Northwest Fishing Reports

I did OK and the fish was edible but I definitely need some work. Anyone have any advice on the art of filleting?

Ruin a lot of fish........... the only way to learn is hands on. There are a few vids on youtube that explain the procedure fairly well.

i agree hands on.

in my opinion the youtube videos aren't worth a darn. I watched a "fillet expert" who missed 1/3 the meat and thought he did a good job cause the fillet looked pretty.

my advice would be to cut towards the head on the first cut then follow the backbone and dorsal fin with the blade. keep a really sharp blade. take your time. move the skin back and forth while skinning and keep the blade stationary.

practice makes perfect

Hey Git...here's some good info to start you out, then practice, practice! :geek:
http://www.salmonuniversity.com/ol_htfs_intro.html

big fish lite line wrote:in my opinion the youtube videos aren't worth a darn. I watched a "fillet expert" who missed 1/3 the meat and thought he did a good job cause the fillet looked pretty.

my advice would be to cut towards the head on the first cut then follow the backbone and dorsal fin with the blade. keep a really sharp blade. take your time. move the skin back and forth while skinning and keep the blade stationary.

practice makes perfect

This does not work well for salmon or trout, always cut from the head.

try this method

http://www.ifish.net/board/showthread.php?t=51868

I'm with Bodo on this one, start from the head and take your time. If you can fillet a 9" perch a salmon is a piece of cake. Keep the knife razor sharp and you should be able to glide the knife along the bones, leaving the skeleton in one piece. The only bones I cut through on salmon and trout are the pin bones. Also, I don't completely finish and remove the first fillet from the skeleton until I've completed the second side. I find this helps to keep the angle of the cuts more consistent.

big fish lite line wrote:
in my opinion the youtube videos aren't worth a darn. I watched a "fillet expert" who missed 1/3 the meat and thought he did a good job cause the fillet looked pretty.

my advice would be to cut towards the head on the first cut then follow the backbone and dorsal fin with the blade. keep a really sharp blade. take your time. move the skin back and forth while skinning and keep the blade stationary.

practice makes perfect


This does not work well for salmon or trout, always cut from the head

I must have been really tired last night what I ment to say is that I angle the blade 45 degrees towards the head when starting then pivot the knife and cut along the backbone towards the tail.

basically the salmon university method...

Maury wrote:try this method

http://www.ifish.net/board/showthread.php?t=51868

Interesting method if you want a bunch of funny cut up pieces. When I cook my fish for dinner (or lunch) there's certain amout of astetic appeal that goes along with the presentation of the meal, not to mention I want some fatty belly along with the thick back meat.

In my opinion it's very clever in the respect that it cut the procedure into easy to handle small pieces with a small knife but, it's a shame to do that to a beautiful fish. I'll stick with my tried and true slab off each side.

Just a side note about filleting salmon, I use a big butcher knife with a wide blade for cutting big fish. The appropriate blade is everything.

I agree with bodofish -- use a big butcher knife with a wide, fairly stiff, sharp blade. Start just behind the head and fillet along the backbone all the way to the tail leaving the ribs on the fillet. Then use a fillet knife to remove the ribs. And, I always make a slit down the stomach first so I have a nice straight line on the bottom of the fillet.

I might add that an "under cut", filleting from the anus to the tail on the belly side makes it much easier too.

One word: Electric. I do 90% of my filleting with an electric knife. I had a Mister Twister for about 10 years and it worked like a champ. It started acting up after I clean an 11 lb Chanel cat. 4 chums later it was dead. I then used a $10 turkey carver and it worked fine. Bought the exact same Mister Twister and it died 3 months later, weird. Now I have a browning, I liked the MT a lot better, but the browning can also run off a 12v battery, so thats a plus.


The only advice I can give about filleting is PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE. The smaller the fish, the tougher the fillet. The 2nd side (you fillet) is always WAY harder than the first side. But I think the most important part is a sharp knife. I have fillet everything from 6" perch - 25lb kings, and I still botch fillet jobs with 15 years experience, its just the nature of the beast

i just start at the head turn the knife and go i get some good fillets that way

I never fillet fish. I just cut into steaks or smaller pieces that I can cook--bones and skin come off easily when I am eating. Zero wasted meat.

It amazes me what people throw away when they fillet a fish: the belly strips, the collars behind the head, and the tips (where the pectoral fins attach to the fish). The belly strips are probably the best eating parts of the fish, and the collars and tips are a close second. And, the cheeks of the fish are thrown away 90% percent of the time--that's like throwing away two chicken mcnugget size pieces of meat.

Take the above advice, catch your pink limit multiple times and practice, practice, practice. Share your excess fish with friends, neighbors, and food banks. Have fun!

I haven't read all the replies but this is my method. For starters I use a long 14" stiff fillet knife, start just behind the gill plate @ a 45deg angle toward the head and cut just to the back bone. Turn the blade horizontal and cut to the tail. For Salmon just cut right through all the ribs you can remove them later in a couple of ways. This way you get a nice clean fillet with minimal meat wasted. Now you can get your standard fillet knife but it should be long. Trust me it helps especially on bigger fish. 1st of 2 ways to remove the ribs. 1 cook the fish. When it’s done they peel right off. 2nd with a standard fillet knife start at the top and front of the rib cage and make a long gentle cut just under the bones. NOTE : always keep the blade in contact with the bones. The bones get thinner towards the tips and when you get to the end the blade will cut through the belly membrane and you’re done. The last step is the biggest pain, removing the pin bones. For this I recomend you have a pair of needle nose pliers dedicated for the job. Rub your finger from head to tail along the spot where the spine was you'll find a row bones stretching back k to the end of the belly cavity. Grab each bone one by one and give it a quick pull strait up. This is time consuming but the only way to get a boneless fillet. The last step. Cook it and enjoy. I hope this helps.

i agree with shad. i cut into steaks or cook the fish whole. you dont waste any of the meat at all. i normally bake or steam my fish so when its done the entire skeleton comes off at one time.

Shad_Eating_Grin wrote:I never fillet fish. I just cut into steaks or smaller pieces that I can cook--bones and skin come off easily when I am eating. Zero wasted meat.

It amazes me what people throw away when they fillet a fish: the belly strips, the collars behind the head, and the tips (where the pectoral fins attach to the fish). The belly strips are probably the best eating parts of the fish, and the collars and tips are a close second. And, the cheeks of the fish are thrown away 90% percent of the time--that's like throwing away two chicken mcnugget size pieces of meat.

This is how I eat/cook my fish as well. If its smaller perch or crappie, don't even have to cut into smaller pieces.

Mike Carey wrote:Take the above advice, catch your pink limit multiple times and practice, practice, practice. Share your excess fish with friends, neighbors, and food banks. Have fun!

Mike, Food banks accept non-packaged fish? Which ones?