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Thread: Fish cleaning tips?

  1. #1
    noob survivalist crimescene450's Avatar
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    Default Fish cleaning tips?

    So today i finally learnedhow to clean a fish. I know most of you guys are probably like, "You JUST learned??!"

    yeah its kinda funny, im 18 and ive been fishing all my life, but never bothered learning. until today.


    anyhow. I kept worrying i was gonna cut my fingers off because the fish were so slippery. Does anyone have any tricks, or tips on how to grip them better? or is it just something you learn?

    I gotta work on filleting, which i didnt do as good with. i might just gut them and cook them without filleting in the future. might be easier.

    feels so cool to finally be at least somewhat self sufficient with the fish now though.


  2. #2

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    If I'm filleting lake fish at home I get a spring clamp and clamp the tail to an old oak board I keep for this. Surf fishing, the fish are much bigger and easier to hold onto. That's usually a tailgate operation on the beach for blues and fluke. Stripers usually come home whole (minus guts and gills) and get filleted on the kitchen countertop. Unless the family objects, then it's the tailgate in the backyard.

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    or, you can wrap a dry washcloth around the tail to hold.

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    Senior Member flandersander's Avatar
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    What kind of fish are you talking about here?

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    slippery ones

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    noob survivalist crimescene450's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by flandersander View Post
    What kind of fish are you talking about here?

    well today it was 1 bluegil, 1 perch, and 3 smallmouth bass

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    Quote Originally Posted by crimescene450 View Post
    im 18 and ive been fishing all my life, but never bothered learning. until today.
    How does that happen?

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    Super Moderator crashdive123's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by crimescene450 View Post
    yeah its kinda funny, im 18 and ive been fishing all my life, but never bothered learning. until today.
    So were you eating them whole?
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    Senior Member Stargazer's Avatar
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    I'm thinking he did the cactching and some one else did the cleaning for him.

    I like to hold on to the tail with a dry cloth.

    Good for you learning how to clean what you catch.Its like everything else you do.The more you do it the better you will get at it.

    A sharp knife and not being afraid to get sewn up if you slip go a long way to cleaning a fish.
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    Red meat is good for you.Its the green furry meat you have to worry about.

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    noob survivalist crimescene450's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Alaskan Survivalist View Post
    How does that happen?

    Quote Originally Posted by crashdive123 View Post
    So were you eating them whole?


    My dad cleans them, or we catch and release. depending on the size.

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    well I can tell you this, You haven't lived untill you Have caught, Cleaned and fried a fish you had just caught in a cast iron skillet over a campire for Breakfast

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    Quote Originally Posted by crimescene450 View Post
    well today it was 1 bluegil, 1 perch, and 3 smallmouth bass

    We call that BAIT.

  13. #13

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    I like to filet aLL MY fish unless I'm gonna grill em or sometimes bake em.

    #1 rule for me is an ultra sharp, super flexible filet knife sized appropriately for the size of fish. The Rapala filet knife is pretty much perfect IMO. It also has a nice pommel for dispatching the fish prior to cleaning. I have a big 9 or so inch one for salmon and such and another 6 or so inch one for panfish, etc. If I get 50 or so fish I sometimes sharpen two or three times during a cleaning. It makes life so much easier, safer and less meat is wasted.

    I hate wearing gloves, but if you use brown jerseys they absorb the slime and make it real easy to hold on. They will be 5 pound snotballs when you're done though. But, what I do is to get things started I use my fingers and hold the fish in the eye sockets and gill area to get a grip. Once I make my first cut I really don't need a good grip.

    I start at the head, work toward the tail and leave the fillet slightly attached to the body so when I skin it the body holds the filet in place. I leave a thin layer of flesh on the skin and remove the brown streak as well down the lateral line. These are concentrated toxins and should be gotten rid of. It's an unfortunate waste of good meat, but I do believe it's required in today's agricultural/ industrial age. Even pristine waters have natural toxins that build up in fish, especially fish eating or bottom eating fishes. I also leave the ribs and such in place and remove them after the filet is skinned. It's generally much quicker that way than trying to filet the ribs off while it's still attached to the fish.

