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DNR’s 10‑year panfish experiment finds 15‑5 bag limit best at improving bluegill size
Summary
A decade‑long adaptive‑management experiment on 94 lakes found that a 15‑fish daily bag limit with no more than five of any one species (the "15‑5" rule) yielded the most consistent size improvements for bluegill and the largest average gains for crappie; staff will propose targeted 5‑bag regulations in the 2025 spring hearings package.
The Department of Natural Resources presented results Dec. 11 from a decade‑long panfish experiment (2016–2026) testing three regulation types on 94 lakes to determine whether reduced bag limits could improve size structure of bluegill and crappie.
"This was a huge success," Alex Latska, fisheries systems biologist and co‑chair of the panfish team, told the Natural Resources Board. He said the 15‑5 regulation (no more than five of any one species, maximum 15 fish total) was the only tested regulation that was statistically different from reference lakes for bluegill and produced an…
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