Thread: Fillet or Whole?

Originally Posted by NIMROD

I fillet mostly , but fish more moist and flavorfull whole. It helps if you scale and leave skin on fillets.

Eating the fish off the bone doesnt slow you down any if you already know where the bones are when youre filleting 'em. And...cooking 'em whole adds alot more "crispies" on the edges of the whole fish. I prefer cooking fish @ 9"-10" whole and filleting all the bigger ones. Whole fried fish has to cook a tad slower and longer to get 'em done. Makes cooking time a bit longer since the pot doesnt hold as many, but are better tasting to me. For scaling, I use a basket you pull behind the boat. Cut off heads, split the bellies and toss 'em in. When cleaned all that is left is rinsing off the lake water and mealing.