Fishing partners reunite for action on frozen ponds

Twenty years ago, my grandson Nate Griffin lived only a stone’s-throw from my home, along with his older brother Kyle and mom and dad. Nate was the one who showed great affinity for the things that his grandfather loved to do, sometimes to the detriment of both of us.

He was truly my shadow for the next 10 years when that dreadful day (to parents) came when he was able to get his driver's license and shed his granddad’s shadow. Lots of readers will remember this day with anguish if a parent but with joy if you were the one that got the license.

All of those times out in the field and water with Nate were wondrous for the both of us and as he became older (along with me) my warnings to him were that we’d dragged him along on countless outings and someday the time would come when he would have to return the favor. And friends, that time has finally come and Nate has suddenly awakened to that fact!

One sport that has become pretty difficult for me to undertake without assistance is ice fishing. Without motorized travel, having given up my ATV and snowmobiles long ago, the amount of equipment and difficulty in transporting same became a barrier for me to ice fish. Last year, for the first time in my memory, our feet never touched the ice. We really missed the freedom that being out on the ice brought us, along with the nourishment of freshly caught fish.

Come Nathan to the rescue! It may have been motivated by the fact that as last summer’s striper fishing was waning, we took Nate and his friend Brian out for a trip on Great Bay. The result being Nate ended up with a striper that made the Suds-n-Soda Striper Derby board at 35.5 pounds and Brian snapping off one just as big right at the boat, applying a little too much thumb to the reel! Nate probably felt that if he didn’t take me ice fishing this year that his trips on Great Bay could have an end. We’re glad he’s so perceptive!

For the last two weeks we’ve been hitting the ice on some of the mid-state ponds, trying for quantity and not quality — looking for some good panfish to take home. On the first trip where we were joined by Nate’s friend Eric, we landed only three take-home pickerel — no bass (which we would have released), no crappy and no perch. But those pickerel, which we’re going to later reveal how to easily prepare them in spite of their bony flesh, provided Jane and I with a memorable meal and snacks later.

The second trip we were joined by Nate’s dad Mike Griffin, and Mike and my friend Brian Emard. Brian lives in the winter at Horn Pond in Wakefield and in the warmer months runs his Anchor River Lodge in Alaska, which all of us have enjoyed in prior years. It’s the true test of a sportsman when a person can enjoy fishing for tiny panfish in New Hampshire, after experiencing the incredible Alaskan fishing. Brian is one of them.

This time we had a bit more action, catching and releasing four or five nice largemouth bass, icing four take-home pickerel along with one crappy and one yellow perch big enough for the trip. Nate’s lady-friend’s chocolate Lab was kind enough to snatch the largest pickerel and hide it somewhere in the woods that we never located! But the other fish provided another memorable meal for Jane and me.

So here’s the pickerel trick. With the fish on it’s belly with dorsal fin up, fillet off the loins by cutting from just behind the head to the beginning of the dorsal fin. This piece of flesh will have a line of tiny bones running its length. Fillet off the meat on both sides of the bones, leaving the bones on the skin. Then fillet the tail section as you would any fish and remove the skin. Fillet the belly flaps leaving the rib bones on the skeleton. Turn the flaps skin-side down and score with your knife with close cuts to the skin in both directions, leaving the meat attached to the skin. This scoring will cut the bones into small pieces that when fried will almost disappear. Roll in seasoned flour or crumbs and fry in good vegetable oil, cooking the flaps skin side down.

When done, I don’t mind eating the skin but if you object it’s no job to just pluck the skin off.

Remember the Dickster when enjoying this wonderful meal. Please stay in touch.

Dick Pinney’s Guide Lines column appears weekly in the New Hampshire Sunday News. Readers may email him at DoDuckInn@aol.com.