A lifetime’s experience notwithstanding, fishermen have a few quirks that continue to amaze me.
One of the most head-scratching examples stems from the fact that even self-described “casual” fishermen spend what, at least to a non-fisherman, might appear to be an inordinate amount of time and money to reduce fish to possession. No, it’s not the time or the money that bothers me; I’m a firm believer in the impossibility of spending too much of either of those things on fishing. What baffles me is how little forethought so many fishermen — both novices and grizzled veterans — give to taking proper care of the fish they’ve worked so hard to capture.
Can you imagine how a “fresh” salmon would taste if it were strung on a rope and hauled behind a commercial fishing boat from the time it was caught until the boat returned to port? Not very appetizing, you say. Well at least the salmon would have been towed through ice cold water, which is more than can be said for a crappie, bass or catfish receiving the same treatment in the tepid summertime water of a Midwestern reservoir.
During the summer months, an ice chest filled from a third to half full of cubed or crushed ice is the only practical way to handle fish from the moment they come over the side of the boat until it’s time to break out the filet knife. That salmon I mentioned earlier was kept fresh on ice for several days before being processed, so there’s no reason to doubt that a limit of crappie will stay fresh until the fishermen have returned home and, perhaps, had a cool drink. In fact, when I fish at night, I leave my catch on ice until the following morning.
But what if your boat is equipped with a recirculating livewell? A properly functioning livewell will keep most uninjured fish alive for several hours even on a hot summer day. Even so, the livewell is using surface water that’s temperature may be 90 degrees or higher. A fish doesn’t have to be dead to deteriorate in water that warm, and if it does die, it will enter the initial phase of decomposition almost immediately.
But to move things along, let’s assume your fish are in prime condition when you get ready to clean them. To filet a scaled fish (e.g. a bluegill, crappie, bass or walleye), lay the fish on its right side with its belly toward your’s. After firmly grasping the fish’s head with your left hand, make a vertical cut as close to the back of the head as possible, extending the cut down to — but not through — the backbone. This cut continues perpendicular to the fish’s body until it reaches the bottom of the belly, at which time it’s extended parallel to the fish’s body to the vent.
Return to the top of the fish’s back and insert your knife’s blade — not its tip — into the cut and begin filleting the meat away from the spinal column by turning the blade until it’s almost, but not quite, parallel to the spine. Continue until the filet almost separates from the tail. Flip the filet over skin side down and separate the meat from the skin. Don’t forget to turn the fish over and filet the other side.
In experienced hands, electric kitchen knives are the undisputed kings of speed when used on the aforementioned species. Their major downside is that the briefest instant of inattention will allow the blade to slice through the spine. This leaves a mess that’s difficult to correct.
Some catfishermen use electric knives. I’ve only tried them a few times and was less than satisfied. They were faster than skinning the catfish by hand and then using a hand knife for filleting to be sure, but, in my hands at least, the electric knife wasted a lot of meat and, due to the need to open the belly, was a whole lot messier.
In addition to 100-volt and 12-volt electric knives, I have two “official” filet knives, one with a six-inch blade and one with a seven-inch blade. Both are stainless steel — a material I detest when used in knives — but both will take and more or less hold keen edges. And then I have boning knife with a six-inch blade that was hand crafted using steel from a bandsaw blade. It will take an edge you can literally shave with.
Take note that filleting is not the only way to clean fish. Bass and walleye from single serving size to family size are delicious grilled. Removing the head and tail is optional, but be sure to leave the skin and scales intact.
After removing the head and scales–but not the skin–bluegill and crappie that are too small to filet can be pan fried or deep fried. Sure you’ll have to eat your way around the bones, but the taste is well worth the effort.
Bon appetite.
