Step by Step Fish Filleting

Bill Kinney Photography

This step by step tutorial is for the beginning fisherman who needs a few tips on the process of fish filleting.  It is very important to know how to properly fillet a fish so you don't waste your meat or your time, that is why we have broken it down into simple steps just for you!

To begin with you will need a nice fish fillet blade.  The blade should be long, thin and atleast 9-11 inches, depending on the size of the fish you are filleting.  The most important thing to remember when cutting up anything is to keep your blade sharp.  A dull blade will just tear the meat and become annoying.

Next you will need a fish fillet board.  These look like large clipboards and are used for holding the fish when cutting it.  Fish are best when cut up fresh, so if the fish is still alive use either the knife handle or a hammer to hit it sharply and quickly over the head.  This will stun and kill the fish so that you can easily fillet it.  After that place the head of the fish in the clip so that it is held fast and won't slide around when handling.



Once you have secured the fish, place your fillet knife behind the gill at a perpendicular angle to the fish spine, and cut down until you feel a slight resistance, this will be the rib bones.  In one smooth cut, fillet from behind the gill all the way through the tail by holding and cutting flat along the length of the fish.  This is why it is important to have a sharp knife, so that you don't have to fight with the fillet and hack at the fish.

Turn the cut over so that the scales are facing the board.  With your free hand hold the tail end of the fillet against the board.  Starting near the tail, fillet the meat from the skin in the same motion you used to separate the fillet from the fish.  This will take a little practice, but once it is done a few times it goes very smoothly.

Once you have just a fillet of meat, run your hand over it to feel for any bones.  To remove bones, simply slide the point of the knife under the bone and slice it out.  Once again, practice is needed so that you waste as little meat as possible.  Its a learning process though!   Just remember to have fun!



Place the finished fillet in a bowl of cold water, flip the fish over and repeat on the other side.  Fillet all your fish this way.  When finished rinse the fillets once again in clean, cold water and place in a bowl filled with water and about a 1/2 tbsp of salt.  Let stand for 20 minutes.  The salt helps to draw the blood out of the fish fillets and helps to clean them.  Lastly rinse your fillets again in cold fresh water, pat dry, and either fry 'em up or store them for later!

The leftover fish pieces can either be buried in a garden and make for great fertilizer (just be sure to bury atleast 18 inches deep so something doesn't decide to dig it up later) or, unless you want the whole house to smell like a dead pond, place in a garbage bag in the freezer until garbage day.

Have fun fishing!

The Poor Man's Lobster: Eelpout and Lingcod

Bill Kinney Photography

A couple years ago when we were out west a friend of ours wanted to take us fishing.  It was winter time, but the ice had not quite frozen over.  Ice fishing was out of the question and so we asked him,"What are we fishing?"

"The poor man's lobster."

Which Bait to Use With Which Fish

Bill Kinney Photography

Technique may be the most important part of fishing, but if you try catching small crappie with big crayfish, you might have a problem or two.  For you beginning fishermen, we are going to lay out the basics for you to make it simple.

Live Baits

Worms
Worms are good for about anything, but you will find the best luck when using them on pan fish (such as sunfish, crappie, etc) trout, walleye, bass, and catfish.  Worms are a live bait and are good for those fish that like moving things, they also have a very strong smell which helps to attract the fish.

Crayfish
Crayfish have the same great qualities as worms, but need to be used on larger fish.  You will probably get nibbles on them if trying to use them for small fish, but they won't be able to take the hook.  Crayfish are ideal when fishing for walleye, trout, catfish, and bass.

The Best Methods for Keeping Your Fish Fresh

Bill Kinney Photography

You may be the best fisherman in the world, but without fresh fish, you aren't going to get very far.  Here are a few tips on how best to keep your fish extra fresh!

Keeping Fish Fresh While Out in the Boat

The ultimate way to keep your fish fresh and healthy while out on the lake is to have a live well.  This is basically a fish tank built into your boat that pumps air and water into the tank so the fish are kept alive until taken out at the end of the day.  If you don't have a live well, a string is the next best thing.

Bow Fishing Essentials

Bill Kinney Photography

Bow fishing is a popular sport for among today's fishermen.  You can go after a wide variety of fish and it is very easy to get into if you have the right equipment.  It can be done from almost anywhere and can be a ton of fun! If you are a regular bow hunter, this is also a good way to get some practice in the off season.

How Weather Affects the Fishing

Bill Kinney Photography

Know When the Fish are Biting

It is a well known fact that weather determines a days fishing.  Check the weather in your area and clear your schedules!

How to Fish for Sunfish

Bill Kinney Photography

Sunfish are found throughout the U.S. and are a very popular sport fish.  They are abundant and easy to catch making them the perfect fish for anyone from a first time fisherman to an advanced angler.  A Sunfish will take almost any bait, put up a good fight, and taste great in the frying pan.

Carp Fishing with the Kids

Bill Kinney Photography

Carp fishing is a great sport, well, carp bow fishing to be more precise.  Most people don't prefer eating them, but it can be a ton of fun!  For one, they are big, and who doesn't like pulling in a big fighting fish? Secondly, they are everywhere in such abundance that people want them gone... Easy pickings!

Jug Fishin'

Bill Kinney Photography

There are a lot of ways to catch catfish. You can try noodling, putting some really stinking bait on the line, or just hope one swims into your hook and you get lucky, but have you tried jugging?

A friend told us about it, and why not? It sounded pretty fun! Kids aren't exactly the best candidates for noodling and they wanted to join in as well.

It all kind of started because we had some ponds on our property. Whilst fishing we had once in a while snagged a carp on our hook and had a good sport of fighting the big guy for an hour or more, then letting him go till next time. One day while thinking about the catfish that were in there and thought, you know, that could be fun! We'd often had people tell us about the catfish they'd had the other night for supper and wanted to try some. Then they suggested jugging.....

Jugging is interesting, and perhaps widely known, but we'd never heard of it. Basically you get an empty plastic bottle (such as a milk jug) and tie a nice long bit of strong fishing line to it. At the end you fix a fairly large sized hook and the stinkiest bait you can find (we were told to use cat food). That night you throw it out into the pond...and that's it.

Deep Water Fishing, Boats, and Sea Sickness

Bill Kinney Photography

When I was younger my family and I had the opportunity to go fishing on the Great Lakes. Friends of ours had a boat and offered to take us out for the day and have a good time. We gladly accepted! It isn't everyone who has a boat you know! The one stipulation was that we had to take Dramamine before going out. (Dramamine is a drug taken as a relief for nausea, motion and sea sickness, and other related symptoms.) We informed them we'd been on plenty of open water and had never before had a problem with sea sickness. Nevertheless, they asked us to take it just to be sure no one would have to be cleaning up any "messes." It seemed fair, no one wanted to spend the day "sick at sea."

None of us got sea sicknesses that day, however, I remember nothing of that fishing trip but laying in a chair and not being able to move. I'm telling you this story first off so that you are aware of the possibility of sea sickness and its unpleasant side effects. Secondly, I'd like to share alternative tips to avoid being "sick at sea."