• You do not need to register if you are not going to pay the yearly fee to post. If you register please click here or log in go to "settings" then "my account" then "User Upgrades" and you can renew.

HuskerMax readers can save 50% on  Omaha Steaks .

Tailgate Fish Fry

I fillet them like a walleye, size depends on the body of water that were fishing. Some lakes we can catch 100 in a couple of hours but rarely over 11". Last year we kept about 450 that were 12"-16" out of Milford. I even had to convince @Nostradumbass that they were actually crappie. We went today but had minimal luck.
There were some slabs of meat cooked that day, could’ve actually grilled some of those fillets like a tuna or swordfish steak
 
A 10” crappie is actually a pretty good sized fillet. I don’t think I’ve ever scaled a fish
A lot of old timers would scale any small panfish of ANY size, then fry them whole. Sometimes people pick the meat off the skeleton (like most do with trout), but some folks swear by eating the whole thing when it's a tiny little sunfish. I've never brought myself to the point of trying it.
 
Not much for may flies which is a hit for crappies around here.
Whatever adults you see at any point during the year, the nymphs (mayflies) and larvae (caddis) are down there all year. If you ever get the chance to take a picture of an adult up close, send a copy of the pic to me. I'm curious what's down there.
 



Whatever adults you see at any point during the year, the nymphs (mayflies) and larvae (caddis) are down there all year. If you ever get the chance to take a picture of an adult up close, send a copy of the pic to me. I'm curious what's down there.
Will do, I'd love to have something that mimics them. I could put it on a 12' pole and nail them. I'll be hitting the flooded creeks this week, a 1/16th oz gold jig head with a blue and white tube works well.
 



I'm not really sure what it imitates, probably a minnow but they like it. For some strange reason the flatheads do too.
I'd guess that they think that it's a young shad. Tubes do a good job of imitating a minnow while moving. Flatheads are live meat eaters, so it makes sense that everything there thinks it looks like the small fish that they're eating.
 
Lots of time when the bite is tough in the summer I'll use a small ice fishing jig with awiggle, never fails,
Whether you mean to or not, you're probably doing a pretty good job of imitating the caddis larva that are present. Here are some pictures of a few that are common:
Free-Living-Caddis-Larva.jpg

26716

26717


When they transition from the larval stage into the pupal stage and from the pupal stage into the adult insect stage, certain species of caddisfly larva will have a gas bubble that grows inside of their outer skin membrane that eventually lifts them to the surface where they crawl out of their skin and fly away. That air bubble looks silver underwater. An ice jig usually has a silver back, so the jig and a small maggot, mealworm, butter worm, etc., will together make a very good impression of the emerging caddis that they're already eating.
 





GET TICKETS


Get 50% off on Omaha Steaks

Back
Top