Filet knife?
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Dworwood
Keeper of San Juan Secrets
When I have five fishermen with me and several people waiting at home for filleted fish in zip lock bags we try to take good care of them and get them on ice asap 100 fish doesn’t go as far as one would think. AND you might win an arm wrestling contest at any time, if I had two bud lights I would fall to sleep!
I am lucky enough to either know pretty well or have met everyone you mentioned and they are all great people! Except I have to keep an eye on my boat at all times around a couple of them. I agree with @greyhackle about taking care of fish on the lake, so much nicer, quicker, and gets them on ice faster too.
KYKevin
Keeper of San Juan Secrets
To say an electric is the only way to clean fish, is kinda like saying there is only one way to catch fish, I find that really funny
Mildog
Well-Known Member
Love electrics. I’ve been using electric for over 40 years, first ones were carving knives before I could even find an electric made for filleting fish! I can get pretty much all the meat can skin and debone with them. But often we tag team one will slab and skin fillets, the other will trim ribs with convention knife. I still prefer to use conventional fillet knives on kokanee and trout. Bubba electrics are excellent. Rapala are good but a notch below.Battery models are very handy! I have used or sold most all of them over the years. For the money mister twister electrics (Corded) are great I have used them for many years before wearing them out. The newer ones have a sharp chisel tip which is great for popping out walleye cheek meat! I have a small cheap cigarette lighter inverter (harbor freight) I can use to run off batteries on boat or houseboat works fine, fillet station has outlets so all good there. Have even plugged it into my truck inverter with extension cord at fillet station without outlets.
Once you get the hang of electric it does take practice and touch to use them,for panfish, bass , stripers they are tough to beat . I can’t count the times we have hit the cleaning station at powell and watched people butcher (in a bad way) with electrics or conventional knives! We have often cleaned 3 or 4 times the fish and finished while 3 or 4 people are still at it. Have even pitched in and filleted other fish has well as given some pointers that got people doing it better. Practice does make perfect ! There’s only a few can do the job in similar fashion with a conventional knife (kykevin
)
Once you get the hang of electric it does take practice and touch to use them,for panfish, bass , stripers they are tough to beat . I can’t count the times we have hit the cleaning station at powell and watched people butcher (in a bad way) with electrics or conventional knives! We have often cleaned 3 or 4 times the fish and finished while 3 or 4 people are still at it. Have even pitched in and filleted other fish has well as given some pointers that got people doing it better. Practice does make perfect ! There’s only a few can do the job in similar fashion with a conventional knife (kykevin
)
KYKevin
Keeper of San Juan Secrets
Its really about what a guy prefers, but I learned a long time ago, that you never say its the only way to do itLove electrics. I’ve been using electric for over 40 years, first ones were carving knives before I could even find an electric made for filleting fish! I can get pretty much all the meat can skin and debone with them. But often we tag team one will slab and skin fillets, the other will trim ribs with convention knife. I still prefer to use conventional fillet knives on kokanee and trout. Bubba electrics are excellent. Rapala are good but a notch below.Battery models are very handy! I have used or sold most all of them over the years. For the money mister twister electrics (Corded) are great I have used them for many years before wearing them out. The newer ones have a sharp chisel tip which is great for popping out walleye cheek meat! I have a small cheap cigarette lighter inverter (harbor freight) I can use to run off batteries on boat or houseboat works fine, fillet station has outlets so all good there. Have even plugged it into my truck inverter with extension cord at fillet station without outlets.
Once you get the hang of electric it does take practice and touch to use them,for panfish, bass , stripers they are tough to beat . I can’t count the times we have hit the cleaning station at powell and watched people butcher (in a bad way) with electrics or conventional knives! We have often cleaned 3 or 4 times the fish and finished while 3 or 4 people are still at it. Have even pitched in and filleted other fish has well as given some pointers that got people doing it better. Practice does make perfect ! There’s only a few can do the job in similar fashion with a conventional knife (kykevin
. I had told a troller from the Gorge, that jigging was the only way to do it. And I was wrong for sure. But it was sure fun pulling those big fish in on 10 lb line. And that is what I should have said. But I thought I was right at that time. But I was just a kid
greyhackle
Escalante-Class Member
That’s very true. Every time I get thinking I have it all figured out and someone else is doing it wrong. I get my A&? Handed to meIn fishing especially, never say anything is absolute, because most likely sooner or later you will eat your words!!
