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I have been an avid fisherman since I was a child, which was
quite awhile ago. I have been fishing regularly for over 30
years and I have seen a lot of people who cannot properly clean
their fish after catching it so I thought I might offer a little
guidance.
First, it is absolutely crucial that you have a very sharp
knife. I personally use an electric filet knife a lot, but you
really have to have some experience to be able to use one
properly. Using a standard filet knife, I prefer to use one with
about an eight inch blade unless I am filleting a large gamefish
in which case I will break out my "Crocodile Dundee" Alaskan
Filet knife.
To begin filleting the fish, place it on a sturdy surface
preferably about waist high for comfort. Take the tip of the
knife and insert it along the dorsal fin of the fish and make
small cuts towards the head keeping the blade against the bones
of the fin. Now make a deep cut right behind the gill plate from
the belly vertically up to the back of the fish meeting the cut
you made along the spine.
Now, go back to the spine area where you made your fist cuts and
now take deeper cuts following along the spine and ribcage and
then work your way towards the tail. Stop short of the tail
leaving that intact so that the filet you have is still attached
to the rest of the fish at that point. Turn the fish so that the
belly is towards you now and make any cuts to separate your
filet in that area, then flip the filet over so that the scales
are down and the meat side is up. This is where you really need
to be sure your knife is sharp, starting near the tail hold the
blade of your knife close as possible to the skin of the fish
and begin to slide the blade back and forth towards the shoulder
of the fish until you have completely removed the meat from the
skin.
The final step for this side of the fish is to check the lateral
line for small bones and cartilage and the bloodline. Some fish
such as amberjack will have a large bloodline which you will
want to remove for optimum taste. After you are sure all the
bones and bloodline have been removed place this filet to the
side and start on the next side. Doing it in this order is a
personal preference, you can also complete the filleting of the
other side first and then do the fine tuning of removing the
bloodline and small bones.
About the author:
Gregg Hall is a business consultant and author for many online
and offline businesses and lives in Navarre Florida with his 16
year old son. For a sharp filet knife go to
http://www.only-knives.com
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