# Anyone target pike and eat them this time of year?



## sgc (Oct 21, 2007)

Just curious.


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## upmounty (Sep 26, 2007)

with the water temps falling, they would be really tasty i think


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## sgc (Oct 21, 2007)

upmounty said:


> with the water temps falling, they would be really tasty i think


Thats what i was thinking.


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## Martin Looker (Jul 16, 2015)

I will take all of that I can catch


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## PunyTrout (Mar 23, 2007)

A friend who works as a chef did a blind taste test using walleye and pike that were both prepared identically. The pike won the taste test with those who didn't know which was which.

I like pike as table fare. But I have to admit that I've only kept them when fishing in some of the provincial parks in Canada that I have visited. And as the saying goes, hunger make the best sauce.


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## Martin Looker (Jul 16, 2015)

I like the taste of the pike from the Keweenaw the best.


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## hhlhoward (Mar 1, 2012)

The colder the water the better they taste!


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## phawksmulder (Aug 20, 2020)

If prepped right, warm water pike can be good as well. I've definitely had them before where they were rapidly brought to shore, cleaned, and cooked and the unpleasant flavors that can develop were non-existent in that case. Most of the odd flavors that they get when fished warm sound in line with what develops in many over-stressed fish. I've also heard they are prone to much more rapid muscle breakdown and acid buildup than other species.

*Had a link to a Vox article/video on the practice of Ikejime that's been found to be beneficial here, but it's blocking me from posting the link saying it's somehow "inappropriate." If anyone's interested, feel free to PM me and I can provide the link. Searching "Vox Ikejime" is sure to bring it up as well.

I've tried this with other fish and noticed improvements. Worst case, it's an interesting watch with some scientific basis. I'm suspicious that the better taste to cold water pike has more to do with the temperature they are harvested at. Most people I know only take them through the ice, in which case they are frozen fairly quickly before spending much time stressed. Summer tends more to the live well side.


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## mbirdsley (Jan 12, 2012)

I actually think pike is one of the best inland/warm water fish thier is. I’ve eaten them out of the maple middle of summer and they are still good. Lucky for them and other species my wife hates fish. I like fish but, 2 meals a month and I’ve had my fill. So there is no point in keeping fish. 


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## TroutFishingBear (Aug 31, 2007)

Pike are one of the better fish to eat. I haven't kept a pike in like 8 years, though.

Y bones make the smaller ones a pain to filet and keep in tact. Keep one about 27-28" for best results if you want to filet.

I have always wanted to just grind up the pike tho, mix with bread crumbs, onion, chives, etc., and make pike cakes, y-bones be damned. Anybody ever done that?


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## Fordguy (Dec 18, 2017)

TroutFishingBear said:


> Pike are one of the better fish to eat. I haven't kept a pike in like 8 years, though.
> 
> Y bones make the smaller ones a pain to filet and keep in tact. Keep one about 27-28" for best results if you want to filet.
> 
> I have always wanted to just grind up the pike tho, mix with bread crumbs, onion, chives, etc., and make pike cakes, y-bones be damned. Anybody ever done that?


Not exactly, but I have canned fish with y bones and made fish cakes. The only difference is that your canned cooked fish will last a looooong time and never end up with freezer burn. I've pickled pike and that was good also. The y-bones dissolve or soften so much in the vinegar that they arent noticeable.


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## Fordguy (Dec 18, 2017)

I've never stressed too much about the bones in pike fillets. I like to lightly season them and cook them in butter. When the fillets cook they shrink and the bone tips poke through, its easy to pluck them out before eating. I guess that depends on how you cut your fillets too. I have seen a boneless fillet method for pike. I didn't like it though. The guy I watched wasted some meat and I like to use every little bit.
I also made a pike into fish jerky once. It was surprisingly decent. Soy sauce and pineapple juice marinade for the jerky.


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## sgc (Oct 21, 2007)

Fordguy said:


> I've never stressed too much about the bones in pike fillets. I like to lightly season them and cook them in butter. When the fillets cook they shrink and the bone tips poke through, its easy to pluck them out before eating. I guess that depends on how you cut your fillets too. I have seen a boneless fillet method for pike. I didn't like it though. The guy I watched wasted some meat and I like to use every little bit.
> I also made a pike into fish jerky once. It was surprisingly decent. Soy sauce and pineapple juice marinade for the jerky.


Is that the method where you take a fillet off the top of the pike first, just skimmimg across the top of the y bones?


