To Clean the Northern Pike:

[Guest]

Take the Pike and lay it on its belly. Make a cut straight down until you feel the backbone. Turn your knife 90 degrees and cut along the backbone towards the tail, and cut the piece off when you get to the first fin. (That's a nice piece of meat)

Now you can see the y-bones along both sides of the back bone, and you can fillet around them, down around the rib cage and have yourself a nice couple of boneless fillets to fry in the frying pan and put in a submarine style bun with some mayo and cheese.....And don't forget the hashbrown potatoes man....!

I like this method for cleaning the ole' "chewys" when I catch them.
Give it a try.
PCG

[Guest]

Chances are, if you don't have a pike to clean by now, you won't have one to clean until May.
Happy Panfishing.
PCG

[Piker]

You're making my mouth water! Have to go to LOW and keep a hammer handle or two. I saw that technique in a book I have. It looks really cool. I've never tried it, It looks like it would work perfectly on those 2lb pike. The book I saw I think is the same, cut straight down right behind the head then go back to the fin. Next follow the Y's down and make two more fillets, but the book I saw had the tail as two different fillets so you have 5 fillets total. All boneless. Now, but, in the regs I beleive it says the a fish may only be filleted as two fillets, so if that's true then legally you would have to fillet at home. Might want to check that one out, I don't know if it's enforced or not, but I think I'm right about that rule. Good topic.

[guideman]

Hey Piker,
You are correct about the regs, two
filets with a patch of skin on each.
The best thing to do is gut the fish
and filet them when you get home.

You never know, the "man", may be watching.

------------------
Terry Sjoberg
Ace guide service.
Beautiful Lake Vermilion.
www.aceguideservice.com