What to do with pike minnows

[Feel That Bass]

i release them. i caught a 17 incher in the molalla river the other day. i was dared to eat it... so i did.. LMAO. i survived =]
the meat on that fish wasn't the best but it wasn't gross either. definitely odd though and a seemingly excessive amount of protein content as opposed to that of something like a bass or trout... very small and tedious bones to go through... and btw i would have released the guy but the fish fight and hook got his gills real bad and seemed to really mess him up. he wasn't going to make it

i was then later dared to jump off a bridge

 

[Iki Jime]

Anybody here eat 'em. Curiousity makes me ask.

A friend took me on a short drift in his McKenzie Dori, and we caught several small trout and two Pikeminnows. I'd been nerding out online and researching the potential with "trash" fish like Pikeminnows and Carp. I found out that both have redeeming qualities if prepared a certain way, and since they were not classified as a "game fish", there was no limit on them. This makes them extremely sustainable for anyone who actually aspires to fish to supplement their diets with native caught, hormone/antibiotic free, non-farmed protein sources. This is actually what motivated me to return to fishing and hunting after learning organic gardening techniques.

So, I've been wanting to catch carp or pikeminnows for a while to experiment. Today, I caught 2 pikeminnows and took them home (after I released a couple of frying sized trout, if you believe that!).

Filleted them, dipped in flour/salt/pepper, fried on medium and then dripped lemon juice on them. The result? Well, they were small, so it was only a sample sized few chunks, not a dinner fillet. No bones in the fillets, the fry made them "crunchy". My GF and I thought they were a delicious white fish meat. She was doubtful at first, but gave me the thumbs up to continue bringing them home.

The fatter one had eggs that I'm going to try to make trout bait out of... never googled that... will just experiment. The rest of the fish will get buried into my garden and supercharge the fall/ winter crop with quality, non-chemical nitrogen.

Yes, I'm weird, but I enjoy my life

James

 

[Feel That Bass]

Yes, I'm weird, but I enjoy my life

Great post!

pike minnows are very filling fish... either that or i was just already very very full prior to trying it... couple bites and i was like damn... not bad though, just a ridiculous amount of micro-bones

 

[Iki Jime]

LOL. Thanks, Bass.

May I ask how you prepared them? I had a couple of really small ones, but don't remember getting the "micro-bones", unless I just ate them accidentally.

I think I remember a youtube video that showed how to pressure cook and can them, which broke down those tiny bones and made them edible.

 

[schnur07]

Mercury

Mercury

A friend took me on a short drift in his McKenzie Dori, and we caught several small trout and two Pikeminnows. I'd been nerding out online and researching the potential with "trash" fish like Pikeminnows and Carp. I found out that both have redeeming qualities if prepared a certain way, and since they were not classified as a "game fish", there was no limit on them. This makes them extremely sustainable for anyone who actually aspires to fish to supplement their diets with native caught, hormone/antibiotic free, non-farmed protein sources. This is actually what motivated me to return to fishing and hunting after learning organic gardening techniques.

James

You need to be careful with mercury contamination on any resident fish in the mainstem Willamette. Adults should limit intake to 4 meals per month. I eat bass that I catch but definitely limit my intake. I could probably have enough bass to eat several times/wk if I wanted, but have to limit those bass fillets and fish tacos so I don't become a mad hatter... https://public.health.oregon.gov/He...sumption/Pages/fishadvisories.aspx#willamette

 

[rhubarb]

they make great fertilizer, otherwise...release

 

[Iki Jime]

Schnur07,

thanks for the reminder!

So... is the health advisory for the Willamette for mercury, or for the contamination from the storm water run-off as the river passes cities along the way? I thought I remembered that the advisory was in effect for days just after a rain...? I know both reservoirs in Cottage Grove have mercury for sure.

Anyway, the two suckers that I caught in the above post were from the Middle Fork (from the dam to a little ways along Jasper Rd). That part should be pretty pristine, shouldn't it?

James

 

[jarhead2]

AMercury advisory for all waters is in the regs. Pat

Schnur07,

thanks for the reminder!

