Thread: Black River 12/20

I donned the rain gear and was on the water at daylight. I don't know why I do that because they never bite till the sun's up good. Anyway, fished some familiar areas, wanted to try a new spot but water was too low . Threw back four or five small ones, kept 7 crappie, 2 chain pickerel, and one nice redbreast. Also caught 4 pretty nice bass and one blackfish, which is always a hoot on the long rods. Would not even bump a jig today, so I switched too all minnows (I usually run half and half). It was cold. It was wet. I love fishing so none of that mattered. But really, it was cold. 'Bout to head out again after I post this, batteries are charging now. I have no idea where I'm going today. The truck and the boat both have gas, I've got bait, guess I'll just see when I get on the road. Good luck to everyone else fishing today.
Here's the sizes of the fish I kept.

Crappie:
1 - 13"
3 - 12"
2 - 11"
1 - 10"

Pickerel:
1 - 18"
1 - 19"
And there are plenty tutorials on youtube of how to get the "y" bone out. I learned an easier way last night. The meat is as good if not better than crappie.

Here's a link on how to clean a chain pickerel. It's kinda the opposite of how I learned to do it, but I tried it and it works great. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjcelLOjh1E

Here's the other way, that I'm more familiar with. This is a northern pike, but they're anatomically identical as far as bone structure. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGJhLfWLRx8

I'm telling you, don't throw these guys back. They are first class table fare. Not oily at all, flaky, perfect for cooking any way.