The fish we catch and keep to eat remain for most of us a vital part of ice fishing—a reward for our effort that goes beyond sport. About once a year, someone here goes on pickle patrol. Last season it was In-Fisherman Managing Editor Rob Neumann and Ice Fishing Guide Editor Jeff Simpson. I took strategic command of the operation from my bunker at the In-Fisherman office complex.

“Straighten up there, boys,” I said, as the derelict duo stood before me, snowsuits on, boots buckled, hat earflaps flapping, and 5-gallon buckets brimming with tip-ups. “Find us a pike lake that’s full of picklers and let’s get pickling—that is, get out there and pick us a peck of pickler pike.”

Small pike often are abundant—sometimes overabundant—and pickling is one way to take advantage of this bounty. Any fish can be pickled, though—suckers, burbot, and even walleyes and crappies. Bluegills are wonderful, too, and so are perch. It’s just that small pike harbor lots of small bones that are hard for many people to deal with. Pickling takes care of the problem without having to get rid of the bones.

What we’re really getting at here is Selective Harvest. For almost two decades, we’ve been promoting this conservation concept. We let a portion of the catch go, particularly those large fish that usually are less abundant than smaller fish of the same species. So, we release the 6-pound walleyes and 10-pound pike in favor of keeping smaller fish, the makings of exquisite meals. We also take home a mess of abundant panfish of a medium size—perch, bluegills, crappies, or white bass. Or the abundant pickler pike we were just discussing.

Selective Harvest helps to sustain good fishing for larger fish but allows us to continue a tradition of eating fish, which are nutritious and delicious. The final logic is that when fish are harvested wisely (selectively), they are a renewable resource. We can continue to enjoy fine fishing today, and continue to eat fish now and in the future.