Proper Filleting Technique

Fishing Warm water Forum
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Disclaimer: I DO NOT WANT THIS THREAD TO TURN INTO ANOTHER C&R DEBATE OR ETHICAL THREAD.
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You have been warned!
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Now that that’s out of the way…I have never learned how to fillet a fish. During my cold water, trout fishing days I kept only 3 or 4 fish a year, max and just cleaned em and cooked em in tin foil. Well, all anyone ever talks about as far as WW FFing is filleting and I just don’t know how to do it. Yes, I have a fillet knife (its a Cutco, so supposed to be top of the line and costs $60+). Is it the same for panfish and bass? Any special tricks you guys wouldn’t mind sharing?

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I grew up fishing trout with an occasional kokanee. gut em, flour em and fry em in oil, I hadnt fillet a fish till last year.

Here is a good video to help with the fileting

Eric

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzTFBQ07s3o

If you enter Fish Fillet on you tube you will find may instructional videos, watch two or three and you will have the idea

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http://www.capmel.com/how_to-fillet_fish.htm

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You live in Ohio so you must deal with bluegills and bass some trout. When I lived in New England we would clean remove the gills of a trout and cook it with head and tail still on the fish. Head oils were suppose to give the fish added flavor. My Hoosier wife has to have them removed. Cooked in the micro wave or wraped in foil on wood fire coals. I scale bluegill cut behind the gills and with a small knife slit along the back to tail then go around the rib bones. Friend like to leave the scales and remove BG skin but i leave it on.
A bass is done the same way as shown above in one post only I cut back to the tail leaving it attatched at the tail. I flip the fillet over,meat up and put the fillet knife between the skin and meat and cut from thre tail forward leaving a skin and a clean fillet. I freaze BG in water wrap bass and trout in freezer wrap. BILL

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The only thing I would do differently than that youtube video is to leave the filet attached to the fish(don’t cut it off the tail). This way you can flap the filet back and hold onto the rest of the fish when you cut the filet away from the skin.

Uh, and it’s filet …“fillay” there Victor.

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For gills (all I filet), I just cut behind the head to the backbone, turn my knife rearward & cut through the bones to the tail along the backbone, flick the bones out, skin & rinse. Quick & easy with a good knife.
Mike

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Thanks for the links and personals. One other question: I’ve heard or read that it is easier to filet when the fish is cold, which makes sense. Do you guys just keep em on ice til they’re on the table or put em in the freezer first or does it really even make any difference?

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Cold fish are easier to clean. Frozen fish are more difficult. Just put them on ice til you’re ready to clean them. Myself, where possible, I clean them as soon as I’m done fishing, then put the fillets on ice for the trip home.

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Please be careful with your fillet knives. I always cut with the blade away from me, never back toward me. Also good idea to be aware of where the fish-holding hand and fingers are at all times away from the blade. I learned that lesson the hard way. :shock:

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If you want to be safe from the knife buy a Fillet Glove I have one made of fine wire mesh and I wear it on my left hand with the knife in my right. After filleting I soak the meat in water with ice cubes to remove any blood. As I mentioned earlier i freeze the BG in small containers full of water–bass and trout in freezer wrap. BILL

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Thanks for the links and personals. One other question: I’ve heard or read that it is easier to filet when the fish is cold, which makes sense. Do you guys just keep em on ice til they’re on the table or put em in the freezer first or does it really even make any difference?

Most warm water fish are going to the bottom of the fridge for a few hours. They are much easier to work with this way. The catfish is getting filleted but not skinned. I put these in the freezer for about an hour or until the filet becomes rigid (not frozen) and then pull it out onto newspapers skin side down and quickly run the knife between skin and the meat. As a matter of fact you can do the same with pike or pickerel.

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Robert gave great advice with keeping the knife blade facing away from you.
I also keep gills on ice in the cooler until cleaning…Warm fish are too soft easily filet.
Mike

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Actually, fresh (live) fish are the easiest to fillet. Cold fish that have been dead more than a hour or two tear too easily due to a break-down of the cell structure, which begins within minutes of death.

I use a method you may remember from Biology Dissection class called ‘pithing’. I keep my fish alive until I am ready to fillet them, then I ‘pith’ them one-at-a-time as I fillet, by inserting the knife blade through the top of thier head between the eyes, destroying the brain and rendering the fish instantly dead. This is the way to have the freshest fish possible. I immedeatly put each fillet on ice, freeze, or cook them. It makes a HUGE difference in the taste and texture of the fillets.

Semper Fi!

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Im sure your really confused by now,were even into the scientific ways of doing it. Keep them in a on ice till you can clean then. Fillet them as many have said. Then store them as I said earlier BG in water frozen in the freezer bass trout in freezer wrap. I have been doing it for 85 years and never had one spoil. BILL

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Bill,
I’m not confused by any means actually. I do have one question for you though. Why freeze bluegill fillets in water? Will they get freezer burned if frozen without the water?

Gig, one question for you. How in the world do you keep the fish alive? Especially if you’re river fishin?

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We save small plastic containers some come with butter --put the fillet in fill with waterin the ice they will never freezer burn. Hate to say it --Ive found some with a year old date that were still as good as new. BILL

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Years ago when I lived in Austin TX I was crappie fishing off of a fishing pier on Lake Travis. Me and a buddy were hand filleting our fish and the old boy that ran the pier, came over and plugged in his electric fillet knife. On the way home I stopped off and bought one made by Mister Twister and have used it ever since.

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anglerdave,
It’s interesting to me that you are the first person to mention using a Electric Knife! They go through fish like a hot knife through butter!
Doug

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[quote=“DShock”]

anglerdave,
It’s interesting to me that you are the first person to mention using a Electric Knife! They go through fish like a hot knife through butter!
Doug[/quote]

You know Doug, I keep trying to tell everyone that I am not just another pretty face. There is substance in these little gray cells. :lol:

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I live in a wilderness area on a mountain with trout streams within easy walking distance. I have a floating fish basket ($14.00 at Walmart) that stays in the water and follows me where I go. It’s easy to get them home alive. When I fish away from my neck of the woods, I have a large cooler in the back of my van that I fill with lake water and have a aereator in it. When I am done for the day, I either fillet the fish on-site and ice the fillets down, or I transfer them to the cooler, and they stay in that until I get home. It just depends on where I’m at and how feel at the time.

I won’t eat a dead fish, because I can’t be sure what killed it, unless it is obviously deep-hooked, or something like that. Fish can have many parasites and diseases that can cause trouble in humans as well.

I hope this helps.

Semper Fi!