How to fillet a crappie/bluegill

Found this while surfing the net...thought I'd post it up.

Filleting is method used by most anglers to prepare their catch. A sharp knife with a flexible blade is practically all you will need. The six-inch blade is the most popular. The quickest and simplest way to fillet fish is shown below.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...t/Crappie1.jpg

Cut behind the pectoral fin straight down to the backbone. Angle the cut towards the top of the head.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...t/Crappie2.jpg

Run the knife along one side of the backbone. The knife should scrape the rib bones without cutting them.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...t/Crappie3.jpg

Push the knife through the flesh near the vent just behind the rib bones. Cut the fillet free at the tail.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...t/Crappie4.jpg

Cut the flesh carefully away from the rib cage. To save flesh, the blade should graze the bones.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...t/Crappie5.jpg

Remove the first boneless fillet by cutting through the skin of the stomach area.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...t/Crappie6.jpg

Turn the fish over. Remove the second fillet using the same filleting technique.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...t/Crappie7.jpg

Rinse fillets quickly with cold water or wipe with paper towels. Save head and skeleton for stock.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...t/Crappie8.jpg

Skin fillets, if desired. Hold the tail with your fingertips and cut between flesh and skin with a sawing motion.

______________________________________

___________________________________

____________________________


Captions are from West Virginia DNR website

Good post crappiemag!

LoL...Sup Mike.I see you found your way over!

Nice to see you Von Barron!:D

have you seen the rocket? it scales your fish for you...you tow it behind the boat. I got mine to field test from the manufacturer but I have seen them available in cabelas.

Sac, i'd like to get one but they're just to expensive for me. :mad: I only eat fillets with skin on them a couple times a year.

I think I saw them in the bass pro catalog. I like to just flip them and slice the skip off. dont mind the skin its just faster then scaleing them

I found some on e-bay... $29.95 plus shipping....

good post,some people leave the filet attached at the tail and just seprate the meat while still attached.I use the method you posted,but use a dull knife to seperate the meat.A real sharp one cuts thru the skin sometimes.I just pull hard on the skin and hold the knife still.

as to leaving the skin on (fillets or whole fish):

I've found the skin to have an sweet/oily/nutty taste ... but, only when cooked fairly fresh. Skin-on fish, that have been frozen, just don't seem to have that same "added" flavor. I fillet 99% of the Crappie I keep ... but, more for the fact that I give them to family members ('cause they won't touch any that aren't filleted) than for my own preferences. :D
Everybody has their own favorite way to clean/dress/season/cook Crappie ... and I'm not advocating my way over anyone else's. Just thought I'd add a little "food for thought" (as it were) :p .... cp :cool:

I also cut mine down to the tail, leaving it attached, and then cut the fillet off of the skin. It's quicker than scaling them for me.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by FishnLine

I also cut mine down to the tail, leaving it attached, and then cut the fillet off of the skin. It's quicker than scaling them for me.

---

Same here. Use that for almost all of the fish I keep.

Hello everyone, first time poster here so bear with me, I use an electric fillet knife to clean almost all of the fish I catch. I do on occasion do a few crappie for frying whole just for old times sake but after I got used to the electric I'll never go back to the regular fillet knife. I still own several good fillet knives that get used to trim ribs and trim redmeat off of stripe and catfish but I promise the electric is well worth the time it takes to get good with it, the best advice I can give for learning with the electric is don't hurry, speed will come with practice .

i scale my fish with airhose . in the summer i have used a water hose . i like my fish whole . do fillet some bigger ones but do like the skin on them . don`t mind picking bones out . that gives me time to dijest and can eat more .:D

Welcome to Crappie.com
I too use a electric knife. As long as the blades are sharp I find this to be much faster than a regular knife.
Bill

I also use an electric knife and will never go back to the old way. Here is how I do it though. I cut straight down to the backbone behind the gill and then turn the knife blade along the backbone and run it to the tail cutting right through the ribs but stop just shy of disconnecting the fillet on that side from the tail. Slip the knife out and flip the fish over and do the same on the other side, leaving it connected at the tail also. Then just flip that side off to expose the meat side of the fillet while its still connected to the fish and just run the blade down the fillet to remove it from the skin. Then fold the skin back up on the fish flip it over and take the fillet off the other side. I leave the fillet on the other side because it helps to hold the fished shape while running the second cut down the backbone. What you end up with is the fillet with the ribs in them which you lay with the inside facing up and with a sharp knife a "V" cut will extract that ribcage lickity split. It is amazing how fast you can fillet a crappie this way when you get the hang of it. I forget where I read about this but it has saved me a bunch of time and I would highly recommend you give it a try.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by FishCrazy

