Eating Pike

[troy_built68]

Ive never had pike . How is it to eat ? I love perch,Bluegill and walleye  how does pike compare ?

[spoof]

It is mostly good.  More like walleye

[fowl_language]

Different...that's about what I would say.  Hard to pin down, it's about like a little bit larger walleye but not as "fishy".  They are a little bit softer meat so they do fry well they tend to get a little mushy if you fry without batter of some sort. I like em, I cap out at about 30-32" anything bigger doesn't seem to taste very good (at least in the waters I fish), that 25" to 32" size class seems to be the best for me. 

That size range makes the Y bones large enough to easily cut around while still not being to "fishy" of a taste.  I usually cook them the same as any white meat fish...peanut oil and beer batter but I have done them on the grill with oil, pepper and garlic and they taste good.  Pike are definitely under utilized because people don't want to deal with the Y bones but once you do about 3 or 4 of them it's easy.  Pickling them is pretty popular around here too I think because you don't have to worry about the extra cuts on the filet, but I don't have experience with pickling, just never got into it.

[Joe in T.C.]

Pike is FANTASTIC eating!!

It has been a favorite in our house for years.

Its very similar to Perch and Walleye and can be prepared the same way.

The difference in taste is subtle, with Perch a bit sweeter than Walleye, and Walleye a bit sweeter than Pike.

Throw in some bluegills and I would be hard pressed to pick a favorite.

Good Luck All 

[Light liner]

Yes great eating, 28-32" great eaters.
The center section of the body with the Y bones makes for good stock in a chowder.

[thepikepolice]

Pike are like any other fish out there: superb if you keep the smaller ones. The larger specimens of any fish typically aren't as tasty as the littler ones. 40" pike are not ideal eating; 20-30" are excellent!

[Bigassbassman]

It is mostly good.  More like walleye

What walleye are YOU eating?    

[SirCranksalot]

Like all fish and animals, for that matter, the taste depends on their environment esp what they are eating.

[Central Iowa]

We sure like them if they come from clean deep water!  I know when we catch them in Canada if they come from the main lake they are fine if they come from the shallows and weeds their garbage IMO.

Once a while for a different twist we do Lupster or what’s called  Poor man’s lobster or 7-up northern.

7-up in a pan.
Bring to a boil.
Cut Pike filet into pieces (bite size chunks) drop in half of a filet for 4-5 minutes.
Take out and dip in butter, salt and pepper.
Eat warm or cold.
 Really good with some of the flavored butters out there with garlic etc. in them.

[metalbender]

The smaller ones, 1 1/2 to two lbs are the best.  Summer fish around here taste muddy to me, will try some winter caught ones soon. My summer fishing is in a clear northern lake.
 Water quality has a big influence on taste. Pike are also vet good smoked. I use the 4-6 lb ones. no need to debone, the meat shrinks a bit, bones are visible, great snack.

[slipperybob]

Like all fish and animals, for that matter, the taste depends on their environment esp what they are eating.

Yes...be selective.

[greenbulldog]

I like northern a lot.  A little fussy to fillet if you want the y bones out.  I do a 5 fillet method which works really well.  You can google it or search youtube if you dont know what that is.  I fry them up same as everything else.
Theyre very good pickled too, best thing about that is the bones dissolve in the brine so you dont have to worry about getting them out when cleaning.
Buddy smokes them, good that way too.

[SirCranksalot]

Pike are shaped like logs so I 'saw' them up i.e. make steaks. The bones are easy to pick out of steaks.
 

[32footsteps]

I’ll eat a truckload of pike before I take a nibble of walleye. By far my favorite fish to eat. They are incredibly versatile. Boil them, fry them, deep fry them, etc., etc.

I’ve traded walleyes for pike with guys at boat landings. They thought I was nuts. They don’t know what they are missing out on.

