Let me start off by saying I love Perch, big or small.
I grew up catching them with my grandma and grandpa so they have a special place in my heart. They were also my first fish through the ice at DC back in the day.
I angle at FL quite a bit and love that lake and it's finny inhabitants.
When the wasting rule was relaxed on FL Perch I think I cried a little and could not bring myself to waste any.
I always knew that in a big game herd you need population control for the good of the animals but still struggled with my beloved FL Perch.
Thanks to this forum I have been educated and can see the error of my ways.
I made a solo trip down to FL this morning ,3/10,and while there was still a tinge of guilt to dump the majority of these fish I am trying hard to believe that my actions will pay bigger dividends down the road for me and my family.
[signature]
Shane,
You must have fished for just a few hours if you only caught 101 perch. [
]
I can't see enough of the ice in your photo to get an idea of how the conditions were up there today. I'm going to give it a try next week and I'm wondering if an ATV will work up there now. How thick was the ice?
Mike
[signature]
You are right, fished from about 8:15 till about 11:30. I also caught some splake and bows but no size to the splake.
When I go to FL I always fish in the morning then leave before lunch because I find somewhere to go rabbit hunting on the way back.
The ice is plenty solid at 16" at least on the south end. My drill arbor was in the ice shavings by the time I punched through.
There was one Rzr and at least 2 quads on it today getting around no problem.
Edges were solid, road and parking lots clear.
Only Perch were harmed in today's adventure, no rabbits ( I don't dare leave the road far while hunting for fear my ice gear will be 'distributed' without my knowledge).......
[signature]
It takes a rare brand of crazy to see an open rifle case in a truck in the middle of nowhere and try to break in anyway.
[signature]
Thanks for the information Shane. A few more Perch may be harmed in the future.
Mike
[signature]
A man who thinks like I do.
Times were tough when I was growing up, and my dad would not let me filet fish because it wasted too much meat. We scaled the fish and just gutted them and fried them whole, tail and all.
We had to keep all the perch we caught to eat--family of 8 starving munchkins.
Still my favorite way to eat perch is to scale the little ones and fry them and just remove the backbone(eat the rest-rib cage bones will be crunchy). Slit from the end of the vent to the tail with a small knife and just peel the meat from the backbone.
I too, still cringe when I have to help control the population. My Dad rolls over in his grave seeing me not keeping the little ones.
On walleye, he would let us peel the meat from the ribs and we would not have to eat the bones! We had to cut out the cheek plates(fresh water scallops)out and the throats(butterflies) to eat. I still do this.
He would give us a piece of bread to eat with the fish to "catch" the stray bones when we swallowed. We all survived!!
Fish fried with the skin on and bones in, still is the tastiest way to eat fish.
[signature]
I agree but those low life's are out there.
Years ago my buddy was on a Wyoming deer hunt. Him, his cousin, and two sons were all asleep in a tent trailer when someone stole his Honda generator from underneath the cheesy little slide out beds that the generator was just a few feet underneath them.
That takes cajones......
[signature]
When cooked correctly the Crispy Skin from pan fish has a wonderful flavor. I never saw a fish filleted as a child or young adult and our family ate plenty of them.
[signature]
[quote Dog-lover]When cooked correctly the Crispy Skin from pan fish has a wonderful flavor. I never saw a fish filleted as a child or young adult and our family ate plenty of them.[/quote][font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000]Back in the late '40s & early 50s, we would go out to Lake Michigan and fill a wash tub with perch (no limits back then) and when we got home the adults sat upstairs visiting while all the kids were in the basement scaling with spoons and cutting heads off and gutting with kitchen knives. The whole fish was pan fried and we ate everything (fins, skins, & meat) except the bones. Yum; yum![/#800000][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000]However, now I use an electric Rapala and fillet, skin, and debone almost everting except those going into the smoker. I've gotten very efficient in my old age. Some would say I've gotten lazy. Okay, I can live with that. [cool][/#800000][/font]
[signature]
I grew up in Michigan also in the 50!s and our perch grounds were Lake St. Clair, Mitchell's Bay and Lake Simcoe/Chooch-a-ching(Canada).
[signature]
Jay,
Check your PM's and please let me know you received my message.
Shane
[signature]