I also use an electric knife and will never go back to the old way. Here is how I do it though. I cut straight down to the backbone behind the gill and then turn the knife blade along the backbone and run it to the tail cutting right through the ribs but stop just shy of disconnecting the fillet on that side from the tail. Slip the knife out and flip the fish over and do the same on the other side, leaving it connected at the tail also. Then just flip that side off to expose the meat side of the fillet while its still connected to the fish and just run the blade down the fillet to remove it from the skin. Then fold the skin back up on the fish flip it over and take the fillet off the other side. I leave the fillet on the other side because it helps to hold the fished shape while running the second cut down the backbone. What you end up with is the fillet with the ribs in them which you lay with the inside facing up and with a sharp knife a "V" cut will extract that ribcage lickity split. It is amazing how fast you can fillet a crappie this way when you get the hang of it. I forget where I read about this but it has saved me a bunch of time and I would highly recommend you give it a try.

---

Thats how I do it . I can fillet out a fish in 30 seconds doing it that way. Go through a mess of fish in no time at all. Best part is no bones. the kids can chow down with no worries and so can I. CF

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by FishCrazy

I also use an electric knife and will never go back to the old way. Here is how I do it though. I cut straight down to the backbone behind the gill and then turn the knife blade along the backbone and run it to the tail cutting right through the ribs but stop just shy of disconnecting the fillet on that side from the tail. Slip the knife out and flip the fish over and do the same on the other side, leaving it connected at the tail also. Then just flip that side off to expose the meat side of the fillet while its still connected to the fish and just run the blade down the fillet to remove it from the skin. Then fold the skin back up on the fish flip it over and take the fillet off the other side. I leave the fillet on the other side because it helps to hold the fished shape while running the second cut down the backbone. What you end up with is the fillet with the ribs in them which you lay with the inside facing up and with a sharp knife a "V" cut will extract that ribcage lickity split. It is amazing how fast you can fillet a crappie this way when you get the hang of it. I forget where I read about this but it has saved me a bunch of time and I would highly recommend you give it a try.

---

yup, thats the way I do it too, but I dont leave the 1st fillet in, but after reading this I might give it a try though :D . I do one side, then the v-cut, then the other. I use an electric knife and this seems to be the fastest, easiest way.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqCoph-C6Jo

Thanks Matt s for the link. Very nice video. I love youtube.

Went searching for this thought I would bump it up to the top...Good Info!

unless they are slab crappy or huge panfish, i skin them like a catfish, cut the dorsal and ventral fins off, cut off the head and gut, leaving the fillets attached to the backbone and tail.. crappie tails are good to eat.. they turn nice and cripsy,, just the tips though, not the boney part.. if they are slab i fillet them with my electric knife and go stright through the belly ribs, and then cut them out with a good fillet knife right before cooking... faster at the dock and you don't waste as much meat trying to cut around the ribs while on the fish

Yeah, leave it attached at the tail, flip it open, and cut between the skin and the meat - I use an electric knife - takes no time, and rarely do I lose much meat -

Electric fillet knife is the way to go, however, there are some that I have my trusty old fillet knife for. I just started the electric fillet knife thing last year, and it was amazing. I am pretty fast and accurate when it comes to the regular fillet knife, but I can do about 3 to 1 with the electric. PRACTICE ON SOME BLUEGILL FIRST...DON"T WANT TO SCREW UP YOUR CRAPPIE!

Unless grillin or baking, I always filet!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by FishCrazy

I also use an electric knife and will never go back to the old way. Here is how I do it though. I cut straight down to the backbone behind the gill and then turn the knife blade along the backbone and run it to the tail cutting right through the ribs but stop just shy of disconnecting the fillet on that side from the tail. Slip the knife out and flip the fish over and do the same on the other side, leaving it connected at the tail also. Then just flip that side off to expose the meat side of the fillet while its still connected to the fish and just run the blade down the fillet to remove it from the skin. Then fold the skin back up on the fish flip it over and take the fillet off the other side. I leave the fillet on the other side because it helps to hold the fished shape while running the second cut down the backbone. What you end up with is the fillet with the ribs in them which you lay with the inside facing up and with a sharp knife a "V" cut will extract that ribcage lickity split. It is amazing how fast you can fillet a crappie this way when you get the hang of it. I forget where I read about this but it has saved me a bunch of time and I would highly recommend you give it a try.

---

I tried this method from FishCrazy when using my electric knife last time -- specifically, leaving the filet on the one side and flipping it over before doing the filet on the second side and cutting the meat off of the skin.

It really did work better in making it easier to follow the backbone of the fish for the second filet. That meant less wasted meat with little to no extra time. Thanks for the idea!:)

I think it's much better to fry them, pull out the top fin, then filet them with your teeth.