    Another thing I did with some success was to soak the fish in water with a small amount of vinegar. The vinegar strips off a lot of slime. This worked "OK" for crappies in the winter, but it's probably not the best method. And no, the fish weren't pickeled.

    If by chance the fish have been out of water and are dry then don't re-soak them as it will just re-activate the slime.

    pike are our most slimy fish and I really don't think you can get around it. I just plow on through and do my best to ignore it. I have wiped them off with a big towel, but the wife wasn't too happy about that. Especially when she found it in the hamper a week later. LOL! Jusyt kidding! I wouldn't do that. Walleyes are the least slimy and are a pure joy to clean....and eat.

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    good post rwc,, rep sent

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    Super Moderator crashdive123's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sourdough View Post
    We call that BAIT.
    I thought that's what you called tourists.
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    noob survivalist crimescene450's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by rwc1969 View Post
    I like to filet aLL MY fish unless I'm gonna grill em or sometimes bake em.
    when you bake them, you still have to remove the guts right? sorryif thats a stupid question lol.

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    Quote Originally Posted by RWC
    I leave a thin layer of flesh on the skin and remove the brown streak as well down the lateral line. These are concentrated toxins and should be gotten rid of.
    The lateral line is a sense organ in fish. The brown streak is part of it.

    Toxins will vary depending on the type of toxin but generally are concentrated in the liver, intestines, head, and roe of the fish. Otherwise, you'll find it throughout the muscles.

    If you have a source indicating toxins are concentrated in the lateral line I'd be interested in seeing because I've never read that.
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    Quote Originally Posted by crimescene450 View Post
    when you bake them, you still have to remove the guts right? sorryif thats a stupid question lol.

    Yes and/or No.......If you just caught them you can bake them with guts in, or even just shove a green stick down there throat and roast them guts and all over the fire. When cooked peel off the skin, eat the meat, and throw into the fire the guts/stick/skeleton/skin.

    However most/some fish have worms, and if not eaten quickly, need to be gutted.

  19. #19

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    Quote Originally Posted by crimescene450 View Post
    My dad cleans them, or we catch and release. depending on the size.
    Seems everything is being learned backwards these days. There are single gloves sold for fileting fish. They work give a good grip and also protect you from cutting yourself to some degree ( I never put that aspect to the test). My wife uses the glove but I have found ways to hold fish and use a simple method of cleaning. Some fish are cleaned different because they are built different but the most common would be like a Salmon so I will tell you how I filet them. I cut of head just behind gills, this also cuts the connection to guts so my next cut slices from the crap hole forward and scoop the guts out. Then from the front of fish make a cut straight back along the side of backbone all the way through to where the meat thins near tail. Repeat on other side of spine. Easiest grip is in front of fish with fingers in fish and thumb outside. Now you have two thick slabs of meat. Lay on the shin and I remove the belly strips since there is not much meat there and they really hold a hook well (good bait) all that is left to dois peel and shave off rib bones. I leave the skin on for holding it together during cooking and smoking and most of the fat is between skin and meat. The spine I chop up for chum and head, tail and belly strips are for Halibut and the guts go in the garden. Warning gutts in the garden may attrack bears. It only takes me a minute or two but my wife can have it done with her Ulu in half the time.

  20. #20

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    BTW, I'm of the school of if you ain't going to eat it leave it alone! Applies to all wildlife. Getting your jollies is no excuse to sink a hook into fish, pull it up from depths and in many cases throwing it half dead back into the water to weak to fight off preditors or worse. Sorry to offend people but the practice of catch and release offends me on so many levels this comment barely scratches the surface of my outrage. Shooting for antlers and bragging rights fall into this category also. Spending 50 times the money to depleat natural resources than go to the grocery store. There it is. I hold back and delete many comments I write, not this time.

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