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## Fordguy (Dec 18, 2017)

sgc said:


> Is that the method where you take a fillet off the top of the pike first, just skimmimg across the top of the y bones?


Yes, that's one of the steps. Its been a while since I've watched someone do it that way though. I'm sure youtube has a video- I should probably watch it, but I don't use that method.


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## hhlhoward (Mar 1, 2012)

There's a few different ways to do it. When I do it all I get is a little strip with y bones and a beautiful fillet

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## Curt (Jan 5, 2011)

hhlhoward said:


> There's a few different ways to do it. When I do it all I get is a little strip with y bones and a beautiful fillet
> 
> Sent from my moto z4 using Michigan Sportsman mobile app


I suspect that I do it approximately the same as hhl. I could show someone how to do it but it's difficult to explain. My suggestion is to fillet the fish as you would any other and remove the skin. Then go into the fillet with a slender knife and poke around until you can see exactly how that row of Y-bones lies. Then it's a matter of cutting up one side and down the other. With practice there is very little waste. There will be a small amount of meat left between the two small forks. I usually don't bother with that on a small fish.


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## hhlhoward (Mar 1, 2012)

Curt said:


> I suspect that I do it approximately the same as hhl. I could show someone how to do it but it's difficult to explain. My suggestion is to fillet the fish as you would any other and remove the skin. Then go into the fillet with a slender knife and poke around until you can see exactly how that row of Y-bones lies. Then it's a matter of cutting up one side and down the other. With practice there is very little waste. There will be a small amount of meat left between the two small forks. I usually don't bother with that on a small fish.


That's exactly how I do it. After a couple fish it's the only way you will ever take them out.


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## Martin Looker (Jul 16, 2015)

I use a pair of forceps to pull the bones out. It takes longer but why rush.


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## jashroomer (Sep 8, 2020)

https://external-ort2-1.xx.fbcdn.ne..._publisher&_nc_cb=1&_nc_hash=AQBk6gmV_KI4UqKJ 
If this works, this should be a link to a boneless pike fillet video.


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## jashroomer (Sep 8, 2020)

Ok, maybe this.


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## Fordguy (Dec 18, 2017)

All this talk of pike fillets is making me want to go fishing... I used to fish Eight Point lake in Claire county at night when I was a kid. I'd fish with small live bluegill or cutbait. In addition to setting a lake record for dogfish, I caught a bunch of good sized pike and the biggest yellow perch I've ever seen. Gosh those pike were good eating.


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## phawksmulder (Aug 20, 2020)

jashroomer said:


> Ok, maybe this.


That's one way I've seen. I've meant to try it as it does seem to give evenly sized fillets which would be nice for cooking. He did leave a chunk of meat from the other side of the y-bones, although that's likely quite a small piece.

I've also seen people attack these like trout. Cut the fillet off like any other fillet and then follow along the bones to just pull them out of the full fillet with the small chunk of meat between the fork. I've heard of this being called a "zipper" technique more than once although I don't know why. It definitely appears more challenging than the version from the above video but will get you a slightly greater yield from the fish than what was shown. (nothing says you couldn't go back in and go for that last piece of meat left in the video though.


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## Robert Holmes (Oct 13, 2008)

Filleted and seasoned right then pan fried golden pike are as good as burbot another fish that people question.


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## Quig7557 (Dec 31, 2008)

Posted in the trout stream forum. I kill every pike I catch in trout water. I’ll eat them if they have any size to them. Otherwise on the bank for the *****!


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## hhlhoward (Mar 1, 2012)

Quig7557 said:


> Posted in the trout stream forum. I kill every pike I catch in trout water. I’ll eat them if they have any size to them. Otherwise on the bank for the *****!


It's people like you that have no respect for a resource and kill off resources just to accommodate your selfish ways. I have no respect for people like that because they have no respect for resources.


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## deagansdad1 (Jan 27, 2021)

#pikelivesmatter lol

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## Curt (Jan 5, 2011)

hhlhoward said:


> It's people like you that have no respect for a resource and kill off resources just to accommodate your selfish ways. I have no respect for people like that because they have no respect for resources.


My thoughts exactly!!!!!!!


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## Quig7557 (Dec 31, 2008)

That’s cool, pike in a trout stream, likely from someone’s ill advised pond.


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## hhlhoward (Mar 1, 2012)

Hmmm pike living in a stream. They must have adapted from living in farm fields. I didn't realize only one species of fish live in a body of water.

