Pike from north cooked along side walleye in the same way , you wouldn't know the difference.
Smallmouth
- Thread starter morgan
- Start date
A few years ago 40 pro's at a fishing camp had 4 plates of fish 2 walleye/pics 2 pikes. # out of the 40 got it right. So yes the pike are a GREAT eating fish. I personally have had plenty. jerk bait is on the money.
DaveJ
Well-Known Member
Agree 100%. We often target pike for our fish fries on hunting and fishing trips, esp if the walleye are running small size. Pike also make the BEST chowder!!!
Absolutely. The smaller pike cooked the same way as the pickerel few can tell the difference. I have a fool proof method of cleaning and with the electrical knife its a breeze. I remember doing these same test after fishing with the boys up north. Had pickerel pike and a couple of small smallmouth bass that were caught from a flowing river. A couple actually chose the bass as their favorite. .
Trevor M
Well-Known Member
While I don't target pike since I got spoiled being able to catch them pretty much at will a 10 minute walk from my door when I lived in Yellowknife, I've eaten them many times before. Since I don't target them anymore it's been a long time since I ate one, but when I was eating them on a fairly regular basis, I always found them to be a very close third behind walleye and perch. There are no perch in the NWT and finding walleye up there can be more difficult than finding perch here in recent years, but not impossible. Pike on the other hand could be found without having to think about it, but by far the Lake Trout was the most sought after species in the Yellowknife area. Deep and incredibly cold water made them great eating. I've never caught one here to compare.
When I kept pike, I used the 5 fillet method of cleaning them. A lot easier than the two fillet method for getting the bones out. One of the guys my dad worked with when we moved there showed it to me. Took a while to get the knife skills right, but once I did, no more bones. He also suggested wrapping them up well and putting them in the fridge over night or putting them in the freezer for half an hour before cleaning them if they were being cleaned when you got home to decrease the slime.
When I kept pike, I used the 5 fillet method of cleaning them. A lot easier than the two fillet method for getting the bones out. One of the guys my dad worked with when we moved there showed it to me. Took a while to get the knife skills right, but once I did, no more bones. He also suggested wrapping them up well and putting them in the fridge over night or putting them in the freezer for half an hour before cleaning them if they were being cleaned when you got home to decrease the slime.
Trevor M
Well-Known Member
As for bass, I have never targeted them. Bass fishing is something I just never got in to. I've always had the attitude about it that now is the same attitude I have about Pike. If I catch one, I catch one. If I don't, I'm not going to lose any sleep over it. I have a neighbor who is a tournament bass fisherman complete with the nice Ranger bass boat. He keeps telling me he'll take me out one day to try to convert me, but we've been neighbors for 10 yrs now and I still haven't been out with him and he's always raving, sometimes good, sometimes bad about LPB. He's noticed a difference too in where they are, or perhaps more appropriately, where they aren't that they used to be.
Jello
Well-Known Member
I only fished long point aria a few times for bass small and large mouth so I can't comment on the issue what the cause of the decline
But I have fished a lot eastern lake Erie, specifically on the US side ,
On the US side all year open season on bass C/R
Than in April trophy season with 1 bass limit
and I believe its June full open season similar to Canada
The fishery there is absolutely nothing short of spectacular and has been for years both size and quantity,
So in my humble opinion it's more likely has to do with declining fishery at long point the change in habitat vs fishing pressure
I'm not saying increase in fishing pressure don't have any effect but I would consider that a small percentage
Also " and not trying to bash peoples abilities to catch bass " but adapting to ever changing conditions will put the odds in your favor and not just going with the same old method you got fish on 6 outings ego ,
I'm not a competitive fisher just for the fun of it
As for eating bass I prefer perch and walleye faster growing species and taste better
Bingo! There are a lot of smallmouth, but many stopped using the bay and/or changed their habits. Seemed to coincide with the high water levels which altered and limited a lot of weed beds. Seemed to be less cover, and other than the flats, there's not a whole lot of good rock structure in the inner bay. The north shore is thriving with bass.
I’m one of those once a year guys
Who has been fishing them once a year for the last 5 or so years
Maybe brought home 2 dozen fish from my boat in those years! I must really be damaging the smallmouth fishery... ???
how about you dudes who skip the opening week to save the world how many smallies have you brought home in the last 5 years??????
Give your head a shake
What I find very interesting about the older fellas who have been fishing and hunting “forever” is the large majority will not accept the fact that fish and wildlife adapt. With changing habitats, water clarity, climate, and human activity the animals simply change what they do.
Take deer around here for example. Countless times I have heard guys say there aren’t any deer left simply because they don’t see as many in reality the deer have simply moved bedding locations and trails.
How about whitefish on Simcoe? 10 years ago everyone would call you an idiot for fishing shallow water for these fish. Now? The water and diet has changed so most people fish much shallower water, say 20-30’ instead of traditional 75-100’ depths.
