Anyone eat pikeminnow?

[IDiot]

I caught a mixed bag yesterday on the river. A decent smallie, that fried up nice last night. Also some good rainbows and a pikeminnow. I just put those on the smoker.

Two things, this is my first try smoking anything so any advice is welcome. I'm loosely following a Hank Shaw recipe. Secondly I know pikeminnow are a rough fish but the meat looks good and it seems to have less bones than some game fish. So who on here has tried them? What did you think?

 

[44hunter45]

You cannot go wrong with a Hank recipe.

 

[WapitiBob]

We feed them to the resident Eagles.

 

[Robg2]

You cannot go wrong with a Hank recipe.

I wouldn’t be too sure with pikeminnow . I use to catch a lot of them as a kid and don’t remember trying them more than once. We learned to plant them in the garden. I’ll be interested in hearing how they turn out.

 

[Gr8bawana]

I caught a few of those on the Rouge river a few years ago and everyone said they were trash fish so I didn't keep them.
Please let us know if they are worth eating.

 

[Brittany Chukarman]

I had a Vietnamese lady on the boat for a couple days several years back. Someone caught a pikeminnow and she wanted it. Said it reminded her of a fish from back home. Cooked it up that night. The next day on the boat she said it tasted bad. I agree with you, the meat does look good when filleted.

 

[IDiot]

Following up on this. I need to get better at smoking as a cooking technique because the trout wasn't amazing either, like I've had when other people make it.
The pikeminnow did have more bones than I had previously thought but still not ridiculous. The flesh was white has some flavor but not overpowering and the texture was so-so.
I would put it in a category of some people would like it but most wouldn't or it's not worth the effort with bones. I do think a more talented cook could make them very tasty but for me I'm going to release almost all of them going forward.
One caveat, this was a pretty big one, a smaller fish may have a better flavor and texture.

 

[Gr8bawana]

I'm sure there's a reason there is a bounty and nobody eats these fish.

AI Overview



The 2026 Northern Pikeminnow Sport-Reward Program runs from May 1 through September 30, 2026. Anglers are paid $6 to $10 per qualifying pikeminnow (9 inches or larger) caught in the Columbia and Snake rivers, with specially tagged fish worth up to $500. [1, 2, 3]

Program Details

• Dates: May 1 – September 30, 2026. [1]
• Locations: The mainstem Columbia River (from its mouth up to Priest Rapids Dam) and the Snake River (up to Hells Canyon Dam). [1]
• Reward Tiers: Payouts increase the more you catch:
  • First 25 fish: $6 each
  • • Fish 26 – 200: $8 each
    • Fish 201+: $10 each [1, 2, 3]
• • Tagged Fish: Specially tagged pikeminnow are worth $500 for external tags and $200 for internal tags. [1]

 

[IDiot]

I knew about that program, just not my area of the snake.