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Ice Fishing Tips -Check your local regulations! => Darkhouse Spearing => Topic started by: spear_chucker on Dec 15, 2013, 10:59 AM

Title: Filleting Northern
Post by: spear_chucker on Dec 15, 2013, 10:59 AM

How do you fillet a northern when its frozen solid?  Do you wait for it to warm up and if so does it make the meat mushy to re-freeze?  Or do you make sure they don't freeze that hard?

Title: Re: Filleting Northern
Post by: Whopper Stopper on Dec 15, 2013, 11:24 AM

Best not to let them freeze solid.

You will have to let it thaw out before filleting and then be prepare to see why they are called snot rockets  ???

               WS

Title: Re: Filleting Northern
Post by: MJ1657 on Dec 16, 2013, 09:08 PM

They are getting tough to find but get yourself a gunny sack and keep them in the house with you.

Title: Re: Filleting Northern
Post by: swampbuckster on Dec 24, 2013, 11:24 AM

They seem to turn to mush after frozen solid then trying to clean them :P

Title: Re: Filleting Northern
Post by: Knife2sharp on Feb 09, 2015, 11:51 AM

I have a trick I learned from my Uncle long ago.  I take newspaper with me in the house and when I catch a northern, I wrap it in several pieces.  I then put a rubber band around the nose and tail section.  I lay the fish on the floor of the house where it remains cold, but won't freeze solid.  The newpaper absorbs a lot of the slime and by securing it with rubber bands keeps the fish from coming out and keeps him oblong, instead of ending up 'C' shaped.  It works too when placing them outside as well because the paper keeps them somewhat insulated. 

Also, if northern is frozen solid, let it thaw in a sink with cold water.  Within an hour it should be thawed and the cold water will keep the meat from getting soft. 

Title: Re: Filleting Northern
Post by: English on Feb 09, 2015, 04:48 PM

I don't let mine freeze if I can help it.  Freezing makes them MUCH slimier.  But if they do freeze you need to thaw.

Title: Re: Filleting Northern
Post by: PikeSticker on Feb 10, 2015, 02:21 AM

I put all mine on a stringer hanging down a spare tipup hole to keep them from freezing and to keep the eagles from snatching them. Many of them, even with spear wounds, remain alive the entire time.

Title: Re: Filleting Northern
Post by: sra61 on Feb 10, 2015, 05:48 PM

I had a bunch last year from a trip that were frozen hard as a rock. I took a big cooler and put a bunch of snow in the bottom and then put the pike in there in  layers with snow between them. It took a few days but the temps outside were fairly warm. I would check every day and as they would get just thawed enough to be able to fillet I would do them up. There was no slime or anything. It worked better than anything I have ever tried.  @)

Title: Re: Filleting Northern
Post by: Martian on Feb 18, 2015, 08:01 AM

 there are numerous vids on youtube that are very good for pike filleting, but all involve "feeling" the bones. You will have no "feel" if they are frose