It's funny how perspective changes. My old man was a die hard bass guy and growing up pike (or gators) were garbage fish. They were no good spinner/buzzbait thieves and you were happy to land one just because it meant they hadn't taken 10$ off the end of the line. Fast forward to about 3 years ago when an old timer told me they used to eat them growing up and how he preferred them to walleye (Now i've never caught or eaten walleye but I know how renowned they are for their chops as table fare). Despite being extremely dubious I gave it a shot and although I'm not trading in my crappies or burbs at the top of my eating list I was shocked at how delicious it was (particularly lightly breaded on a spicy fish sandwich). Now I make an annual winter trip to champ for some eater pike where the mid class hits the table and the pigs go back. The hookups come with a fair bit of excitement where there used to be instant dread.