So... is the health advisory for the Willamette for mercury, or for the contamination from the storm water run-off as the river passes cities along the way? I thought I remembered that the advisory was in effect for days just after a rain...? I know both reservoirs in Cottage Grove have mercury for sure.

Anyway, the two suckers that I caught in the above post were from the Middle Fork (from the dam to a little ways along Jasper Rd). That part should be pretty pristine, shouldn't it?

James

 

[coyo7e]

caught a couple this year in the 18 inch range (woahink & foster reservoir). there is a bounty for them in the columbia. but what about here? they are invasive so do we kill them? release them?

They're native but aren't supposed to get much over like 12-13 inches iirc. The larger ones are very destructive to smolt populations.

 

[bubs]

I don't fish the Columbia so I always put them back with care. Why kill a fish that's just doing what it's supposed to do in its native, natural setting (as it is where I fish)?

coyo7e - not sure what you mean by "not supposed to get over 12-13 inches" - maybe you're talking about a specific waterway. But I've pulled 6lb ones out of the Tualatin, for example, probably getting fat on eating bass, sunfish, and other actual non-native fish, and it's hard to picture killing such a big badass fish for no reason.

 

[Iki Jime]

AMercury advisory for all waters is in the regs. Pat

Thanks, Pat.

I actually saw that in the synopsis a couple of days ago and went to post to acknowledge that I was wrong... but I couldn't remember which thread that I had this discussion on :/

Thanks for pointing that out!

James

 

[nicholas]

Now I feel like the bad guy. I find them disgusting and I do not release them, native or not. Just doing my part.

You know its illegal to waste them, right?

 

[rogerdodger]

You know its illegal to waste them, right?

you are correct, the regs do not differentiate between 'game fish' and 'nongame fish', so below applies to all:

regs page 8- "unlawful: 10. Wasting fish, shellfish or marine intertidal invertebrates."

but I have not found an official definition of "wasting", so it might be safe to say that tossing them in the bushes or trash is wasting fish, using fish as garden fertilizer or crab bait is likely not wasting...

 

[Iki Jime]

you are correct, the regs do not differentiate between 'game fish' and 'nongame fish', so below applies to all:

regs page 8- "unlawful: 10. Wasting fish, shellfish or marine intertidal invertebrates."

but I have not found an official definition of "wasting", so it might be safe to say that tossing them in the bushes or trash is wasting fish, using fish as garden fertilizer or crab bait is likely not wasting...

Free organic fertilizer is valuable! Of course it's not a waste, lol!

I'm really glad that my back yard is fenced, though. Otherwise, I'd have racoons, opossum and stray cats digging through my plot

 

[bubs]

Kind of a tagent, but Zen, all 3 of the critters you mention just laugh at the fence in my backyard! I even have raccoons scale a wall of my house. You must have a serious fence.

 

[rogerdodger]

Kind of a tagent, but Zen, all 3 of the critters you mention just laugh at the fence in my backyard! I even have raccoons scale a wall of my house. You must have a serious fence.

maybe it is electric and the critters perform an act of 'self BBQ' on it....lol

ps- growing up on the Columbia river in Richland, I caught lots of pike minnows, carp, and suckers..they all ended up fertilizing the corn, cantaloupes, and watermelons in our garden...

 

[bubs]

Haha next forum topic: what to do with bbq raccoon

 

[rogerdodger]

Haha next forum topic: what to do with bbq raccoon

raccoon tikka masala? or wait, raccoon vindaloo!

 

[Iki Jime]

Kind of a tagent, but Zen, all 3 of the critters you mention just laugh at the fence in my backyard! I even have raccoons scale a wall of my house. You must have a serious fence.

bubs, actually, probably just in town enough that coons and opossums aren't as common. I grew up on acreage outside of town limits, and that's where I hope to get back to, even with critters trying to get into chicken coops and garden. Would love that.

rogerdodger, yep, I can tell that you're a fellow gardener! Corn and melons are definitely high nitrogen users. Indian cuisine is one of my favorites, along with Japanese and Thai food. Let's start a restaurant with BBQ'd critters- International themed!

 

[montym]

as long as we are talking about eating funny stuff, can anyone guess what this is?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk