# What is a good eating size for pike?



## Bassman Dan (May 26, 2006)

When it comes to pike, what is a good eating size? I catch and release probably 90-95 percent of all fish I catch but I really enjoy eating pike once in a while. I was wondering what is the best size for eating? Is 30inches too large? The pike I have kept in the past were around 26-28inches in length. I will be traveling up north to Grand Marais in a couple weeks to meet up with my wife and in-laws, who will have already been there for a week, and I would like to bring a pike or two up with me along with maybe some panfish for a BBQ. They really like fish so I figured, being the nice guy that I am, the least I could do is find time to do a little fishing for them on the way up.:coolgleam So, if there are any northern pike connoisseurs out there, please let me know what you think. Thanks in advance.


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## sea nympho (Aug 7, 2006)

24"-25" for me. 30's don't eat the same.


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## dtg (Jun 5, 2003)

My rule of thumb is they need to be about 28-30" closer to 30" for me to keep them to eat. That way, the Y bones are big enough to feel and cut out for some REALLY good eating. My 5 yr old daughter caught her first pike a few weeks ago and it was about 28" and she wanted to keep it, but I really didn't feel like filleting it, so it went back into the lake. An hour or so later, we fished that spot again and she picked out a gold black rapala HJ and we caught a nice 24" Walleye in almost the same spot. She asked, "Can we keep that one daddy?" and I said YOU BETCHA, these are good eatin and easier to fillet.

We used to keep the 24-26" and just cut them up and fry them, but personally, it's hard to really enjoy eating them while worrying about swallowing those darn y bones and spitting out a few bones with every bite. Pike is excellent tablefare, I rank it up there under Walleye. If it didn't have so many darn bones, I think you'd find a lot more people eating them.


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## Bassman Dan (May 26, 2006)

dtg said:


> We used to keep the 24-26" and just cut them up and fry them, but personally, it's hard to really enjoy eating them while worrying about swallowing those darn y bones and spitting out a few bones with every bite. Pike is excellent tablefare, I rank it up there under Walleye. If it didn't have so many darn bones, I think you'd find a lot more people eating them.


I agree with it being excellent table fare and I do know how cut the y-bones out so that won't be a problem.


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## Michigan Mike (May 21, 2004)

28 inch minumum up to around 36 inch are the ones I prefer.

Mike


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## twohats (Oct 1, 2004)

Pike is near the top of the list for me . I like them around 30" .But I also have kept fish up to 38" to eat. Cant realy put them back if you spear them  . Wish it was January. Anyways, They all taste great to me. Grilled with butter and a lemon squized over it toped with montreal steak seasening.:corkysm55


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## dtg (Jun 5, 2003)

twohats said:


> Pike is near the top of the list for me . I like them around 30" .But I also have kept fish up to 38" to eat. Cant realy put them back if you spear them  . Wish it was January. Anyways, They all taste great to me. Grilled with butter and a lemon squized over it toped with montreal steak seasening.:corkysm55


Doesn't that Montreal seasoning get a little gritty on something like fish? Almost like you left a little sand on the fillet? I've been using it on Pork, chicken and steak for years now, but never thought to put it on fish. I've never grilled pike either, that's something I need to try out. I love Walleye and Pike baked with lemon and butter in the oven, the grill would give it a nice different flavor. Add some asparagus on the grill and douse that with lemon as well, goes good with fish.


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## Bassman Dan (May 26, 2006)

Pan fried naked in butter with some seasoning salt or grilled is the way I do almost all my fish.


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## deathfromabove (Mar 2, 2005)

go boneless........

takes a little time.... but you can filet the ybones out of the fillet.....


I hate telling people that because then they will start keeping pike and let all those damn dawgs go...:lol:


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## yungbuck616 (Nov 20, 2005)

I never keep any under '30 because even if they do taste better they aren't grown in my mind. I like to see the pike population and size in the lakes that I fish grow. Thats the only way we have been able to produce ones over '40 inches.


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## Crazy Bird Hunter (Jun 23, 2005)

Bassman, I agree with you on 26"-28". Those are the size we keep when we are pike fishing. When they get over 30" I like to put em back and let them keep growing.


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## n.pike (Aug 23, 2002)

28" max for us to eat them. Bigger than that tend to lose the sweetness that make pike the best fish to eat. My family prefers them over walleye. Pan fried with a light batter.


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## duckman#1 (Sep 22, 2002)

I like to keep them in the 25 7/8" - 27 3/16" range for eating :lol: 
Theres some videos on pike filletting on Youtube if your looking for ideas.


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## dtg (Jun 5, 2003)

I've been told that pike over 26" are typically female and the breeders for future populations. I also heard that a pike that is 40" or so, takes up to 20 years to get that big and is most defiantley female and breeding future populations.

I wouldn't know what a 30" pike tastes like, I've never caught one over 28". Which is unbelievable because I've been fishing for them in Canada for 10 years and only caught a bunch of hammerhandles and the occasional 26-28"er. It probably has to do with HOW I fish for them and have no idea how to go after the monsters, although I know quite a few of those bigun's come from ice fishing.


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## Bassman Dan (May 26, 2006)

Sounds like 28 is the magic number. That's the number I have always used to gauge them by. I've caught pike over 30-inches but never wanted to keep something that size. Most of the pike populations in the lakes I fish consist of mainly pike in the 20-26" catagory so I have never seen a reason to keep a nothern over 30-inches. I keep very few pike and the ones I do keep are from lakes with a good number of northerns. Looks like I will stick with pike around 26-28" for eats and let the bigger females go like I have in the past. Thanks for the help guys.


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## Ugly Stick (Mar 25, 2004)

24" -28" Anything bigger than that goes back in the water. 30" + Pike are usually females let em spawn again. Oh and Pike are better eaten than Walleyes


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## Oldgrandman (Nov 16, 2004)

A guy I work with saysthe bigger they are the better they are, and he prefers them to walleye too. They have a flavor that is unique I must admit, I prefer walleye or perch though. To each his own... _BTW this same guy said musky are even better than pike._


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## twohats (Oct 1, 2004)

dtg said:


> Doesn't that Montreal seasoning get a little gritty on something like fish? Almost like you left a little sand on the fillet? I've been using it on Pork, chicken and steak for years now, but never thought to put it on fish. I've never grilled pike either, that's something I need to try out. I love Walleye and Pike baked with lemon and butter in the oven, the grill would give it a nice different flavor. Add some asparagus on the grill and douse that with lemon as well, goes good with fish.


 Maybe a little gritty but no different then on a steak or chop. Just the other day I grilled up some talpia (spelling might be off) the same way and it was excellent.The kids loved it and asked if we had more.


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## FishDaddy09 (Dec 11, 2004)

While ice fishing I see a lot of guy's keeping the barely legal pike,( if you have to measure it it's to small to keep) I know that some guy's pickle the small ones, I never thought that a pike had enough meat on it to make it worth cleaning until they were at least 27"- 28", till they get that big it would be like cleaning a snake!


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