Trolling for walleye I still have people literally laughing at me when I tell them I often troll at 3-3.5mph. “No walleye is going to hit a lure going that fast!” Okay, here’s a few pictures to embarrass you....
It’s silly to compare the fishing on Erie today with the past. Water is much clearer, the food web has changed dramatically (ie gobies) and weather patterns aren’t stable as in the past. Obviously the fishing is going to be much different.
Crestliner16
Well-Known Member
I agree the lake conditions and fisheries change over the years and we need to adapt to be successful. But even for those in tune with the smallies, LPB (including outer bay) does not measure up to other areas on Erie. Again, no shortage of fish but the size doesn't compare.
A 20lb limit (5 fish x 4 lbs) would give you a good shot at winning a summer tournament in LPB (pros, correct me if I'm wrong?). For comparison, here's one run out of Buffalo where 20 lbs would have put you in 44th place:
https://majorleaguefishing.com/events/2018-07-26-lake-erie-buffalo/results/
A 20lb limit (5 fish x 4 lbs) would give you a good shot at winning a summer tournament in LPB (pros, correct me if I'm wrong?). For comparison, here's one run out of Buffalo where 20 lbs would have put you in 44th place:
https://majorleaguefishing.com/events/2018-07-26-lake-erie-buffalo/results/
You are mostly correct. However, I believe that this is simply because Buffalo fish are more structure oriented and goby feeding than in LPB where the fish in LPB will roam and follow baitfish more and are therefore much harder to target. There are structure areas of LPB where 20lbs is not hard to get at all, but they are few and far between.
Crestliner16
Well-Known Member
I hear ya about not having the structure to concentrate fish, LPB feels like a giant sandbox. But there’s still huge numbers of bass around; catching 30, 40, 50+ fish in a day or more is not uncommon (as you know).
I did a search through the TBBA facebook page and was able to find posted results for their LPB events from 2018, 2016, 2015, and 2013. 60-78 teams in each event and out of those four events, only one team broke 20lbs (20.47 winning weight in 2015). Average weights, excluding folks who didn’t weigh anything in (zeroed), were 11.4, 11.2, 13.2, and 11.6 lbs (limits of 2-3 pounders).
I did a search through the TBBA facebook page and was able to find posted results for their LPB events from 2018, 2016, 2015, and 2013. 60-78 teams in each event and out of those four events, only one team broke 20lbs (20.47 winning weight in 2015). Average weights, excluding folks who didn’t weigh anything in (zeroed), were 11.4, 11.2, 13.2, and 11.6 lbs (limits of 2-3 pounders).
There still are #s of bass around but the patterns have changed and size for sure. Like I said we caught 70 plus a day but had to work for them and deploy different tactics and areas. The average size was bigger than usual. The feeding patterns are different and its not just smallmouth. Areas that only held smallmouth before ow hold big largemouth and hammer handle pike. Areas that we routinely got bass and perch now only holds bass. I woukd be all for an extended season catch and release and a lower limit throughout the season
Most of the structure is down Port Dover and Nanticoke way. Otherwise the outer bay is about the flattest place I know. Biggest smallie out of the inner bay that I have seen was a 20.5" (over 5lb) on a leech.
@Crestliner16 Look at the dumpsters around LPB the couple weeks following opener and you'll see why the trophy fishery is lacking. It's due to harvest, plain and simple. Bass aren't an exceptionally fast growing fish and harvest in the bay area is substantial compared to other areas of the lake.
Josh
Josh
fishsmith
Well-Known Member
Really all waters change. I agree you not likely to see as big of bags of smallies as the american side, but I think that's always been the case. I have certainly caught bigger smallmouth in the bay the last few years(except last year--more numbers though). You also have to look at the variety of fish in the bay. Definitely hear of more Musky being caught over the last years. I also think bigger largemouth are being caught. I caught my two largest ever one being 6lbs 6 oz and another 5lbs 7 oz and heard of plenty of other ones
This isn't new. The harvest actually was higher decades ago . More angkers do practice catch and release as well as putting back the prime spawn fish. As a ex bass tournament guy and has home waters of LPB I can assure you the patterns have changed. I do agree the limits should and can be lower but the habitat patterns feeding patterns spawn locations boat traffic bait fish have all impacted the fishery. Again harvest has nothing to do with more a bigger pike and largemouth than ever. They didn't simply take the prime locations from the small jaws.
I realize patterns have changed. But as far as pike and largemouth go, where's the trophy pike??? Lots of small to mid size fish but trophy sized Pike, much like Smallmouth are a rarity. And again, it's likely due to harvest IMO. And few target largemouth for the table so yeah, they should be doing just fine.
Josh
Josh
hawgseeker
Well-Known Member
This^^^^