show that baby carp are at least 112% pure protein, and are much preferred forage for every fish that swims.

[jdmidwest]

Next time use a gig and you will get less flak.

Looks like a big ole Heron got ahold of it.

The best size longear was on a tributary off the 11 pt river.  It hit a beetle spin as we were walking up the creek and it was probably a state record.  Back then, no digital cameras, we looked at it and let it go.  It makes that one look small, but I have small hands.

Longears eat alot of smallmouth eggs on the nest.  They worry the smallies to death guarding them.  Them red bellies are fair game no matter how you get them.  They rank next to invasive carp in my book.

[MoCarp]

12 hours ago, Huntingducks117 said:

Are you seriously trying to shame me for keeping and eating a Longear Sunfish?  This is an "eater" size for a Longear.  This fish is likely 5+ years old and has put its genetics out there. Yes it is legal, and my choice to kill it and eat it.  Bull Shoals is a big lake, if you put your time in, maybe you can catch one or shoot one for yourself.  There are no shortages of Longear Sunfish out there, so go get yourself one.  

most people in the general public are not so keen on "stabbing" methods of fish harvesting, with so many more people harvesting fish than in the past the quality of fish size has been hurt and it can be argued the genes to get to huge sizes are getting fished out of populations,

big water can get fished down and out right collapse of the atlantic cod industry is a fine example...

I have caught some huge long ears some that could push record size, never had the need to kill and eat one....

I have pics of huge walleyes stabbed, can you legally shoot a 14# walleye? yes, should you let that one get by and shoot a 3# instead? most would say yes,

I would argue its far easier to stab a huge fish that angle for one, just like shooting 14 point buck with a spotlight is easier than shooting one in the daylight...

so did you shoot a mess of sunfish? or just shoot that long ear because it was a huge one?

what I think of you should not effect what you do...but times are a changing,....post a pic of a mishandled muskie or a bunch of bass fillets  or leave a bunch of fireworks trash and beer cans on a shore or gravel bar and you will get some online grief...just the way things are now...

11 hours ago, Ham said:

Please keep more Longear Sunfish! Please shoot or catch and keep the biggest you can find. There are literally 10’s of thousands of them ; Almost no one keeps them. I kind of feel like if there were a lot less of them, we would have larger individual fish. I’m not sure anyone if fishing for trophy long ear Sunfish.

The large number of LES and Green Sunfish combined with the lack of shoreline cover reduces the effectiveness of the natural Walleye spawn. Eat some Sunfish, Save a walleye. 

If you says so IMHO I have talked to a few people who wanted to catch these fish, are there plenty, for now...but take the small ones to eat and pass up the largest ones

10 hours ago, Johnsfolly said:

Keep and eat what you want as long as it is legal. Enjoy!

yes its legal ..for now...it was once legal to own people,...hunt with punt guns and sell your harvest, and at one time passenger pigeons darkened the sky, and buffalo seemed endless on the plains...we both know how that turned out

10 hours ago, Johnsfolly said:

I know a few folks that may be interested !

I have been asked by more than a few on where to catch these gems....

8 hours ago, Chief Grey Bear said:

Boy I dunno. Saying that on the Meramec page may get your face on a milk carton.

😮

[Johnsfolly]

4 hours ago, MoCarp said:

most people in the general public are not so keen on "stabbing" methods of fish harvesting, with so many more people harvesting fish than in the past the quality of fish size has been hurt and it can be argued the genes to get to huge sizes are getting fished out of populations,

big water can get fished down and out right collapse of the atlantic cod industry is a fine example...

I have caught some huge long ears some that could push record size, never had the need to kill and eat one....

I have pics of huge walleyes stabbed, can you legally shoot a 14# walleye? yes, should you let that one get by and shoot a 3# instead? most would say yes,

I would argue its far easier to stab a huge fish that angle for one, just like shooting 14 point buck with a spotlight is easier than shooting one in the daylight...

so did you shoot a mess of sunfish? or just shoot that long ear because it was a huge one?

what I think of you should not effect what you do...but times are a changing,....post a pic of a mishandled muskie or a bunch of bass fillets  or leave a bunch of fireworks trash and beer cans on a shore or gravel bar and you will get some online grief...just the way things are now...

If you says so IMHO I have talked to a few people who wanted to catch these fish, are there plenty, for now...but take the small ones to eat and pass up the largest ones

yes its legal ..for now...it was once legal to own people,...hunt with punt guns and sell your harvest, and at one time passenger pigeons darkened the sky, and buffalo seemed endless on the plains...we both know how that turned out

I have been asked by more than a few on where to catch these gems....

😮

Jumping from keeping fish in a now fairly regulated harvest system and comparing that to unregulated market hunting or slavery is a big jump. Just don't buy your catastrophe mindset for every species that someone can selectively harvest. If people cannot find longear sunfish they just aren't trying to find them. Gravel mining, bank erosion, cattle in streams, water quality degradation, etc., are far more likely to decimate this species than selective harvest. I won't shame someone on this site for using a legal method to harvest fish for the table. I see no evidence that Huntingducks117 is out there filling trash cans with fish or wantonly wasting these resources.

[Ham]

There’s a reason I block ppl. 😉

[Huntingducks117]

6 hours ago, MoCarp said:

 

32 minutes ago, Ham said:

There’s a reason I block ppl. 😉

How do you do block people.  Is this guy serious or just likes to stir the pot. Does he pounce on every harvested large fish post like this, or just the spearfished ones?    I post a picture of a single large harvested Longear Sunfish that I thought people would be interested in seeing, and i wanted to have others show me large Longear they have caught.  But then my post gets related to slavery, cod fisheries collapse, poaching with a spotlight, the extinction of the passenger pigeon,  and the collapse of the buffalo.  Probably global warming too if you wanted to think about it. I did drive to the lake.  Just because I did not pass on a Large Longear Sunfish, which he said himself he's caught several of record size. 

All from a guy that's never even tried spearfishing or probably even diving and doesn't agree with the metods. I wonder if he's anti-hunting too, or just anti shooting trophy's.   Anyway I hope someone  out there enjoyed seeing the large Longear picture. I still would be interested in seeing the pictures of other large Longear. Especially the record size ones MoCarp has caught so many of.  

[Quillback]

Actually it's all about carp and the bowfishing of them.  

The bream in general are underfished in these highland impoundments.  

[Daryk Campbell Sr]

Huntingducks117, I appreciated your post.  I believe most on here do.  We are an excellent group of people who each have a select passion.   Some are more likely to complain,  than compliment.  Your contribution to the forum is what keep it growing.   I would love to see you continue. 

Daryk Campbell Sr.