Went to the honey hole today and caught these, what are they ?

[tlw1179]

how bout jickerel lol , i noticed old timers call it jackfish , northerners call it pike , pickerel. safe to say it's along the lines of a pike or pickerel are they something you all see often or are they kinda like the elusive panther or mountain lion in GA

 

[Sagan]

They look tasty.

 

[Blakely]

They are very tasty, but have to be gashed, like a sucker.

 

[tlw1179]

what you mean gashed

 

[Blakely]

After you fillet the fish and cut out the ribs, you have to lay the fish with the skin-side down, then make cuts, or gashes, about every 1/8 - 3/16" along the length of the fish, being careful not to cut through the skin. These fish have tiny bones, in the meat, that must be cut into small pieces. Once the fish are fried, the bones are cooked and may be eaten. Gashing serves 2 purposes, allowing the hot oil to get to the bones and cook them; and cutting the bones into small enough pieces that you will never realize that you're eating them. Use a very sharp knife to gash the fish - if you feel it cut through the bones, its time to sharpen your knife.

 

[tlw1179]

wow , did not know that

 

[drtybykr]

You can also just filet the other bones out as well, and end up with 3 filets per side, and no need to eat any bones. Just like a musky, they are a pain to clean, but you won't want to eat bass or trout again after you learn the right way to clean them.

 

[tlw1179]

i wont eat a bass , never tried them only fresh water fish i eat is catfish ( that i know of ) if you all say these are good i'll have to try it

 

[Badger]

The 2011 Georgia Regulations for sport fishing, page 14 says daily limit is 15.
Can't find anything in the regs that limit size.
Sure are pretty.

 

[WakeSS]

You can also just filet the other bones out as well, and end up with 3 filets per side, and no need to eat any bones. Just like a musky, they are a pain to clean, but you won't want to eat bass or trout again after you learn the right way to clean them.

Dang it I must have c&r hundreds of those northerns ( shh I'm an ex-Yankee) as a kid because everyone one said they were not good eating! Heck I just tossed back a few last month! They will kill a trolled spinner as well. Really aggressive fish.
We used to get of limit of walleye, enough perch for a good meal, and if they was time left in the day. troll for pike for the fight.