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  #31  
Old 01-18-2016, 01:21 PM
Bowhntr4life Bowhntr4life is offline
 
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Pike are absolutely delicious. Not sure why everyone complains about bones because it's never really been a problem when I fillet them. I only eat a few each year, but next to walleye, I'll have pike over any other fish.

Fun to catch, slimy when cleaning, but well worth the effort. I choose wisely what lakes I eat my pike out of and 5-7 lb range are the most tasty in my opinion. Pike caught out of clean, cold lakes are hard to beat!

For all you pike haters out there... To each their own. Please throw back every pike you ever catch. More fish for me to catch and if the conditions are right, it's going home to my frying pan!
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  #32  
Old 01-18-2016, 01:49 PM
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Originally Posted by DOGFISH View Post
X2 - I Prefer the second method of deboning. I have been deboning Pike since we flew into Gypsy Lake back in the nineties. The camp cook would clean our catch before he prepared it and I would help him and observed his techniques and improved on a few. Now I always seem to be the one cleaning fish but do not mind. I like the feel of a sharp knife gliding through flesh and seeing how symmetrical and neat I can make the fillets. I call it the tenderloin but the two back pieces off the top are my choice cuts for frying. The only suggestion I would make to anyone trying this is after the guy in the video takes the skin off he tosses the fillet on the slime of the cutting board. I take the skin off and lift the fillet onto a clean piece of paper or into a bowl with ice cold water which protects your fillets from any fishy taste. I have had small audiences around the Filleting table and I am more than happy to show others how to do it. Pikestriker is a master at boneless pike but uses the first method. Do not be scared to try these methods the worst that can happen is some messed up fillets the first time but you will improve with time.
OK Dogfish - you are invited to fish with us anytime. I don't enjoy cleaning fish as much as I like to eat them.

At Winefred lake this young guy (this fall) cleaned up the two eater pike we brought in and did an amazing job. Although TrophyPikeHunter and I know how to clean fish well - this kid was amazing. It takes us 5-7 minutes per fish but this kid did it in 2 min a fish at the most and with zero waste and zero cuts into the boneless fillets.

He used the top loin off the back method and did it quickly, cleanly, and with little waste. His knife was razor sharp and his confidence with the knife was something cool to watch. The other thing that was amazing is there wasn't a drop of blood on the board and he skinned and moved the fillets to a clean area as you described.

It's a pleasure to watch someone with that much skill for sure.
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  #33  
Old 01-18-2016, 03:08 PM
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Originally Posted by EZM View Post
OK Dogfish - you are invited to fish with us anytime. I don't enjoy cleaning fish as much as I like to eat them.

At Winefred lake this young guy (this fall) cleaned up the two eater pike we brought in and did an amazing job. Although TrophyPikeHunter and I know how to clean fish well - this kid was amazing. It takes us 5-7 minutes per fish but this kid did it in 2 min a fish at the most and with zero waste and zero cuts into the boneless fillets.

He used the top loin off the back method and did it quickly, cleanly, and with little waste. His knife was razor sharp and his confidence with the knife was something cool to watch. The other thing that was amazing is there wasn't a drop of blood on the board and he skinned and moved the fillets to a clean area as you described.

It's a pleasure to watch someone with that much skill for sure.
I find the back method like in the video you posted seems to waster more meat. Hence I like the first method.

Here are my favorite vids and like you said it truly is amazing to watch guys like this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBFrQ5KMIs8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyoK7-8zf8I
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  #34  
Old 01-18-2016, 03:11 PM
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I've got nothing personally against pike. I've just been inept at filleting them without a million bones, don't want to waste them, so don't purposely go out to catch them.
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In this case Oki has cut to to the exact heart of the matter!
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  #35  
Old 01-18-2016, 04:04 PM
Sooner Sooner is offline
 
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My uncle could whip up a batch of pan fried pike in batter, fresh from the lake and it was soooo good. Nothing wrong with a pike from a good cold lake.
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  #36  
Old 01-18-2016, 06:26 PM
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DOGFISH DOGFISH is offline
 
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Default Pike haters

"OK Dogfish - you are invited to fish with us anytime. I don't enjoy cleaning fish as much as I like to eat them". EZM

You bet EZM, fresh caught and properly prepared fish is tough to beat.
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  #37  
Old 01-18-2016, 06:59 PM
Newellknik Newellknik is offline
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Default Pickled breaded pike balls ....

