Can you "overfish" panfish?

[bentduck]

Question... Is it possible to overfish a small lake (18 acres) for bluegills and crappies? The lake produces nice catches of both species and they average well above the state average. Their are big bass and pike in there too. The lake does not get much pressure but the guys who fish it usually do very well. The lake might see 10 -12 fisherman on the weekends and it's possible to limit out each day. I only keep what I intend to fry up that day but most others keep their limit.

ANY INPUT WOULD BE APPRECIATED. :)

[trout]

10 fishermen would be 1.8 acres per angler.

I have seen small ponds wiped out of larger fish leaving only the smaller ones to be commonly caught.
They never seem to catch all the Whoopers but it does become apparent that the fishing isn't what it was.

That being said, 4-5 years later the fishing might improve on those same waters.

One pond in paticular was known for 10"-12" perch, but I fished it atwo years ago and caught only stunted bluegil.

[Connor4501]

Selective harvest...;)

[Big Shooter]

Houghton lake is a prime example. They killed off the weeds, exposing the fish and taking away the cover. For three years it was limits of everything you fished for, summer or winter.No lake, large or small can take that kind of pressure imho. Good fishin!

[moreychuck]

Houghton lake is a prime example. They killed off the weeds, exposing the fish and taking away the cover

one of my panfish lakes CHANGED no weeds no food for the little guys had nothing to do with overfishing if fish people had it together they would take the smaller males home for the pan and let the big females go to breed. the fishing pressure would drop off long before it could be overfished take home what you want to eat and dont have any guilt over eating panfih

[Cobra]

Easily, especially good small waters. Made the mistake here 5-6 years ago and mentioned a hot bite for big panfish on a 20 acre lake. Next morning there were over 25 people fishing when there's usually no more than 6-7. Wiped them out over a weekend and the lake hasn't been the same since. Need to beware, majority of people visiting any site are lurkers looking for info to exploit. They don't care about wiping out your place, they'll just go elsewhere next time and wreck it as well.

[steve myers]

Know of a few lakes wiped out by some slob fishermen that would fish 2 or 3 times a day with their limit til they wouldn't catch anymore.Guess what those same lakes now have very small fish in them.Very small lakes you have to watch what you catch and not overfish.

[muddman55]

a friend of mine took me to a private lake he had been fishing for years, he is one of those guys that thinks private means no limit. now he complains because he cant get the 5 gallon buckets [as in 2 or 3] of nice perch he used to get. go figure.