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## boomer_x7 (Dec 19, 2008)

Quig7557 said:


> That’s cool, pike in a trout stream, likely from someone’s ill advised pond.


Right, because pike are a new species to michigan... unlike browns and rainbows that were in the rivers even before the dams were put in place


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## Quig7557 (Dec 31, 2008)

There’s nothing more rewarding when fishing for brook trout than catching a pike. More rewarding when cutting its head off were the two 11” brook trout that fell out. Pike for breakfast, hell yes.

Hammer handle pike, hardly enough of those around are there.


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## hhlhoward (Mar 1, 2012)

You need some lessons in resource management and being a sportsmen. A sportsmen you are not. Sportsmen don't kill something to just kill it. 

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## Quig7557 (Dec 31, 2008)

Right, you like fishing stunted lakes?


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## hhlhoward (Mar 1, 2012)

I don't abuse resources. There's no excuse for abusing a resource. Lakes and rivers that have issues should be reported to the DNR so they can be sampled. That's how regulations get changed for that specific body of water. It happens every year. There is no reason to abuse a resource. Being responsible is working with the DNR to address the issue. 

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## deagansdad1 (Jan 27, 2021)

I recently discovered how delicious pike are. Not to poke the bear here but way better eating than trout. I get the draw to trout fishing with the beauty of the river and the fish and all that but would rather eat pike all day long. I bet they would be delicious out of a stream with all the cold water and trout diet they have

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## hhlhoward (Mar 1, 2012)

deagansdad1 said:


> I recently discovered how delicious pike are. Not to poke the bear here but way better eating than trout. I get the draw to trout fishing with the beauty of the river and the fish and all that but would rather eat pike all day long. I bet they would be delicious out of a stream with all the cold water and trout diet they have
> 
> Sent from my SM-A716U using Tapatalk


Pike are fantastic eating! I would take pike all day over walleye even because they have more flavor. Walleye is good don't get me wrong but pike have a better flavor to me. And now that I can do boneless fillets that just makes it more appealing. If you ever get a chance to fish any of the lakes where there isn't a size limit you have to eat some smaller ones. I can't tell you how good they are and half the time the bones just cook up because they are so small.


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## sgc (Oct 21, 2007)

deagansdad1 said:


> Not to poke the bear here but way better eating than trout.
> 
> Sent from my SM-A716U using Tapatalk


What I was thinking. Trout are pretty fishy tasting.


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## Gordon Casey (Jun 13, 2017)

hhlhoward said:


> It's people like you that have no respect for a resource and kill off resources just to accommodate your selfish ways. I have no respect for people like that because they have no respect for resources.


I would not consider him a sportsman. He is not a caretaker of our resource. Let the raccoon catch his own food.


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## Quig7557 (Dec 31, 2008)

Nothing better than a pike in the headwaters of the Fox river.


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## Robert Holmes (Oct 13, 2008)

Ice them down and clean them right away then keep the fillets cold or frozen is the best way to have good eating pike.


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## Fishndude (Feb 22, 2003)

I've seen, and caught Pike in quite a few streams/rivers that have Trout. The Little Man gets quite a nice run of Pike when the Steelhead are spawning in Spring. I sometimes fish a creek that comes out of Ausable Lake, and drains into the Ausable River. It has decent numbers of small Brookies, a few Browns, and some Pike. It is always exhilarating to be tossing a small spinner for Trout, and have a 25" Pike come flying out of an undercut bank to hit it.


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## Ralph Smith (Apr 1, 2003)

Quig7557 said:


> Posted in the trout stream forum. I kill every pike I catch in trout water. I’ll eat them if they have any size to them. Otherwise on the bank for the *****!


Hopefully the DNR visit and fine you for admittingly breaking the law. Maybe I should start using brook trout for bait (legal caught ones of course). 😆🤣
As far as cleaning pike goes, I've tried every method there is for the 50 years I've been catching,cleaning and eating them. That "five fillet" method is a waste of meat and more work than this. Which is best way imo. I'm not nearly as fast and don't try to be.. 😆


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## Gordon Casey (Jun 13, 2017)

Ralph Smith said:


> Hopefully the DNR visit and fine you for admittingly breaking the law. Maybe I should start using brook trout for bait (legal caught ones of course). 😆🤣
> As far as cleaning pike goes, I've tried every method there is for the 50 years I've been catching,cleaning and eating them. That "five fillet" method is a waste of meat and more work than this. Which is best way imo. I'm not nearly as fast and don't try to be.. 😆


I return every fish I catch that I don't keep. One exception, threw all the gobies we caught on the Tawas dock into barrels provided by the DNR. Apparently they thought we could eliminate them by catching and not returning. Today we know the goby is a delicacy for a lot of sport fish.