The meat is firmer and has a tinge of sweetness to it. I think people have two issues with them that stop them from trying it. 1) They don’t know how to clean them. Once you know how to get the y-bones out it’s not hard at all. They are actually pretty easy to clean. ...and 2) There seems to be a hang up with some guys who wrongly assume that a slimy pike must taste like fish slime. It’s quite the opposite. Pike are fantastic table fare and in most places far more abundant and easier to catch than other stuff guys are after.

[esox_xtm]

Don't like pike? Send 'em my way... 

Long time favorite.

[HWeber]

Favorite fish all around. IMO there's really only one way to fillet them and its not the 5 fillet but to each his own

[bootstrap]

im not a fan of them, they taste like they smell.

[esox_xtm]

im not a fan of them, they taste like they smell.

Only if you're careless ans smear slime all over the meat without thoroughly rinsing/washing. Leaving the skin on here is a no-no IMO as well.

[bearlake16]

Top eating fish in my house as well. Beautifully thick white meat.when i do a beer batter style i let the beer come to room temperature and remove the fizz by pouring back and forth in cups. When we have people over for fish they just cant get enough. When I tell them its northern they always give me the what did you feed me look. Than ask for more. The 7 up poor mans lobster is great as well my grandfather always made that when we went to Canada.

[Ice Scratcher]

I really enjoy a wide array for dinner from perch, eyes, gills, crappie..

But for for breakfast fish, nothing beats pike fried in bacon grease...

<°)))>{

[Kevin23]

Ive never had pike . How is it to eat ? I love perch,Bluegill and walleye  how does pike compare ?

I like pike. It is similar to walleye but with more fat in the meat. Also a bit stiffer,of a meat. Great on the grill!!

[Kevin23]

im not a fan of them, they taste like they smell.

You aren't being too cleanly when filleting them then. If you can taste the slime then you got it on the meat, and you also introduced a lot of bacteria to the meat as well... make sure you fully cook it.

[perch chacer]

Not a bad tasting fish if deep fried in good clean oil.  Meat is firm and white.  But 1st you must do the 5 pc. fillet and the "Y" bones are gone.  Nothing worse then picking out bones on your plate.

[WARRIOR_ON_ICE]

I agree that pike are a great eating fish - they are my # 1 ice fishing target. A large, hard-fighting fish that is great table fare makes for a popular species to target. My pike hot spot produced some good ones last month and so I have a bunch of ziplocs stored away in my freezer. I make skinless fillets, and cook by either deep frying or baking, and the large bones are very easy to pick out of the cooked pieces.

[esox_xtm]

When I eat fish the bones gotta look out for themselves... 

[tomturkey]

Before I clean a pike I hang it up and pour boiling water over it. What slime that does not come off is easily scraped off.

Sadly on our lake there was a die off of pike the first part of July a few years ago. That was followed by an explosion of dink gill since there were not the pike to eat them. Then we had a huge winter kill. There were few pike in the die off. I cleaned up a bunch of huge bass at one park, I am talking 5# +.

Since then there was a push by some idiots to kill every pike that was caught to keep them from eating the precious bass they were planting. What a waste as you can eat a pike where bass are inedible.

[deerefishyfishy]

Since when are bass inedible? Not as sweet as some of the others, but still not too bad breaded up and fried!

[tomturkey]

I suppose if they are covered up with some sort of concoction to disguise the taste they may be edible. If they are such good eating why is there mostly catch and release fishing for bass.

I was at my brothers for supper one night. The main dish was bass. His son from VA had been fishing with me the day before and he caught a nice brown trout. I had taken a piece of bass off his sisters plate to give it a try. I spit it out on my plate. My nephew was nice enough to share his brown trout with me or I would have been a vegetarian that night.

My brother thinks bass are great eating, I never thought he was right in the head. I gave him a 1# package of perch filets one time. He had to take the skin off beforer his wife would cook them. She did not like them as she said they were too strong yet she eats bass. They will never get any more perch from me.

I have a tackle box full of bass fishing tackle that has not been out of the garage in years. I only fish for some thing that I can enjoy eating any more.

[SirCranksalot]

Like I said above, it depends on where they were caught.

[SLAYERFISH]

Life is too short to eat pike.