Electric filet knife makes it easy if you have lots of fish to clean but a standard blade sharp filet knife works well too.  The best way to learn is get someone that knows how to show you and you practice while they are looking on and guiding you. 

i always made sure to wander off when we unloaded the boat, didnt want to waste the rest of the day cuttin up fish.

3 minutes ago, throttleplate said:

i always made sure to wander off when we unloaded the boat, didnt want to waste the rest of the day cuttin up fish.

That guy…….

My dad taught me. First it was just helping him cut the ribcage out of the fillets, then I moved up to actually filleting fish. I got pretty good at it. The lake I fished all the time had a bunch of hand sized bluegills and one of the regulars would pay me $.25 a fish to fillet them for him. Not sure how many big bluegills I filleted for him, but it was a bunch. 

 

Rarely keep fish anymore other than a walleye or two. Last time I kept a 20 fish limit of crappie for my parents reminded me why I use to have an electric knife for those things. If it had been for anyone else, I'd have stopped and turned half of them loose. 

On 1/17/2023 at 8:13 PM, TnRiver46 said:

That guy…….

Have a buddy just like that. Wants to keep fish but he's to lazy to clean them. If I clean a bunch he's like hey if you have to many ill take a bag. Jerk.

On 1/14/2023 at 3:50 PM, Will Ketchum said:

Many years ago the PA Fish Commission did a filleting demonstration with perch at a mall. I had read about filleting in fishing magazines, but seeing it done live and in front of me made it all seem so easy while the magazines did not.

 

Many years ago the Waterway Patrolman in SE PA was a very close friend. One day he told me he had a "terrible job" and then told me that he had to "go fishing" and catch a bunch of pan fish so that the Fish Commission could use them at an outdoor exhibit to demonstrate how to fillet a fish.  

 

Of course, he was just trying to make me jealous that he got paid to go fishing for a day. 

I taught myself. My dad wouldn’t filet fish, because he thought it wasted too much meat. He would pick every piece out to the tiniest one, then eat the tail for dessert…?

14 hours ago, N Florida Mike said:

I taught myself. My dad wouldn’t filet fish, because he thought it wasted too much meat. He would pick every piece out to the tiniest one, then eat the tail for dessert…?

Crispy crunchy! 

Way back in the 60's ( I was a very young man) we would drop off our perch at the cleaners ( .20 cents per lb. ) to get them filleted.  The old guy there ask me if I wanted to stay and watch, which I did many times. Never became as fast as he was, but over one summer, I became a pretty good perch cleaner!!  Nowadays still clean my own, tried going back to cleaning service due to my arthritus, but didn't work as I now have become to picky about how my fish are cleaned !!

I learned how to filay fish from Carl.