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## Ralph Smith (Apr 1, 2003)

Gordon Casey said:


> I return every fish I catch that I don't keep. One exception, threw all the gobies we caught on the Tawas dock into barrels provided by the DNR. Apparently they thought we could eliminate them by catching and not returning. Today we know the goby is a delicacy for a lot of sport fish.


I'll be Goby fishing at Tawas this fall around whitefish time....they make great bait for lakers and burbot. 😉


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## motoscoota (Mar 9, 2021)

Ralph Smith said:


> Hopefully the DNR visit and fine you for admittingly breaking the law. Maybe I should start using brook trout for bait (legal caught ones of course). 😆🤣
> As far as cleaning pike goes, I've tried every method there is for the 50 years I've been catching,cleaning and eating them. That "five fillet" method is a waste of meat and more work than this. Which is best way imo. I'm not nearly as fast and don't try to be.. 😆


Thank you for posting this video! Complete game-changer for me

I only learned the way from The Joy of Cooking which never seemed like it was written by a knife & fish type person. Though the mammal cutting sections are pretty good

Been thinking of pickling pike a lot - got to go catch one first tho I used to kill it throwing a cast net for herring in the SF bay. Pickled lots of herring, and developed a taste for it. A pickled herring Bahn Mi sandwich with liverworst is amazing!

What do you do with the cut-offs from a pike?... anyone make soup stock, cook the heads, etc.?

I could see the cut-offs being good for baiting crawdad traps too - anyone try that?


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## Ralph Smith (Apr 1, 2003)

motoscoota said:


> What do you do with the cut-offs from a pike?... anyone make soup stock, cook the heads, etc.? I could see the cut-offs being good for baiting crawdad traps too - anyone try that?


Saving them for crayfish bait is a great idea! 😀 I'll start doing that with the zippers from walleye too and see if it works..... I know if you could get enough, you could pickle or can the y bones from pike. They'll dissolve real easy....one thing I do differently than that video that saves on step is I cut my sections as I skin. In other words make the appropriate cut down to the skin then skin that piece off. Makes skinning easier with a large fillet. I'll do it with salmon also, skinning half or 3rds at a time. 😉


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## sgc (Oct 21, 2007)

Do you bleed them out at all.


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## Ralph Smith (Apr 1, 2003)

sgc said:


> Do you bleed them out at all.


I don't if in a boat. Onshore with a stringer I would.


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## whiteymalone (Apr 11, 2021)

Pike are excellent table fare at all times of the open season. Keeping them on ice is key for best results. I have to respectfully disagree with the video of the five fillet method as the best way to fillet a pike. I've used used the method attached side by side with people that were convinced the five fillet method is king. They end up with five random size pieces and waste left on the carcass. Then they see my two fully intact boneless fillets and a bare carcass they all changed their minds. I don't use an electric knife like the guy in the video, but do everything else just like he shows. IMO his method is the best way to fillet a pike.


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## Ralph Smith (Apr 1, 2003)

whiteymalone said:


> Pike are excellent table at all times of the open season. Keeping them on ice is key for best results. I have to respectfully disagree with the video of the five fillet method as the best way to fillet a pike. I've used used the method attached side by side with people that were convinced the five fillet method is king. They end up with five random size pieces and waste left on the carcass. Then they see my two fully intact boneless fillets and a bare carcass they all changed their minds. I don't use an electric knife like the guy in the video, but do everything else just like he shows. IMO his method is the best way to fillet a pike.


Same as the one I posted for the most part. I used to do it that way for years, but since I cut it up anyway, its easier to take out the ybones after cutting into sections.


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## whiteymalone (Apr 11, 2021)

I like to cut the boneless fillet from back to belly in 1.5" strips then boil in 7UP for a shrimp cocktail like appetizer. Bring the 7UP to a boil, add pike, as soon as it comes back to a boil immediately drain and put in ice water for at least twenty minutes. Lots of horseradish in the cocktail sauce of course.


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## Ralph Smith (Apr 1, 2003)

I'll fry it with walleye and those who don't know the difference usually prefer the pike. 😀


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## frenchriver1 (Jul 5, 2005)

Just cut them like steaks and pick away..


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