does anyone know when the panfish spawn particulary the bluegill and the pumkin seed bluegill up in western pa. I know the time is near it was somewhere around this time last yr that i noticed it. My bluegill catch has really picked up alot in the shallows but ive tossed em back right away because im afraid they are on the nest. Anyone know when it happens?

yesterday i cought some bluegill in SE PA that where full of eggs. I think that the time is right for them to spawn!

You're farther north than I am, but here in Missouri the first bluegill spawn will be sometimearound the new moon in May. Don't be too afraid of taking some of the spawners because bluegill will spawn once a month from may through july. I'm thinking here it will be about the 25th or 26th.
The males will establish the beds and I'm pretty sure the silly things will tend any bed that happens to be near.....so if you take one, all isn't lost.



GH

Don't worry about catching them. Ma nature ensures that they repopulate to fill the fisheries. If your body of water is large they can't be overfished. I fish Champlain and it seems the more you catch the better they come back and I have been slamming them for over 20 years commercially in the winter.