I done it enough times that I now know better!
Scheadhunter
Active Member
I’m a saltwater guy and I have a whole assortment of Forschner high-quality fillet knives. That being said last year on his first trip ever to Lake Powell, my brother helped me fillet stripers at the station for a good two hour cleaning session. We had a kill bag loaded with quality fish and ice. After watching me hand fillet 60 fish, he took pity upon me and gave me a Bubba electric for my birthday.
I am a hard core fish cutter, I love my fillet knives.
The Bubba electric is a game changer, and I will use it every time I cut stripers.
Thanks bro
I am a hard core fish cutter, I love my fillet knives.
The Bubba electric is a game changer, and I will use it every time I cut stripers.
Thanks bro
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First of all, we review this topic every year. Someone who is good at finding stuff, find Tim Bagley's video on filleting stripers and list it on this thread. After watching that video, I bought Dexter Russell just like he had. I am not as good as he is yet, but I can do right at 3 stripers a minute If someone will keep them on the table and I don't have to bend over and fight them out of a bucket. Once you learn how to hold the angle of the knife right using the handle to keep the blade the proper height off of the table while removing the skin, you can remove almost all of the red meat without any trimming. I now use a Bubba Blade along with the Dexter Russell on stripers. Using the Bubba Blade for taking the fillets off of the carcass because it is stiffer and has more backbone, and the Dexter Russell to remove the skin and ribcage from the fillet all in one motion because it has a smaller more flexible blade.
As far as electric vs. fixed blade it is a matter of preference. I have been on 4 or 5 guided trips in my live were the guide cleaned our fish for us. They all used a fixed blade knife. I have watched many commercial fishermen all over the world and people that fillet all day long on commercial boats in Alaska, they all used fixed blades as well. In order for a person to be efficient with a fixed blade knife the blade has to be sharp, sharp enough to shave with. Then you have to have the technique down. That takes watching someone that knows what they are doing and a lot of practice and learning how to sharpen a knife.
When I have less than 10 or so fish, I will use the fixed blades - Bubba blade 10" - Dexter Russell 10" and a 4" Rapala fixed blade knife. Regardless of what kind of fish I have. Just does not pay to get out the cords out and clean up the electric. When I have more fish, I'll get out my American Angler 120 volt. I use the electric knife on everything but stripers. For me it is not about speed, but how well I can get every bit of meat I can off of the fish. My wife got the American Angler for me for Christmas about 10 years ago. I liked it so well that I bought another one for a spare. The original one has at least 5000 fish on it. The spare is still in the original package. I think that they make several grades of quality and price, and the one I have was around $75. I used to get the cheapest one that I could get, and I found that you could get around 1000 fish out of them before the switch or their plastic drive gears went out. I prefer the less aggressive rounded teeth on the blades as to the chisel pointed aggressive ones. The aggressive ones just waste to much meat. I have tried sharpening the blades for the electric one, but find it takes to much patience and time of which I have little extra of either to try and sharpen them when new blades are $10 a set.
I clean all my fish on a cleaning table we got at Cabelas on the back of the houseboat where I have running water - lights - 120 volt A C power. I prefer the 120-volt knife because it cycles faster than the 12-volt knife. I also have a battery Rapala that I got for Christmas, It simply does not cycle fast enough to suit me, I would rather use a fixed blade. Before we got the houseboat, I would try and get them done on the lake. One day I ask my son If he wanted to troll while I tried to fillet them off of the back of the boat. I set up a piece of plywood on top of a cooler and went to cleaning. Worked great, except for I would have to stop and net his fish while he drove the boat. What I did discover is when the boat was running the alternator would put out about 15 volts to the battery and the knife cycled faster and worked better.
