Spearing Northern Pike

[Pygmy]

Chuck....Very interesting...I'll have to give that a try next time I catch some pickerel or small pike...

Bone structure/location is identical in pike and pickerel...Just that with pike the bones are a little larger, so they are somewhat easier to deal with...

[Knightia]

Very nice, good job.



(Ihave to agree i love eating them, in spite of there Y bones)

[Phil from Maine]

Congrats to you catching those pike with a spear!!

Here with chain pickeral we take and fillet them out. Then we take a knife and make diagnal cuts into it prior to skinning. We cut them so that the cuts will cross each other roughly a quarter of an inch apart. We also stop just short of reaching the skin and you can feel the bone crunching under the knife. Then skin it and cook it anyway we like. It is just so much work to them that I only will keep a coupl each year if i decide to keep any at all..

[Chuck7]

Sorry for the late reply Pigmy..I just saw your post..

When I worked as a maintenance man in Washington DC I met an excellent cook who told me how to fix boney fish such as pickeral and shad..so I went to a pond that ran off of the Potomac river right in front of the Jefferson Memorial in D.C. and snatched about 6 shad..I had also caiught some chain pickeral in VA .on a spinner bait..Rooster Tail...Floridaians call them Jacks..The meat in these 2 fish are VERY GOOD and sweet. the bones are like hair..unreal..I simply baked the fish whole putting aboty a tablespoon of vinegar in the chess cavity and wrapping in foil..It's been about 25 years but I beleive the oven was set very low and for a long time..like 250 or 275...for about 5 hours..the vinegr made the bones similiar to sardinr bones..the meat was EXCELLENT.

[Pygmy]

Thanks, Chuck...next decent sized pickerel I catch, I'll give that a try...

[Chuck7]

yes sir..I know it was a low heat because I left my oven on all day..diffently no hotter than 250.