If you ever had breaded fish balls , a Chinese delicacy, you would
Never put a pike back. It's a Winnipeg thing like canned sucker .
I have no idea how they are made , I would give the guy pike
And he would bring these pike balls that his wife made .
Maybe our resident epicurean knows how to make these .
O 50 .
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  #38  
Old 01-18-2016, 07:02 PM
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Red Bullets Red Bullets is offline
 
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Originally Posted by Redfrog View Post
No reason to eat a pike. Release them all. Costco sells fish if you must eat fish.
If god didn't want us to eat pike he wouldn't have made them out of meat.
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  #39  
Old 01-18-2016, 08:55 PM
SNAPFisher SNAPFisher is offline
 
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Originally Posted by EZM View Post
I think most of the people who hate eating pike either kept and tried one caught out of warm water in the summer months and then dragged the carcass around on the stringer all day or put the carcass in a hot black garbage bag before cleaning it.

The other half of the haters don't know how to properly de-bone or care for it after you catch it.

If everyone caught a pike, bled it right away and immediately put it on ice then cleaned it properly - there would be no issue.

I think the key is to get a pike large enough to clean (4lbs-7lbs) is perfect. The bigger ones are left to swim and breed for another day.

I agree with anther contributor - 9/10 people who I serve pike and walleye too will choose the pike as the better tasting fish.

Too bad for them - more for me to eat.

added a video on how to clean and debone pike properly .... I like the top fillet off method myself ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CkWA9g_q5g
What he said
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  #40  
Old 01-18-2016, 10:33 PM
elkonthemind elkonthemind is offline
 
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Grew up catching pike all the time so for me know I just don't get the excitement adrenaline from pike. I do agree they do taste good but just out of cold water is where I would eat them. My favorite fish to chase is lakers nothing like a good size laker on the line those fish have power. When I was at Reindeer lake last 2 years all of our native guides preferred pike over all other fish but up there meat on them is solid white cause of cold water. but we did manage to real in some monster 50 inch plus pike up there and that was entertaining but still prefer a fish u got to out smart rather then fish that will bite anything that moves.
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  #41  
Old 01-18-2016, 11:38 PM
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KegRiver KegRiver is offline
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I have to admit I'm not picky when it comes to food, especially wild food. Berries, game birds, big and small game. I've eaten thing most would not think of eating, and liked it. a lot.

You haven't lived till you've eaten beaver and I mean the buck toothed variety. Or Goldeye, or Blackbirds, or chub, or Red Squirrel.

But I should also own up to catching pike I found less then good table fare.
I've only had problems with fish I caught down south, in warm water.

For whatever reason, even in the warm months, the Pike up here taste good all year round and those I've caught in the NWT were every bit as good as the best fish I've eaten from any source.

As someone here said, they would fool anyone in a blind taste test against the best Walleye, and in my books Walleye are the best eating fish in the world. I'd take them over a Salmon or a Trout any day of the week.

But the pike are close even in warm water up here and they offer so much more opportunity and so much more sport, they beat Walleye in every way except as table fare, and as I said, those I've eaten from NWT waters were a match for Walleye in that department too.

Unfortunately, the NWT fishery is not worth it these days. We spent a week up there this fall and the Goobermunt has reduced the limit to one of each species, day and possession limits are the same, one of each.

It's just too far to drive for one Pike, one walleye, one Cooni and one Grayling.
Besides the commercial fisherman have depleted the stock to the point that you really have to know the lake to find the few that are left.

We've fished up there for years and never had a problem catching our limits, even with limits of ten ten ten and five.
This fall we saw a lot of nets and caught only three fish in total between the three of us. In a week. And we lived on the boat and fished day and night.
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