Not Your Pickerel Pines

[RednekF350]

For the last 27 years, me and a group of friends and co-workers have been doing a freshwater fishing trip on Good Friday. We have only cancelled 2 or 3 in 27 years for weather or other reasons but for the last ten years or so, it has just been me and few people in my old 18' jon.
Reasons ? People are too busy, or it's too cold, or it might rain, or it's too windy, or it's too close to Easter, blah, blah, blah.

I am not one to let traditions die and today, I am glad I went. We fished a southern reach of the Pinelands National Reserve with pristine woods and waters surrounding us.
Me and one co-worker caught over 30 fish today, many of which were skinny, 10" pickerel but I was able to hoist three nice bass and a slab crappie. All of the above were quickly returned to their aquatic home. We also boated six nice yellow perch and I am not sorry to say, I only practice filet and release on those tasty critters.

A cold beer, some hot oil in my old cast iron pan and lightly seasoned yellow perch filets crackling away in the pan and the day was peacefully complete.

 

[bobpbx]

That 'ol cast iron pan has kept your blood red for many a year!

 

[oji]

I had to check! Mine is a Griswold, I think Mom got it from Grandma a few decades ago.

 

[46er]

Very nice Crappie. Should have added it to the pan.

 

[RednekF350]

Very nice Crappie. Should have added it to the pan.

The thought crossed my mind 46er. That fish was caught near the end of our outing and I already had the six perch in the box. I only wanted to make a meal for my wife and I, so back it went. My fishing buddy was not interested in anything for the pan and he still struggles with the thought of eating a fish from any lake in New Jersey.

 

[Teegate]

I struggle with eating any fish from anywhere so I have never eaten fish.

 

[GermanG]

Here's the latest DEP advisories on eating wild-caught fish. I attempted to link to the specific page on Pinelands waters (page 11) but it didn't work, so you have to navigate it a bit.

https://www.nj.gov/dep/dsr/Fish_Advisories_2018.pdf

I do a bit of flyfishing up north for trout, enjoying seeking out wild trout areas the most. While I consider those waters and the fish they contain safe, I return everything caught back to the water. I will eat stocked fish from the lager streams when I occasionally keep a few. They were not raised in those waters and have not had time for the worst contaminants to accumulate in their tissues. With saltwater fish, I tend to take pictures of the big ones and eat the smaller ones, using similar rationale regarding contaminant issues.

 

[ninemileskid]

My buddies and I used to fish a pond that was near our homes. We never ate the fish because the condition of the pond was questionable. We played hockey on the same pond and would cut holes for our tip-ups and separate holes to drink the pond water. Somehow we justified it by claiming the below freezing temps took care of anything and everything. It didn't kill me but maybe it's a very slow process.

 

[rc911]

That 'ol cast iron pan has kept your blood red for many a year!

Excellent video. Now I cant wait to go through my inventory to identify all of the "unmarked" ones.

 

[manumuskin]

I struggle with eating any fish from anywhere so I have never eaten fish.

I think if we can find a peanut flavored fish you would really like it

 

[manumuskin]

My Dad has always had one passion in life.Fishing.He is from Indiana so till he came here in the 60'd he never knew what saltwater was but was a dedicated freshwater fisherman.He now is a salt water junkie.A year and a half ago He lost a leg to a blockage that killed his right leg from the knee down.He still crutched himself to the turck.(He will not use his 16,000 dollar fake leg because he lamost fell down the steps with it) He then heads to Fortescue where he gets the fat tired wheel chair out and heads down to the water to fish the day away. Yet He will not eat fish.He is strictly a steak and tader man. I on the other hand will hand you the steak back and say fill my plate up with that thar fish.

 

[Teegate]

I think if we can find a peanut flavored fish you would really like it

Or baked beans. I ate them leaning against my car today before hiking.

I have cut out all cholesterol except for one of the meals my wife cooks any day. I had an infection around the bone in my front tooth and had to have it removed, and during the testing my Endodontist saw blockage in my carotid arteries. A ultrasound found one to be possibly 70 percent blocked. Now on statins. Because of the odd location of the tooth next to the one removed, and now one missing, the plan is for me to be a teenager again and get Invisalign braces. Pull that one tooth over and align the rest to fill in the huge gap. I have to wear them 23 hours a day for 6 months. That should start in a couple months maybe. They glue little tabs onto all of your teeth and the braces snap in and are replaced every so often with different ones. The problem is the tooth next to the one pulled is loose because the bone disintegrated with the infection. Now I may have to have surgery to have the bone seeded and hopefully that works or all plans are off.

 

[RednekF350]

Here's the latest DEP advisories on eating wild-caught fish. I attempted to link to the specific page on Pinelands waters (page 11) but it didn't work, so you have to navigate it a bit.

https://www.nj.gov/dep/dsr/Fish_Advisories_2018.pdf
.

Well German, I found my waterbody. I am good for once per month for yellow perch but I would be a "Do Not Eat" if I was part of the high risk population.
I am a tobacco chewer, a moderate to severe beer drinker, a moderate bourbon drinker, a motorcycle rider and I only wear a seat belt in someone else's vehicle if the beeper won't stop. If that makes me part of the high risk population, I guess my yellow perch days are over.
Not.

 

[Toothy Critter]

Nice fishing trip. Nice crappie. But I am impressed with the perch. In all my life I have never caught more than a couple in a single outing. I get one or two and then they disappear on me. They are beautiful fish. Would love to know where you got them, but seeing how I would never post it myself, I could never ask. Hmmm....but the place looks familiar. Nice job...nice report.

 

[c1nj]

I gotta pretty good idea as well! I bet @manumuskin does also.

 

[old jersey girl]

I had to check! Mine is a Griswold, I think Mom got it from Grandma a few decades ago.

I cook in cast iron; Griswold pans are lighter and have a smoother finish than the newer Lodge pans. The Griswold pans are now "collectible" and hard to find. Often at unreasonable prices at antique shops. I will use a non-stick pan for some items, but properly seasoned iron is better.

I am not happy when a usefull, functiional item becomes "decor", and ends up hanging on some yuppie's wall. Like the 5-bowl Pyrex set, dented Bake King cookie sheets, Revere copper bottom pots all in use in my kitchen. All American manufacture. As my culture hero said in the last Terminator movie, "Old, not obsolete" !.

 

[old jersey girl]

Well German, I found my waterbody. I am good for once per month for yellow perch but I would be a "Do Not Eat" if I was part of the high risk population.
I am a tobacco chewer, a moderate to severe beer drinker, a moderate bourbon drinker, a motorcycle rider and I only wear a seat belt in someone else's vehicle if the beeper won't stop. If that makes me part of the high risk population, I guess my yellow perch days are over.
Not.

Wear the seatbelt. When I was the Atlantic County medical examiner's assistant (1982-84), the people most often on the stainless steel table were thrown out of the vehicle, not trapped inside.

 

[46er]

Wear the seatbelt.

Two really good head-on hits I 'm still here, with just contusions and big black and blues after the events.

#1

#2

Police photo, my car in the middle.

 

[46er]

Wear the seatbelt.

Two really good head-on hits I 'm still here, with just contusions and big black and blues after the events. When you can't react quickly enough, seat/shoulder belts work.

 

[Broke Jeep Joe]

6er, looks like you are lucky to be here in both cases! Question, was that mustang 2 a mach 1? I notice the rockers are painted black and it looks factory and it has the simulated watered down 4 lug magnum 500ish wheels on it! I had a 78 mach for a short period of time, 302 4 speed car, it was mere shadow of its former brothers! Also notice the capri in the pic!