Larry Bud - You still visit the forum. esshup has good fish mgmt information. Removing the larger LMB of 14"+ provides more room for smaller more aggressive less hook shy bass. This lets the kids catch more bass for more exciting fishing experiences. Learn how to recognize male and female bluegill and teach this information to the kids so they feel more like they are helping manage the fishery. Usually BG need to be around 7.5"-8" before the male female characters are easily recognized. More males present than females helps trend the pond toward bigger BG that again makes angling more fun for angers.
For some information about recognizing the difference between male and female BG, read, study and learn from this thread:
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=286856&page=1Many times the healthy fast growing BG needs to be a full 7" or 8" long to usually determine the sex as male - female.
Keep in mind that the overall body hue or darkness of colors can vary widely from pond to pond due to water color and bottom composition. BG tend to have most vivid body colors and markings tend to be darkest during spawning season. Gill flap or ear lob does not change shape during the seasons. Thus the gill flap will be the same size and shape in winter as summer. As the BG gets larger the gill flap size increases in size proportional to an increase in body size. I can almost always recognize a male BG by the size & shape of the gill flap and the dark tipped scales of the nape (forehead). Sometimes these dark tipped scales extend back and down across the male's body as in the 1st picture by B.Condello in the link above. Compare the dark tipped scale pattern of fish in the 1st and last BG picture in the thread. Sometimes the overall body hue of the male with be so dark that the dark tipped scales are not readily apparent. This usually occurs in clear, brown or tannin stained water.
The Secret Sex Life of Bluegill. Why removing females is beneficial. It was reprinted from Pond Boss Magazine.
http://www.sdstate.edu/nrm/outreach/pond/upload/The-Secret-Life-of-Bluegill-Jul-Aug-2005.pdf
