DNR wants to know what anglers think about....

[Fish Felon]

I will gladly support the new regs by shooting the dnr an email, filling out a survey if I get one, etc. Having to support a common sense regulation created by the people that have degrees and careers in fisheries management whom we created their jobs and pay them to make these decisions seems a little like the tail wagging the dog but this is the world that we live in.


It's awesome to see comments like Bustin' Lips and the grass roots movement to kill little pike gain momentum. I don't remember seeing that sentiment shared as often or openly even just five years ago.

On memorial day weekend I was grabbing some crap out of a boat that was docked while a younger guy that was trolling caught a snake right in front of me. I told him whatever you do don't throw it back. He responded,

"I've caught a dozen all this size so far.....what's the best way to put it out of its misery?"

We got to talking and I preached to him my five minute sermon on pike management. Long story short the pike went back missing it's gills on one side and the movement had another convert.

[Fish Felon]

Besides pickling how do you guys clean and prepare little pike if so inclined? I've got a few that I scaled that I'm going to try to smoke. I've heard canned pike is great and the bones dissolve in the process. With the limit at 10 on Mille Lacs I'm actually cleaning most of mine this year since I'm not worried about getting nailed with a bunch in the freezer.


Here's a method to try if you have a blender, a deep fryer and a batch of 10 or more little pike fillets.


1. Rinse fillets and damp dry with a paper towel. Lay fillets out on dry surface to further dry.

2. Cut fillets into 1" to 2" chunks going across as many bones as possible in the process. Place chunks in large bowl or container.

3. Place chunks in blender and blend/grind the chunks at a low setting. Do not 'Frappe.'

4. Once you have all the meat blended to the right consistency and in your container I'll mix in a few eggs by hand. You don't need many, just enough to hold the meat together to form a pattie.

5. Bread patties with bread crumbs.

6. Crank the fryer up and start frying.

7. Put pattie on a hamburger bun with a slice of American cheese and some tartar sauce and whala! You have a fish fillet sandwich even the pickiest brat will scarf down.

All the little bone fragments dissolve in the grease to where they're soft (like a chicken leg at KFC). You won't get a single bone because even if the grease doesn't get them they're chopped so small you won't notice them.

You can also make fish sticks this way...just shape them into sticks instead of patties. That's all the stuff you get from the store is; ground up fish that's breaded and fried that you put on a baking sheet and reheat.

I have a medium sized fry daddy that I'll run an extension cord to the picnic table so I can sit outside and drink beer and cook in the sun. It'll fry a basket of fish every five minutes. Obviously this method isn't worth doing with just a few fish but with 20-40 little pike that you'll be able to keep fishing with a few friends it might be worth it. Fry it all and freeze the extras.

[StuStiltman]

About the frozen extras, how do they taste after being reheated in the oven? I've been playing around with the idea of saving a months worth of little pike and rock bass (fish I usually throw back) and making a big batch of frozen fish patties, I figure it would be a great substitute for the crappy frozen pizzas I make when I get home late and don't feal like cooking an actuall meal.

[Quack]

Thanks for the recipe on the fish burgers! Sounds like a winner.

I can't wait for the limit to be 10!

I bet my mother in law would do make the patties.

[Trigger]

You can also make fish sticks this way...just shape them into sticks instead of patties. That's all the stuff you get from the store is; ground up fish that's breaded and fried that you put on a baking sheet and reheat..

Except those are made from Minnesota Mountain Trout.

I have no problem fileting a bunch of small northerns and keeping nothing but the boneless back 1/3 of the filet. You can make quick work of a bunch of them since there's no dealing with any bones. They come out looking like a perfectly shaped sunfish filet.

[Trigger]

About the frozen extras, how do they taste after being reheated in the oven? I've been playing around with the idea of saving a months worth of little pike and rock bass (fish I usually throw back) and making a big batch of frozen fish patties, I figure it would be a great substitute for the crappy frozen pizzas I make when I get home late and don't feal like cooking an actuall meal.

My river fishing friends turned me onto rock bass. If I'm looking to eat fish and I catch one I will never again hesitate to keep them.

[tornadochaser]

I started doing patties with pike last winter. I usually fry them but they aren't bad baked either. works good with large mouth bass too.

[get-n-birdy]

I started doing patties with pike last winter. I usually fry them but they aren't bad baked either. works good with large mouth bass too.

That's heresy, bass are poisonous to eat and they shall be, should be released after immediate hook removal.

[bow-fishhunter]

I’m surprised they think that anglers can identify a northern. They could mistake them with carp, walleye, or even a sturgeon…

History shows they don't have much faith in sportsmen correctly identifying the game they're after.

[OTCKid]

History shows they don't have much faith in sportsmen correctly identifying the game they're after.

Only during the first two weeks of September... Any other time it's all good.