pike have a bit more of a fishy taste than walleye if you dont take care of them properly. i always skin fish i clean (aside lake trout because when you bake them, the skin helps keep in the flavor) because i think it helps with the flavor and texture. also, if you leave the skin on, the breading doesnt stick as well to the fillet and falls off and burns in your oil. for pike, i cut them into fish sticks and the Y bones dissolve out when you fry them. a quick rinse in salt water helps cut the slime and fishy taste too. up in the Q i avoid pike unless they are deeply hooked (which is really rare because i use mostly single hooks on my plugs and spoons). the pike we get up there are way too big to eat anyway. plus we have never had an issue catching a meals worth of walleye, at least so far in my quetico career.

my thoughts about eating pike go beyond just the taste/hastle of cleaning them. since i was a youngin'(still am by most accounts), my father taught me about fish population sustainability. he told me to release the big ones so they could pass on their genes and make more healthy fish for years down the road. granted, this was in a smaller lake that we live on, so my efforts have more impact. up in the Q, the fish populations seem extremely healthy and vital. i release the pike because they help eliminate the weaker walleyes and help keep their populations strong and healthy. because the walleye populations are so great up there i dont feel the need to protect the walleyes at all costs like my father preached to me as a child.