Do you love big bluegill?

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Comment by Rick King on December 13, 2012 at 5:30am: Yes sir sounds like a very good neighbor

Comment by David, aka, "McScruff" on December 13, 2012 at 5:26am: Helluva a neighbor, Tootie!

Comment by DAVID L EITUTIS on December 12, 2012 at 5:19pm: My neighbor who goes to Canada 3 times a year brings me back Northern fillets and they are absolutely great eating and he has all the bones out of course........

Comment by Tony Livingston on December 12, 2012 at 11:14am: Mmmmm...fishcakes....yummy.....

Comment by David, aka, "McScruff" on December 12, 2012 at 11:10am: John I'll get it added. Ive not tried the blended meat-to-fishcakes idea, but I will. Im going to try an target them this winter and hope to catch more.

Comment by David, aka, "McScruff" on December 12, 2012 at 11:08am: Dick,

I filleted this one mostly because it was deep hooked. The fish fairly devoured the spoon and the treble hooks got way down into the gill rakes. Blood was running free and there was little option...

Comment by dick tabbert on December 12, 2012 at 10:42am: Greg once you get past the bone's they are truly a great tasting fish. There are some techniques to fillet to get the y-bones out but being I don't keep many fish I haven't tried fillet any.

Comment by John Sheehan on December 12, 2012 at 7:37am: Sure wish you'd add to the Pickerel group page David ! I know you joined .Yup Five filetts David! The top filett and two back sides ,to the tail are boneless.The very bony sides are better blended and made into fish cakes IMO! The Pickerel prefers cold water and my best catches are November fish or April fish here in New Jersey.They love spoons for sure but Crankbaits,Jigs and Rubber worms catch a bunch also.

In a good Pickerel lake they can be caught through the ice using live bait on a tip up .

Comment by David, aka, "McScruff" on December 12, 2012 at 6:30am: Pickerel are good, with a firm white flesh. They have small "Y" bones that jut from the spine, so there is modified filet technique designed to work them out. You get 5 filets off of each fish by using it. Remnants of the small bones remain, unless you are a very good knife man (which I'm not). But they cook to softness and are not really worse than with other fish. I cut the filets from this fish into fingers and marinated them in buffalo sauce. Then I rolled them in meal and fried them up crisp. Yummm!

The esox clan was reckoned as both supreme sport and fine table fair only a hundred years ago. I think we, as anglers, got a little lazy over the intervening years. Today we tend to prefer the "sport" of fishing over cleaning and eating fish like pickerel..