What the electric knife will do for you is let you push though the fish regardless of your angle or sharpness of you knife. Once you learn to keep your knife at a 15-to-20-degree angle from perpendicular or square from the fish, you will find that the whatever knife you use will go through the rib bones and meat much easier. Each type of fish is different, and a little different technique is required for each. I find Walleyes to be the easiest and crappies to be the most difficult. I wish I was better with tech stuff; I would make a video on how I approach the different species.
From reading all the post above you can see that everyone has a little different take in what to use and what works for them. Kinda of like opinions and something else everyone has, everybody's got one. If I was going to buy a knife, I have listed what I would get. Hope this helps. Good luck at catching a few to practice on.
As far as electric vs. fixed blade it is a matter of preference. I have been on 4 or 5 guided trips in my live were the guide cleaned our fish for us. They all used a fixed blade knife. I have watched many commercial fishermen all over the world and people that fillet all day long on commercial boats in Alaska, they all used fixed blades as well. In order for a person to be efficient with a fixed blade knife the blade has to be sharp, sharp enough to shave with. Then you have to have the technique down. That takes watching someone that knows what they are doing and a lot of practice and learning how to sharpen a knife.
When I have less than 10 or so fish, I will use the fixed blades - Bubba blade 10" - Dexter Russell 10" and a 4" Rapala fixed blade knife. Regardless of what kind of fish I have. Just does not pay to get out the cords out and clean up the electric. When I have more fish, I'll get out my American Angler 120 volt. I use the electric knife on everything but stripers. For me it is not about speed, but how well I can get every bit of meat I can off of the fish. My wife got the American Angler for me for Christmas about 10 years ago. I liked it so well that I bought another one for a spare. The original one has at least 5000 fish on it. The spare is still in the original package. I think that they make several grades of quality and price, and the one I have was around $75. I used to get the cheapest one that I could get, and I found that you could get around 1000 fish out of them before the switch or their plastic drive gears went out. I prefer the less aggressive rounded teeth on the blades as to the chisel pointed aggressive ones. The aggressive ones just waste to much meat. I have tried sharpening the blades for the electric one, but find it takes to much patience and time of which I have little extra of either to try and sharpen them when new blades are $10 a set.
I clean all my fish on a cleaning table we got at Cabelas on the back of the houseboat where I have running water - lights - 120 volt A C power. I prefer the 120-volt knife because it cycles faster than the 12-volt knife. I also have a battery Rapala that I got for Christmas, It simply does not cycle fast enough to suit me, I would rather use a fixed blade. Before we got the houseboat, I would try and get them done on the lake. One day I ask my son If he wanted to troll while I tried to fillet them off of the back of the boat. I set up a piece of plywood on top of a cooler and went to cleaning. Worked great, except for I would have to stop and net his fish while he drove the boat. What I did discover is when the boat was running the alternator would put out about 15 volts to the battery and the knife cycled faster and worked better.
What the electric knife will do for you is let you push though the fish regardless of your angle or sharpness of you knife. Once you learn to keep your knife at a 15-to-20-degree angle from perpendicular or square from the fish, you will find that the whatever knife you use will go through the rib bones and meat much easier. Each type of fish is different, and a little different technique is required for each. I find Walleyes to be the easiest and crappies to be the most difficult. I wish I was better with tech stuff; I would make a video on how I approach the different species.
From reading all the post above you can see that everyone has a little different take in what to use and what works for them. Kinda of like opinions and something else everyone has, everybody's got one. If I was going to buy a knife, I have listed what I would get. Hope this helps. Good luck at catching a few to practice on.
