• Saturday-What'sUP May 26 - 07:21 pm

On a recent fishing excursion with his son and a friend, Bob Gilreath took some time out from wetting his line, to snap a few photos of the action from the day. Bob tells me that the fish coming in on that lure in the second photo is a Bass, which is out of season right now, so after getting this one to the boat, they promptly released him back to the Portage waters.

Not so, for the catch in the series of netting photos. Bob reported that was a nice 32 inch Northern Pike and it looks like some expert line and net handling made for a successful job getting this one out of the water and into the boat. Nice catch there guys!

I think bass season opens today around here. When we catch northern, we throw them back. Neither of us are a fan of them. Don't know why cuz we like just about every fish out there. Will eat them if we have no others, though.

Looked like fun!!

Looked like a nice, brisk day for fishing! I'm with you, Deb, don't think I've ever seen a fish I didn't like. ;-9

I didn't even have to reach Mary's first post to know who was fishing in these photos!!! J

When I lived UP there, I never kept any northern, musky, or bass as IMO they are not great "eaters". Now walleye, perch or trout; that was another story.......

Thanks,Bob. Life is good.

Oh what fun!!! Do we not live in paradise???

Oh, I must chime in on the topic of which fish are good eating. We catch lots of walleye, perch, northern and bass here in MN and honestly, when northern are cleaned correctly I prefer them any day over the rest! The meat is firm, white, flaky and delicious! I know everyone is nuts about the walleye which is fine too but given the option of properly prepared northern, that's our choice! And although we love bass fishing and catching, we never eat them.

Keeweewannabee, I'm stymied here, what is "northern" in fish? Fish is my 'soul food', just dip it in some batter and drop it in a hot skillet and I'll eat it! (or baked is good also)

Shirley, we refer to the Northern Pike (pickerel), as simply "northern". I guess it is a slang that has been used for so long that I don't even realize. Northern Pike tend to be slimy when handling them and have sharp teeth along with razor sharp gills. All that being said, once properly filleted, deboned and prepared, it is delicious!

No worries laurh. I have eaten northern and it was great don't get me wrong, I just prefer other fish (besides, I'm too impatient to deal with the "y" bones on a northern ;-)

Also, to me it was more of a thrill to catch a large one, photograph it, then release it and watch it swim away then to think about it in the frying pan; same way with bass or musky. For example, the largest northern I ever landed was a little over 50 in. from Lake Independance near Big Bay many years ago. That is a fish I would never want to keep and eat. Same thing with a large musky or smallie.....

Well, that questioned answered, laurh and Capt., I guess I can take that off my fish (wish) list, 'cause even I have my limits. ;)

Capt Paul, I totally agree about the "big" ones. Would not keep more than a 3-4 pounder either. For eating purposes that is plenty big enough. They are all fun to catch, for sure! I have never minded taking the time to remove the Y bones so have always had the "privilege" of doing the fish cleaning for friends and family who like to eat them but don't want to deal w/the bones. Guess I'm easily entertained... : )

Capt. Paul,I grew up on Lake Independence, my dad was the depot master there in the 1950's. Caught many a walleye and perch there over the years. A small "hammer handle" northern managed to embed the second set of treble hooks on a plug in my little finger when I reached to take the lure out. I think I was about 14 then and fishing alone. Always preferred the walleye and perch myself. Never tried for the northerns nor cared much for them since.

Just returned from visiting my father in the L.P.. On our way there,
we had lunch on the shore of Lake St. Clair where, according to our
waitress, the scene we were witnessing was a group of pike
spawning. From our vantage point, they looked huge. We happily
settled for perch for supper provided by a friend of my father's
from the Eastern U.P. Very tasty it was, too.