Eel Pouts.... How and where to fish for them on Mille Lacs?

[MidCoast]

Any tips???

[otis]

Go out hoping to catch lots of nice walleyes. Or go out with a bunch of friends in a big fish house. Drink lots of beer. Play lots of cards. And have as many rattle reels down as you legally can. Then pass out. Then the rattles will go... right when you think you got yourself a nice walleye, then you will have yourself a giant mess with one pout on the end of every line you have. Only sure way to catch em' is try not to.

[walleyeJoe]

YOU MEAN HOOD ORNAMENTS? you catch them and you through them on the hood of the plow truck!!! the dang bird wont even eat the things.

[walleyeJoe]

but in realness if you want to cath them go deep... like in the mud deep, there bottom night feeders, and they are an absolute mess at 3 in the morning when your trippin gover stuff in the house. its dissapointing when you get a rattle reel coming off the wall and you pull it up and that nasty sucke ris staring you in the face

[MuleShack]

Simply DONT try to catch any, and you'll have all that you want...

Tell yourself your out for walleyes and they'll find your hook.

[eelpout50]

I you fish mid lake humps that have access to deep water you should do well. Eelpout also like a lively bait so keep those minnows fresh. The reason so many people catch them in the winter is that they spawn in Jan- Feb. In the summer they stay very deep and dormant being that they can't tolarate warm water. If you do catch a few try this: fillet the tail section, poach in white wine seasoned with fresh lemon juice and whole black peppercorns and serve with drawn butter. There you have it; Minnesota lobster!

Trust me, it's good.

[MuskieSlayer]

Quote:

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YOU MEAN HOOD ORNAMENTS? you catch them and you through them on the hood of the plow truck!!! the dang bird wont even eat the things.

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Wanton waste?

As eelpout50 said, eat them because they're very good.

[rmrakt]

If you don't want to eat them, by law eelpout must be returned to the water. You will get a ticket if you get caught leaving them (or any fish) lay on the ice with no intention of taking them with you.

They do serve a purpose by maintaining the YOY baitfish population.

[Marmot]

Quote:

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Go out hoping to catch lots of nice walleyes. Or go out with a bunch of friends in a big fish house. Drink lots of beer. Play lots of cards. And have as many rattle reels down as you legally can. Then pass out. Then the rattles will go... right when you think you got yourself a nice walleye, then you will have yourself a giant mess with one pout on the end of every line you have. Only sure way to catch em' is try not to.

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So true..so true... lol

Also, make sure to get your line as close to bottom as possible.

[otis]

I actually like to fillet ones that people do leave behind. The backstraps are excellent. Stay away from the darker meat. My favorite way is to put them in cold milk and slowly bring to a boil, take out and dip in melted butter. Another good way is make pancake batter only use beer instead of water, boil the pieces in 7up. Very tasty. They are a mess of a fish and not pretty to look at but they are good eaters.

[rumbees]

what is the best bait to catch these

[Bandersnatch]

rumbees;

The best rig I have used for Burbot is a plain #4 red hook, sinker about 3 inches above the hook, and fished no more than 6 inches from the bottom with as small as you can get Sucker minnows.

I prefer a bobber with about 2 feet of slack laying in the hole before the rattle goes off, as they can be a bit line shy when first taking a bait.

For the folks that judge this book by it's cover, try asking someone in Alaska where you can go Pout fishing! Be prepared to either be laughed at, or smacked LOL! They would rather let you use their best dog, than give up their Pout spots, and you know how they are about their dogs!!!

Keith

[rumbees]

keith

thanks for all the help

rumbees

[Bigfife]

I don't know if I can break down and intentionally fish for them, but everyone I caught last year ended up on the table. I even traded a couple walleyes for a 6 or 7 pounder on LOW last winter. They look ugly, but taste delicious.

[Shack]

"poor mans lobster"

You can catch them any where on the lake from 10-30 fow. Right off bottom with bobber, hook and sinker. I seem to get them off of fat heads and shinners at 1-2 in the morning.

If you are in a perm shack and one getting on rattle reel in early am, those things can wrap up all downed lines in shack quick. If no one hear rattle reel, you end up with a mess in the am..