FILET FISH

[BearLakeFishGuy]

I reluctantly keep white bass and bluegills because it takes so long to filet them since I do not have an electric knife.   How much time do you save and shall I break down and buy one? Any suggestion on a low cost one?  I caught about 20 perch and it took me 2 hours to filet them.

I have used electric fillet knives for 30 years now.  I use them as part of my job and used them in grad-school to clean, literally, over 10,000 perch!  Anyway, needless to say, I've used them all.  If you use them a lot, then you will want a plug-in 120v knife.  The battery powered ones eventually discharge and are heavier and bulkier and most don't have the "torque" needed to fillet large fish like cutthroat, lake trout, halibut, whitefish, salmon, etc.  Also, there is a BIG difference between "PRO" models compared to regular models, even in the same brand.  The American Angler PRO series is hands-down the best.  A close second is a Bubba Pro series.  The Mister Twister models don't have the power to fillet the larger fish and overheat easily if you're doing a bunch of fish.  The battery powered models are heavier and harder to hold when doing a bunch of fish too.  The Pro series have so much more power (torque) and go right through large salmon and other larger fish with ease.  I also like the thinnest blades you can find (which are typically sold separately from the blade the knives come with).  I've burned up Mister Twisters (3 of them in grad school) and even two Rapala and American Angler (regular models).  Here is the knife I'm happiest with:
Amazon.com : American Angler PRO Electric Fillet Knife, Stainless Steel : Fishing Knives : Sports & Outdoors
Here is the blade that works really well on smaller fish as well as larger fish compared to blade that come standard with the knife:
American Angler Pro Titanium Shark Blade (americananglerusa.com)