Removing little pike?

[Stick in Mud]

Hi guys,

I don't specifically target pike all that much, but I do enjoy catching them while bass fishing, and if they are biting better than the largies, I will gladly go after the gators. Now, one question I have is this: On many of the lakes around here (Saint Cloud), the vast majority of the pike are little runts; would it be good for the fishery to remove small fish (by eating them, of course!) so that the population as a whole might benefit? We'll go out sometimes and catch a ton of fish, and a few of which are fairly good sized, but no monsters.

Are there any ethical considerations for keeping small pike when the lake as a whole is full of them?

[Craig Plummer]

If your within your limits I don't see anything wrong with that

[Nick Kuhn]

I would look at the DNR's data for growth rates. If growth is still average or above average, there's no benefit in doing such a thing. That information would imply that there's plenty of forage to support that many pike, it's just all the big ones are getting kept or are going uncaught. If the growth rate is slow or the fish appear unhealthy and skinny then there may be some benefit, as available forage would appear to be the primary cause. The truth is as with any population of any species there will be a log-normal population distribution, meaning more small fish than large fish. You just tend to catch young pike, young fish of other species are harder to catch most of the time.

[Sandmannd]

If you wanna eat a few, knock yourself out. I find them pretty tasty when you make them into fish patties.

[cjac]

carmike,

Thanks for posting in here, I like your thinking of the resource first!

Vahn Titrio hit it well, it depends on the body of water, the key is a balance across the pike pop in terms of size. You can help as one angler of course on a stunted lake, but not as much as can be done with the harvest of larger pike by many on a particular lake. Lots of work is needed from many. That said, if you're up for a few pike to keep, go for it!

[Stick in Mud]

Does making them into fish patties as opposed to just fillets help avoid the Y-bones?

[Sandmannd]

I put them through a meet grinder y bones and all. run it through twice. There is a recipe in the recipe section that has fish cakes. Can't remember everything you put in it. Sugar, corn startch and some seasoning, roll them in crushed corn flakes and fry. Taste awesome and the bones aren't there.

[cjac]

Here's a post with a link on how to fillet pike and remove the Y bones.

Pike cleaning

[Neighbor_guy]

I will, on occation, take 1 or 2 in the 22-24" range home for dinner / the pickle jar. I am alergic to fish bones, so I do Y bone them out and I find a 23 - 24" fish is a good size for me to get all the Y bones out. I really enjoy eating fish but fish with realy fine bones in them ie. crappies, or fatty fish like salmon and the like are out. Pike, for some reason, I can eat.

I do like the fish cakes method. It is fun for my little girl to. But fish with eggs is fanominal to.

Most of my pike fishing is C&R, but taking some home is OK IMO.

[fishcast]

Repeating what some have said but here is some more opinion.

On most any body of water, for most any fishes, harvesting some fish from sizes that are most abundant (generally the smaller fish) should not be bad for a fishery because large numbers of fish in the same size range have more competition and put the most strain on baitfish and so on, and in some cases harvesting fish may be beneficial where the balance of size in the lake is or has been disrupted and stunted fish abound.

The northern pike has a definite tendency to fall easily into the tons of stunted fish category where high numbers of small northern pike are detrimental to the fishery. This is easy to see, usually you will catch a lot of 16-22" northerns and many will have real skinny bodies and heads that look to big for their body (If you see a fish like this I think it might be better for the lake to keep it than let it go).

Unfortunately, like you mentioned this is the case with northern pike in many lakes with lots of natural reproduction and heavy fishing pressure. Too many people look to keep pike over 24" and all that does is keep that many more little pike in the system battling for food and keeping the stunting cap on the lake. People should be releasing those larger northerns so that the size structure is distributed across a larger and consequently healthier range. I also wonder how other fish like walleye that often times eat in the same areas are affected with all the pressure on the baitfish population.

The way I see it if their is a good balance of sizes I wouldn't harvest an over abundance of fish, but if you are catching lots of stunted "snakes" eating a number of the small or stunted fish should help the lake.

[Neighbor_guy]

If the bones for me were not as big an issue, keeping 18-22" hamer handles would be a great idea, but with the bone alergy I have to get every one and they are much easyer for me to locate when they are a litte bit bigger.

[tisosy11]

If i get bones caught in my throat am i allergic?

[Nick Kuhn]

 Originally Posted By: tisosy11

If i get bones caught in my throat am i allergic?

No, it just means y bones are tough to swallow. Things like difficulty breathing, hives, swollen tongue/throat etc would be an allergic reaction.

[candiru]

Just to throw something out there. What about adding 3 under 20 inch "bonus" northerns to the limit. You could catch your usual 3 northerns and then add 3 more if they are under 20" or so. Some incentive to go to the lakes with a bunch of small northerns.

[Fred_Bear]

When i wanna fish a new lake for pike i look for a lake with the 24-36 inch protective slot with one only one over 36. These lakes seem to always give up a few around 30-33. And we always take a few 20-24 inchers home to eat. IMO pike on the grill are second to only lake trout on the menu of fish i catch.

EDIT: A lot of lakes have signs at the access posted by the DNR that say there is an abundance of small pike in the lake so please harvest pike caught under 24". So the DNR defeinitely believes keeping the smaller fish in certain lakes will help it. So if your fishing pike look for these signs when you go out.

[BobT]

I agree with you Fred about pike for dinner. They are good. I have pan-fried pike with walleye and have found people often times prefer the pike. For me, it's a wash. Walleye is a more tender and flaky fish but flavor wise they are both excellent.

I especially like to lay pike fillets on an open charcoal grill. Very hot, no foil or pan, season with season salt, ceyenne, and black pepper or your favorite spice, just a minute or two on each side. Excellent!

Bob

[BigWadeS]

If anyone in the metro ever wants a hand catching and keeping hammer handles let me know...they are so tasty, so many ways to make them.

[Hammer Handle]

If done right, the Y-bones can be taken out easily and the filet will remain in one large piece.

[glenn57]

what does everyone do with the y bone? i pickle them, im hoping it doesnt get wasted.

[BigWadeS]

when I fillet my northern the strip off of the "Y" bones I usually discard, don't think there is enough meat there to save to pickle, but if I am making a batch to pickle I just fillet and skin and chunk them up bones and all

[glenn57]

i agree, iwill pickle the whole fish when its smaller. i dont y bone a fish until its about 4lbs then theres enough met to do it. i like the 2-3 lbers to smoke. nummy.

[BigWadeS]

I have heard this before too about them being smoked, I really need to try smoking them on my charcoal smoker this summer, what kind of wood do you use?

[PDXFisher]

 Originally Posted By: BigWadeS

I have heard this before too about them being smoked, I really need to try smoking them on my charcoal smoker this summer, what kind of wood do you use?

Alder, apple, cherry would all be good.

[glenn57]

i get my smoking chips at menards. i prefer hickory. soak them in water. i also bake them in the oven at 250 degrees for about 45 minutes to an hour then smoke them. it cooke the fish quicker.

[Stick in Mud]

I always just let the Y-bones go swimming back in the lake, but all this talk of good eatin' is going to make me keep a few little guys this year. Lord knows I catch enough of the slimers! And I gotta get them back for stealing all of my expensive lures over the years!!

Speaking of which, what happens to the fish when it bites of one of my Rapalas? The fish does have a mouth/gullet full of three treble hooks...is it a dead fishy?