HOW TO EASILY FILET PANFISH

by Grover Prowse

I have been fishing for panfish (bluegill, crappie, perch, bass, and bream) nearly all of my life. They are a lot of fun to catch, for both seasoned fishermen and new ones. When the panfish are biting, it is easy to catch a lot of them. I prefer to fly fish for them.

In Western Washington, there is no limit on Bluegill. So, it is not unusual to come home with a catch of over a hundred. And since I do have a touch of arthritis, I use an electric knife to filet my catch. It makes the job much easier for me, and when properly done, can be as more effective, quicker and just as clean as a regular filet knife. It takes less than a minute apiece to filet out a panfish. So, lets get started. Still images are actual frames from the video:

You will need a few items. You will need:

• 2 small wash buckets
• a plastic lined garbage bucket
• an electric knife (either battery operated or one that operates on household current)
• a Sunday newspaper, and
• a cutting block that is raised above the table top so your knife blade is parallel to the fish.

Let your fish air dry for a few minutes. A fresh fish is slippery. One that is dried out a bit is much easier to handle. Take the newspapers, and set it on the wood block so that there is a base of paper below your work surface. As you begin to go filet your catch, you can flip off a paper and you will have a clean work surface. This will be real handy later on, when things get messy after 60 or 70 fish! Here's another hint: The wood block raises the fish up so the knife blade is parallel to the fish. If you try to filet on a completely flat surface, your knuckles will have the effect of raising the knife base above the fish, and the knife tip will therefore angle downwards, making it difficult to get a good filet.

Take a fish and set it on the paper. Place the knife under the front fin just behind the gills. Angle the knife so the top is more towards the top of the fish, and the bottom of the knife is over the stomach. Make the first cut towards the head of the fish, angled down to the center and stop when you feel the knife hit the backbone.  Don't cut through the backbone.

Now, turn the knife right around and cut towards the tail. The top part of the knife should extend out past the top fin. This prevents the knife from cutting through the backbone. Cut right through the stomach cavity, and have the lower end of the knife also extend out over the bottom fin.

Cut the filet all the way off the fish. Do the same thing to the other side of the fish. You should get two filets off each fish. Toss the fish carcass in the plastic lined garbage bucket. There shouldn't be much left on the fish carcass.

Rinse off the knife in the other bucket of water between each filet half. This may seem obvious, but unplug the knife. Put the blade in the bucket swish it around to remove particles between the moving knives.  Here's a useful hint: Don't get the electric motor wet, especially if your electric motor is running off household current. (They use that same current-and-human conductivity theory at certain federal penitentiaries.)

Next, remove the stomach and ribs then skin the filet. Place the filet skin side down. Cut away the ribs and stomach cavity in one cut. Slide the knife blade around the ribs. After a few filets, you will be able to tell when you are right next to the rib bones. The skin keeps the filet firm to make this cut.

The final step is to take off the skin. Again, have the skin side down. Hold the end of the filet with your fingernail. Start right next to your fingernail, hold the knife blade at a 30 degree angle. Slide the knife the entire length of the filet. After about two or three or six fish, flip your newspaper away from you and you will have a clean working surface.

Toss the filets in the bucket of clean water. When you have finished filleting all the fish, the next step is to completely wash the filets. I use a two step wash. The first wash is like washing your hands with a filet between your hands similar to using a hand scrubber. Do this to each filet, and drop it into the other clean water bucket.

When you are done, toss the dirty water in the flower beds, rinse out the empty bucket and partially fill it with clean water. Take each washed filet and inspect each one and remove any remaining particles let on it. Put the picked filet in the clean bucket. My simple guideline is to take off anything that I don't think I want to eat.

By using these techniques, you will find filleting panfish easy and quick. You should now have a clean mess of fish ready to freeze or cook up.  The water should look clear like the video still.  Be sure to clean up your work area.  Toss the newspapers (that takes care of most of the mess) and I usually hose down the picnic table to get rid of any small bits.   I have been know to bury the fish heads in my garden, or just throw them on the lawn to watch the birds.

Besides showing the complete filleting process, my video, Fly Fishing for Panfish! includes a little fly tying, some instruction on how to properly use the panfish flies, freezing techniques, cooking instructions and a delicious recipe.

I invite you to order a copy through my web site: web3.foxinternet.net/prowse/PANFISH2.htm

I would love to hear about your fishing and filleting experiences!
Good Fishing! Grover.

©1999 Grover Prowse & Pacific Home Video

Fisherman Grover Prowse is the star and author of the video Fly Fishing for Panfish! (ISBN 0-9653506-1-4) available through Pacific Home Video.