4LOJO
Escalante-Class Member
Hows that rubber mat hold up?
mcpltret
Well-Known Member
5k fish cleaned up w/one knife is impressive, both
in your wet line prowess and the integrity built into
that knife. appreciate your comments. the dexters
look quite affordable, which i have none….as of yet.
crkt‘s are good, too. a man has gotta have good knives,
plenty of them, and backups everywhere. amen.
in your wet line prowess and the integrity built into
that knife. appreciate your comments. the dexters
look quite affordable, which i have none….as of yet.
crkt‘s are good, too. a man has gotta have good knives,
plenty of them, and backups everywhere. amen.
Bigcatpt
Well-Known Member
I was wondering the same thing.... then I quit wondering and just ordered one off of amazon. Hoping to put it to good use in 2 weeks.
Mildog
Well-Known Member
Here is a short clip from a few years back of filleting some walleye at Powell. I was using the mister twister 120 volt plug in with cheap inverter from 12 Volt, so it was not working at optimum performance. But this will give those who have not used an electric fillet the idea. My wife took this with phone after we had filleted about 50 fish already. So not ideal conditions but you can get the point 3 walleye in under a minute. I was slabbing and skinning and my buddy was deboning trimming just to share the load, can do all with the electric. I was not as careful as I might normally be, I was ready to be done and enjoy a cold adult beverage.
Not sure if this will work.
Not sure if this will work.
Bigcatpt
Well-Known Member
I very high degree of trust from the dude on the right side of the electric knife!!!!! One slip and he is missing a couple fingers on his left hand. Making quick work of those fish for sure!!! Thanks for sharing the video!Here is a short clip from a few years back of filleting some walleye at Powell. I was using the mister twister 120 volt plug in with cheap inverter from 12 Volt, so it was not working at optimum performance. But this will give those who have not used an electric fillet the idea. My wife took this with phone after we had filleted about 50 fish already. So not ideal conditions but you can get the point 3 walleye in under a minute. I was slabbing and skinning and my buddy was deboning trimming just to share the load, can do all with the electric. I was not as careful as I might normally be, I was ready to be done and enjoy a cold adult beverage.
Not sure if this will work.
Mildog
Well-Known Member
He trusts me, not sure why!!
Literally many thousands of fish over the years on the back of the houseboat. Plenty of other fish filleted from bluegill to bottom
fish on many other fishing excursions. He has had that houseboat on the lake since 1983! Haven’t cut him yet the only time he gets cut is with his own knife, (a couple times) lol. He keeps them razor sharp which is the key on a conventional blade got to have them really sharp to get the job done right!
Heading down next week, can’t wait !
Literally many thousands of fish over the years on the back of the houseboat. Plenty of other fish filleted from bluegill to bottom
fish on many other fishing excursions. He has had that houseboat on the lake since 1983! Haven’t cut him yet the only time he gets cut is with his own knife, (a couple times)
lol. He keeps them razor sharp which is the key on a conventional blade got to have them really sharp to get the job done right!Heading down next week, can’t wait !
fishfry
Well-Known Member
It has held up great I’ve had about 3 yrs or so. Doesn’t stink at all and easy to wash and rolls up in my backpack!! My only complaint is I wish they made a longer one!
Bigcatpt
Well-Known Member
I ordered this one because it was 5 inches longer. I hope it is a good one. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09VTBLFGT/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Inseminator
Well-Known Member
that rubber mat looks good where do you get one
4LOJO
Escalante-Class Member
Holy smokes thought I was watching a Benihana commercial for a second kept thinking the guy was going to cut small piece off and throw in someones mouth. Nice team work.Here is a short clip from a few years back of filleting some walleye at Powell. I was using the mister twister 120 volt plug in with cheap inverter from 12 Volt, so it was not working at optimum performance. But this will give those who have not used an electric fillet the idea. My wife took this with phone after we had filleted about 50 fish already. So not ideal conditions but you can get the point 3 walleye in under a minute. I was slabbing and skinning and my buddy was deboning trimming just to share the load, can do all with the electric. I was not as careful as I might normally be, I was ready to be done and enjoy a cold adult beverage.
Not sure if this will work.
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