From Trophy Winning Pike to the Dinner Table

“If it looks good eat it”, is the popular catch phrase of Andrew Zimmern of the Travel Channels Bizarre Foods. As I watch him weekly scoff down a plethora of unusual food choices, I often ponder how he would feel about eating a Northern Pike. Most likely, he would marvel at its delicious, flaky white meat and jubilantly describe its complex textures and lack of fishy taste when battered and deep-fried to golden perfection. Then of course, he would suck out the fish’s eyeballs and chew them up with gusto and I would hurl and that would be the end of the show. I imagine it would be quite an interesting episode.

Back to reality and the job of processing my personal best and tourney placing Northern Pike for the dinner table. This ordeal started with the extraction of a very large (17.70 lb) frozen pike from my chest freezer and it taking a 5-hour soak in my bathtub (yes, my wife is a very understanding woman). I debated using the hot tub but was concerned the excessive amounts of slim dripping off the beast might clog the intake jets (did I mention my wife was understanding?).

After a through defrost and de-sliming, I hauled the fish and a large number of cutting utensils out onto the deck and started in on the chore of filleting. Using a heavy hunting knife, I made several initial cuts to slice through the thick skin and allow the more delicate fillet knife to do its job unfettered. The processing took about 15 minutes and there were a lot more bones then I remember from completing this task on a similar sized fish a few years ago. In the end, the fish yielded 8 full cups of pure white meat sure to be enjoyed in the weeks to come.

One Side Complete onto the Next

Pike Rendered to Guts, Bone and Skin

Edible Bits Remain . . . YES even the HEAD!

Next three different ways to cook Pike . . .

Trophy Pike Of North Pond

17.69 lb Northern Pike

It was an ambitious schedule from the very beginning, an enterprising task consisting of a grand total of 7 days ice fishing, all within a time frame of 8 days. At the trips conclusion, the truck registered a total of close to 600 miles, the ATV 10 miles and the old legs an untold number of footfalls in the pursuit of fish. Along the path, many people joined in on this adventure, including family and friends, each adding their own special variety and spice to the excitement and thrill of the chase. While it had been a difficult endeavor, the hardest tasks are those most treasured and I will certainly long cherish the new friendships and memories derived from over a week of fish near caught and trophies hard sought. Over the next couple weeks, I plan to provide a run down of this mini-adventure, the places I visited, equipment used and fish that were caught . . . enjoy!

12.6 lb Northern Pike

Day 1 – Northern Pike Tournament - North Pond - BEEP, BEEP, BEEP wailed my alarm as I frantically stretched forth a haphazardly directed arm in an attempt to extinguish its annoyance. Along its reckless path, my hand managed to knock off the nightstand a poorly positioned glass of water and it shattered on the floor in a million razor sharp shards. A litany of curses spewed forth that probably are still hanging somewhere in space over central Maine. I contemplated the thought that this was probably not the optimal way to start an adventure into the wilds, debated resetting my alarm and sleeping another 4-5 hours.

Fighting back sleep, ever so slowly my eyelids pried themselves open and I stared in disbelief at the glowing red numerals, which continued to read 4:00 AM, despite my valiant attempts at squinting, “Yup” I concluded, time to get up.

At 4:30 AM an old Kappa Delta Phi fraternity brother joined me and we loaded our gear and were off to chase monster pike in the Belgrade lakes chain on North Pond. By the end of this day two pike were harvested. The first (12 lb 6oz) at 9:36 AM and mine at 10:15 AM weighing 17.69 lbs. That fish ended up as a third place finisher in the derby and filled my pocket with $200! The winning PIKE in the derby were 19.8 lbs, 17.8 lbs and 17.69 lbs.

To provide a little support for those planning to fish pike through the ice here is my (very) rough sketch of my pike catching outfit. Remember it isn’t about having the latest, greatest and most expensive tip-up on the ice. It is instead all about having good line, rigging and hooks matched to the species you plan to pursue.

Northern Pike Ice Fishing Rig

Belgrade Draggin Masters Annual Ice Fishing Derby Winners!

Next: The Brook Trout of Alligator Lake

I am on the Field and Stream Website!

ENTER YOUR FISH AND IF IT MEETS THE MIN. SIZE REQUIREMENTS YOU GET A COOL PIN!

http://www.fieldandstream.com/fishing_contest

We arrived on the ice that morning with ambitions of catching a pike that would prove to be a new state record or at least make a trip to the taxidermist mandatory. The predicted temperatures were to remain in the upper teens but a fierce wind had considerably dropped that estimation. Despite being dressed in multiple layers, the feeling was beginning to crawl out of my extremities and my teeth were chattering. What was suppose to be a relaxing day of ice fishing with family and friends was quickly losing its attraction and by 1:30 I was counting the minutes until the designated quitting time of 2:00 PM.

Suddenly the familiar yell of “flag” snapped me from my meditative state, my excitement reaching a crescendo when I realized that my tip-up had been sprung. Upon arriving, I was shocked to find that every bit of line had been stripped off the reel and the trap was bouncing in the hole. I managed to bring in ten yards of backer line when the fish turned and ran out all but a couple inches. This dance continued for a quarter of an hour until on one retrieve I noted the massive head of a northern pike slide by the hole. Not wanting to risk another run into the abyss, I maneuvered the fish’s head into the hole and drove my arm down to the elbow, pinning the leviathan against the side. Sliding my hand into the gills and pulling up with one quick motion the fish was tossed onto the ice and the monster was mine.

For the hunter angler there is no greater prey than that most stealthy and voracious of fish the ultimate predator the Northern Pike. Physically powerful and mentally crafty these leviathans of the underwater world are the ultimate sportsman trophies. Anyone who has been lucky enough to hook, wrangle and capture one of these magnificent creatures can attest that catching one is the experience of a lifetime.