Cheeky chap wanted to buy my Pike!

[FrenchieBoy]

I decided that as I have been quite ill and bedded down for the last week but was feeling a bit a bit better today I thought that I would try an hour or so Pike fishing at my local canal today - Yes I know that I am a glutton for punishment and a total fool to myself but I was climbing the walls having been cooped up for the best part of a week! The weather was "reasonable" (If you overlook the fact that the wind nearly blew me off my feet once or twice) so no problem and off I went to my local canal. To be honest I didn't hold much hope of catching a fish but just to be out in the fresh air (That's the polite way of saying bl**dy strong and hellish winds) for an hour or so was quite welcome. I set my rod up with my favourite "canal pike lure" and started fishing away without a care in the world. A few people passed by and we exchanged the usual "Good morning etc", purely because that's what Northern People do on a Sunday Morning! After about three quarters of an hour I managed to hook a small "jack pike"! As I was bringing it in a saw a youngish (Asian looking) chap walking up the tow path towards me, and he had a rather large mastiff looking dog on a lead which (In fairness) he pulled the lead close to him as he approached. Well as a dog lover I said not to worry as long as his dog was not aggressive, to which he replied it was only a youngster and just wanted to be friendly! "Oh well" I thought and netted the pike which was only a young small "jack" of around two to two and a half pounds. I was about to release the pike (I only fish for pike on a purely catch and release basis) and he asked if he could buy the fish to take home and cook! I explained to him that I fish on a strict "Catch and Release Basis" so as to preserve the fish stocks and protect my sport. He politely said that he understood and that he did not mean to offend by asking so we chatted for a couple for a few minutes, and he turned out to be a really nice, intelligent and well educated guy to talk to so we left on really good terms.!

It just seemed strange to me that someone would want to cook and eat a small Jack Pike as I believe that they are a very bony fish that taste like cotton wool, but then again everyone to their own!
Have any of you guys who fish for pike ever experienced this sort of thing?

N.B. As a foot note I really should add that he was very polite and friendly and a really nice guy to talk to so let's please not play any sort of racist card or try "Tarring Everyone With the Same Brush" in any replies!

 

[mel b3]

I've known quite a few people that eat them over the years Pete . I've tasted them , and they're very good to eat.
They have a small bone that needs careful removal though.

 

[Puds]

Jack pike are tasty, I’ve had a few before.

 

[Crowstalker]

Never had it myself but I know a fella that would regularly eat them, he seemed to think they tasted great!

 

[Foxyboy43]

Eating pike was part of my introduction to pike fishing more than half a century ago - as soon as the cork bung started to bobble or move the frying pan was put on the already lit fire - delicious fried in butter served with fresh bread. Mind you my tutors were my late brother-in-law who was a Londoner and his pal was from Leeds…..

 

[Flash G 74]

Hello, That is interesting him being Asian as it was usually the Polish who asked me a few times for some fish, ****** off , Yes i have eaten Pike and they are very boney but cooked right can be tasty, At home in my teens when mum was always short of money as dad was a boozer, i caught pike to eat, and perch , i am going back to the early 1960s , Rabbit Pigeon Hare and Pheasant with my 410, Life was very different then

 

[chriswjx]

My missus is from Luxembourg, and it's a very traditional fish to have.

Much like how grayling is very commonly eaten in Europe (northern, from memory). Much to this disgust of most British anglers it seems when images are shared online...

 

[Dazb1967]

Like you say they are a very very boney fish but myself and a cooked one on the BBQ years ago whilst on a camping trip and it was lovely, The meat just fell away from the bones.

 

[suburban bushwacker]

if you fancy trying them, the better Eastern European shops sell them purged and smoked, boney but delicious

 

[mdp67]

When i worked on a farm in Canada many years ago I used to catch pike on a river that ran through the farm the family were Swiss and cooked them, beautiful just fried and coated in bread crumbs.

 

[jthyttin]

Pike is delicious and very forgiving to cook. It's not very boney. In addition to "ribs" and bones in the back, there are row of Y shaped bones between them. You can have boneless fillets by removing that part. The bony part, or whole fillets for that matter, can be put through mincer for pike burgers.

 

[enfieldspares]

You can buy ready made and packed pike quenelles in France. But, yes, the bones are in the fish but can nevertheless be removed. Re the gudgeon I remember walking along the Loire river in Tours one evening and saw some Frenchmen and their friends trying to use a fly rod. So I went over, had a chat and offered to show them the correct technique. They were very happy and I was invited back to their house to enjoy fried gudgeon, Done just as you might do whitebait. Very delicious with a Loire white wine they were. For which the word "goujon" comes for anything cut into strips and fried..even chicken.

Quenelle - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Pike Quenelles Recipe - Pike Dumplings in Broth

A recipe for pike quenelles, German fish dumplings in a rich, clear broth. These dumplings are pretty easy to make and get around all the bones in pike.

honest-food.net

 

[Hambone]

Tastiest fish in batter (beer batter) I've done myself better than cod or whiting IMO.

 

[Klenchblaize]

Fine if hooked from a Kentish chalk stream but would think twice from a polluted Mill Town canal!

K

 

[LuckyEddie]

I’ve eaten pike a number of times.
Easiest I ever got was when I was watching trout anglers at Rescobie Loch.
One hooked a nice 6 pounder and laid it up on the bank after dispatching it.
Upon asking what he was going to do with it he said just leave it.
So I took it home and my mum cooked it for tea that day.

The angling association at Rescobie used to encourage pike anglers over the winter months to keep the pike numbers down - it was catch and no return.

 

[gs jon]

that size pike is just about ideal,as a youngun my local river near winslow was virtually unfished and was full of pike about that size we prob had one a month for the table the rest would have been released,perch tastes better.
side note that river used to be maybe 15 foot across and av 3-4 foot deep with some pools 6 foot,went back a couple of yrs ago and its so choked its no more than a trickle,thats prob all down the fertilizer being washed out of the over ploughed fields an the lack of river maintaining

 

[LuckyEddie]

Hello, That is interesting him being Asian as it was usually the Polish who asked me a few times for some fish, ****** off ,

Really? Then you wonder why English people aren’t liked.

 

[Flash G 74]

Really? Then you wonder why English people aren’t liked.

Hello, Tell that to the millions of people who go pleasure fishing and put back their catch rather than those who fill shopping bags of fish to eat, Seen it many times on the Thames, Now the EA are having to replenish fish stocks,

 

[LuckyEddie]

This from a book I got my wife to try and help her understand my family’s traditions.

 

[LuckyEddie]

Hello, Tell that to the millions of people who go pleasure fishing and put back their catch rather than those who fill shopping bags of fish to eat, Seen it many times on the Thames, Now the EA are having to replenish fish stocks,

Fine but if you don’t have people explain the rules and the have bailiffs / river keepers then what do you expect.
It’s different from where they come from and if no one explains then yes you can see the outcome.

I’m first generation Polish-Scots, my parents being Polish but me being born here.
When my dad and I went fishing we went by the rules because we knew them.
Having said that we did nab rabbits, hares and pheasants from the disused railway lines and adjacent fields or small copses that no one visited.