Fishing Forum

If you haven't seen this video, it's pretty interesting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjTlFwQb7...re=related
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Pretty slick, can't wait to try it out
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I've done all my perch that way this last year. As far as the spines go it's totally worth it! However I'm nowhere near 10 seconds. Maybe 30 if I didn't take the time to get the bones out as well.
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I can fillet mine faster than he can clean them.
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interesting way to do it . i could filet at least three in the same time......
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He was going slow to demonstrate the technique.

But if you're expecting to be able to do it in 10 seconds right off the bat, you're going to be disappointed. It takes practice.
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I found this method interesting. I fillet a lot of perch and can do it quick but I wonder if this method is a better use of the fish? I would spend some extra time on a fish if I got more meat. I've never eaten a perch with the bones in but it sure looks like he got a lot of meat from a small fish. Is it worth dealing with the bones if you cook them whole like that?
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I've filleted and or skinned so many thousands of fish you can see through what is left after I'm done. More important, I deep fry my perch with a great dip as finger food. I'm not sure how that would work with the bones. If you were cooking them some other way I imagine the bones wouldn't be such a problem.
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Just did the last ones I caught that way, I really prefer no bones. I kept having to get the bones out of my mouth during dinner, not very fun. I know that you save a little more meat that way, but I just like to eat and not contend with the bones.
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My father in law does this, or very similar. I think he does another cut on the back and another one here or there and presto. Not 10 or 30 seconds or as natural as that guy but still no waste. I don't remember the bones in them, and if they were it was no big deal. I thought he did it minus the bones but can't quite figure that out. I will have to ask him. That is what I like about it, no wasted meat. Zilch. This guy in the video has it down. Probably done more that way than I ever thought about catching.

Watching old timers in the fish cleaning shacks on the lakes in Minnesota they all fillet. It is really something to see them come in with a mess of perch, bluegill, or crappie and do their craft. I have been so impressed as to seeing not a bit of meat left on the skin and the big fillets I guess I haven't noticed how much meat they leave on the bones. Very little I am sure.
I guess I have gutted so many trout over the years and cooked them whole (minus the front fins and maybe the head if larger) that I just can't bear to watch the mess I make when I try and fillet. Haven't caught enough panfish or kept enough big trout to get in enough practice to be good at filleting. Going to have to change that this year I guess. Lots of perch or even walleye and maybe some macks.
Macks? Wrapped in foil with bacon and butter, lemon, salt, and peper on the grill or fire....Maybe won't be filleting many of those quite yet.....
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Macs taste a lot better if you fillet and remove all fat and belly meat. They can be very strong depending on their diet if cooked whole.
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I don't care for bones in my fish so I fillet them all. For panfish I prefer to use an electric fillet knife for ease and speed.
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Here is my technique in post from a couple years ago.

Windriver

[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?post=472000;search_string=Perch%20Fillet;#472000"]http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?post=472000;search_string=Perch%20Fillet;#472000[/url]
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WR, I fillet perch the same way as you except I like using a fillet board to hold them still. Once I get a rythym I can crank them out pretty quick and there is very little waste. I've never used an electric knife but have been thinking about getting one. When are you going to come over here to Cascade to catch the new state record? I'm hearing that the perch are even bigger this year that last and I came close with several fish over 14 1/2" last year.
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An electric fillet knife rocks when working with fish with heavy scales like perch. Still, I get a cleaner cut and less wasted meat with my hand honed fillet knives.
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all those fillets you making perch sushi!!!! Haha just kidding I was watching a guy I know make sushi one time and he had his fish all laid out like that..
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That reminds me of a step I forgot to mention....I use two knives, a serrated knife to make the first cut through the scales and a fillet knife for the rest. It cuts way down on the number of times you need to sharpen your knife.
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I like the idea of using a serrated knife to make the first cut vertically behind the gill fin! It helps to cut towards the head allowing the knife to pass under the scales rather than down and through them.

I use 2 knives and a scraper like kitchens use for baking.

I make my fillet cuts with a fillet knife. I remove the fillet from the skin with a very sharp chef's knife. Then I scrape my fillet board so the next fish isn't contaminated by the first.
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+1

Windriver
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When I pull the front fins off of Macks they always seem to pull lots more meat off going towards the tail on the belly.
After I slice the throat and reach into the gills and down the guts to pull the guts out I also grab the two front fins. On small trout pretty much just the fins come off with the guts and gills. On larger fish and I think especially macks thinking about it, some skin/meat peels back all the way along with the guts. That must be the fat stripping away I guess. It only seems to be an issue with larger trout and now I think I know why this happens and won't worry about it. The fat must not be attatched to the meat per say, it is another layer. Never thought about the fat on a fish before. It makes sense but never gave it a thought.
I did read somewhere years ago that pulling those fins off is pretty important as there is something that starts to grow around them after the fish dies that can taint the meat. Some sort of enzyme. Learned how to clean trout that way anyways but that has always stuck with me.
I grew up fishing for little rainbows and brookies. A 12" fish was a good one so cleaning trout is a 10 second process or so. I will get the perch down
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