Great episode! I do have a question. In the Winnebigosh area all the perch seem to have a white worm parasite in them. Some perch have only a couple and some are loaded. I have been told that they are fine to eat… just cook them good. I would prefer finding clean perch and I am looking for new areas. Does anyone know if the ND and SD perch have these worms?
I only have used the Rapala cordless. I found the blades to be a bit aggressive on the meat. I clean lots of panfish and the occasional Northern for pickling. I bought a set of Mister Twister blades and it changed how the whole knife works. Works great for cleaning deer as well.
I agree with building our own. I just built five for myself and it was a fun learning experience. I got the blanks form St Croix rod in Park Falls Wisconsin for $25 a piece. The rest of the components were from Thorne Brothers. I will say that it costs about $60 to build your own nice rod though, but that is better that $120 and way more fun.
Also last night I just saw a guy on Minnesota bound making the handles out of game used hockey sticks. That was kind of unique, but not sure how well they work.
My recipe never calls for salt and vinegar to mix and it is a pretty quick recipe. Try this one out and let me know if you like it.
Uncle Jim’s Pickled Fish
Brine:
1/2c non-iodized (canning or pickling) salt to each quart of water.
Cut fish into bite-sized pieces(Small Pieces get mor flavor)
Place fish pieces in a non-reactive bowl with Brine for 24 hours
Drain
Very lightly rinse with cold water.
Make the Pickling Solution below so it has time to cool on this day.
Cover with white vinegar for 12 hours.
Drain.
Pack fish and onion slices into the jars.
Pickling Solution for a gallon of fish:
4c. White Vinegar
3c. Sugar
1c. Moscato Wine
1/4c pickling spice
Dissolve sugar in white vinegar.
Heat to dissolve the sugar, but don’t boil.
Add Moscato Wine
Add pickling spice
Bring to a boil, then cool to room temperature or refrigerate for later use.
2 Raw onions – thinly sliced
Pack onion and fish pieces in layer in jars
Add cool pickling solution to cover fish pieces and close tightly.
Refrigerate for 4 days
KEEP REFRIGERATED
Thanks the picture helps a ton! It looks like I’ll be heading To Fleet Farm Today.
