filleting sunfish without a fillet knife

im visiting my hometown n meridian mississippi and i wana go out n catch a bunch of blue gill catfish and crappie if i can doubt ill catch many crappie as im shore fishing. so prob mostly bluegill and cats and i don't have a super sharp knife. iv never filleted a fish before but im a good cook and know how to cut up meats. anyways i plan to fillet sunfish and catfish i catch only about 8 fish all together maybe 6 blue gill and 2 cats. iv only ever eaten bluegill whole i actually enjoy the skin im sure my knife isnt sharp enough to fillet the skin off like how ive seen online so guess im have to scale the sunfish then fillet them.

but my question is about the catfish i do not a catfish skinner and idk how im gonna get the skin off it once i fillet it im afraid if i got a pair of plyers to pull off the skin after i fillet it will rip my fillets to pieces and ruin them what do you suggest i do i don't like eating whole fish plus takes more oil flour ect when whole cooking for just me and another person who cant eat with bones.

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Originally Posted by matt1991

but my question is about the catfish i do not a catfish skinner and idk how im gonna get the skin off it once i fillet it im afraid if i got a pair of plyers to pull off the skin after i fillet it will rip my fillets to pieces and ruin them what do you suggest i do i don't like eating whole fish plus takes more oil flour ect when whole cooking for just me and another person who cant eat with bones.

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You don't need a "skinner" ... a pair of pliers works just fine. Cut thru the skin all the way around the head, then take the pliers and pull the skin towards the tail. I usually like to start right behind the head & on top of the fish and pull the skin down a ways ... then work around to the belly and keep pulling the skin down a little at a time, working your way around the fish until the skin is about halfway down the fish, then get a good chunk of skin in the pliers and pull it right on off. Then you can cut (fillet) the meat off. It's much easier to pull the skin off first, then do the filleting ... and you waste a whole lot less meat, than by trying to take the skin off a fillet.

No need for a dull knife anymore, even if ya cant run a stone. Shop Kobalt 11-Blade Utility Knife at Lowes.com not for fileting skin off but the rest of the chores would be a breeze.

Ive skinned large fish like Dolphin by making shallow slits just thru the skin with a razor length ways on the fish in about 1" strips.
Then grab onto the strips and pull them off. You can even use your hand once it gets started. Works on tuna also.

If you have a decent knife you can fillet and skin a catfish the same way you do a bass or crappie. Without a good knife you may have to skin him, but ever since I saw folks filleting and skinning a 3#cat just like a similar size bass more of them started going home with me instead of back in the lake.

I NEVER skin my catfish. I cut the meat from the bone then lay skin side down and with a dull filet knife hold onto the tail end of the filet and just "Push" the meat right off the skin. I bet ya I can clean a catfish 2:1 compared to a crappie using this method. I used to never want to keep catfish because they were a pain to deal with. But heck I can have one totally complete in 30 seconds or less depending on size.

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Originally Posted by LowePro

I NEVER skin my catfish. I cut the meat from the bone then lay skin side down and with a dull filet knife hold onto the tail end of the filet and just "Push" the meat right off the skin. I bet ya I can clean a catfish 2:1 compared to a crappie using this method. I used to never want to keep catfish because they were a pain to deal with. But heck I can have one totally complete in 30 seconds or less depending on size.

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I can be kind of anal about these things, but I'm trying to picture the visual for this method and ain't quite getting it. You wouldn't happen to have a link for some pics, or, a video of this cleaning method would ya?

Thanks,
YB

I sure will post a video next time I get some cats. Won't take me too long. I'm about to be finishing up my shop and will make catfishing a priority as soon as I'm done!

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Originally Posted by Yankee Bill

I can be kind of anal about these things, but I'm trying to picture the visual for this method and ain't quite getting it. You wouldn't happen to have a link for some pics, or, a video of this cleaning method would ya?

Thanks,
YB

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I would like to see it as well, sounds interesting. I can tell you though that if you have filleted a 2 to 5 Lb bass and taken the skin off by running the knife along the skin it works exactly the same way for a cat of similar size. When you get up into the 25 lb and larger cats, it is more like butchering hogs. LOL

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NLJgrKfL2vM

I just filet em out with the Mr twister?