Bringing home the catch is one of the best experiences in fishing. But learning how to fillet a fish without sacrificing the meat is a matter of respect. For the quickest, cleanest way to remove meat from skin and bone, follow these five steps.

[ See also: Rapala’s New Saltwater Angler’s Tools And Fillet Knives ]

How to Fillet a Fish in 5 Easy Steps

1 Prepare your tools

Cleaning a fish requires a few specialty tools. Choose a fillet knife with a stiffer blade for removing the meat from the bones and another knife with a flexible blade to skin the fillet. A cutting board made of a marine-grade polymer like Starboard is easy to clean and provides a solid, slip-resistant surface. Wear a rubber-coated fish cleaning glove to hold the slippery fish. Before starting the job, touch up the edge of the blade with a ceramic sharpener.

Filleting a fish requires a few specialty tools. Choose a fillet knife with a stiffer blade for removing the meat from the bones and another knife with a flexible blade to skin the fillet. A cutting board made of a marine-grade polymer like Starboard is easy to clean and provides a solid, slip-resistant surface. Wear a rubber-coated glove to hold the slippery fish. Before starting the job, touch up the edge of the blade with a ceramic sharpener. | Photo: Ric Burnley
First, lay out the proper tools to clean your fish. | Feature photo: Ric Burnley

2 Make the first cut

Using the stiff blade, cut the fish behind the head and pectoral fin to the backbone. Use the inner edge of the blade, the sturdiest part of the knife, for maximum leverage.

Using the stiff blade, cut the fish behind the head and pectoral fin to the backbone. Use the inner edge of the blade, the sturdiest part of the knife, for maximum leverage. | Using the stiff blade, cut the fish behind the head and pectoral fin to the backbone. Use the inner edge of the blade, the sturdiest part of the knife, for maximum leverage.
As they say, the first cut is the deepest. | Photo: Ric Burnley

[ Kayak Angler Buyer’s Guide: See all fishing tools ]

3 Slice along the backbone

Hold the fish with one hand and run the tip of the knife between the skin and the backbone. In one movement, slice the skin 1/8-inch deep, moving the knife away from your hand.

Hold the fish with one hand and run the tip of the knife between the skin and the backbone. In one movement, slice the skin 1/8-inch deep moving the knife away from your hand. | Photo: Ric Burnley
Next, slice the skin along the backbone. | Photo: Ric Burnley

4 Detach the fillet

Turn the knife over and run the blade back along the initial 1/8-inch cut between the meat and the bones. With your free hand, pull the meat away from the bones while continuing to slice. Cut through the belly bones with the inner part of the edge. 

Turn the knife over and run the blade back along the initial 1/8-inch cut between the meat and the bones. With your free hand, pull the meat away from the bones while continuing to slice. Cut through the belly bones with the inner part of the edge. | Photo: Ric Burnley
Retrace the slice and pull the meat away to detach your fillet. | Photo: Ric Burnley

[ See also: Catch-And-Cook Kayak Fishing For King Salmon ]

5 Remove the skin

To remove the skin, lay the fillet skin side down. Pinch the tail to the board with one hand and slice the meat away from the skin by sliding the blade back and forth.

To remove the skin, lay the fillet skin side down. Pinch the tail to the board with one hand and slice the meat away from the skin by sliding the blade back and forth. | Photo: Ric Burnley
Finally, pinch the tail skin-side down and wiggle the blade to trim off the skin. | Photo: Ric Burnley

This article was first published in Kayak Anger Issue 44. Subscribe to Kayak Anger and get the magazine delivered to your front door. Download the Kayak Angler Magazine+ app to seamlessly glide between the digital archives, the latest articles and videos or browse the digital archives for your desktop here.

 

First, lay out the proper tools to clean your fish. | Feature photo: Ric Burnley

 

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Ric Burnley
Kayak Angler editor Ric Burnley has been kayak fishing since the dawn of the sport. In 2007, Burnley wrote The Complete Kayak Fisherman, with chapters on how-to make a PVC rod holder and glue a fish finder transducer to the hull. In 2013, he landed his dream job as editor of Kayak Angler magazine. Burnley is a regular contributor to Salt Water Sportsman, Sport Fishing, Outdoor Life, In the Bite and other print and online publications. Burnley lives in Virginia Beach with his wife, adult daughter, daughter’s boyfriend and daughter’s two cats. Experience In 2004, Ric Burnley stole his first milk crate from behind a 7-Eleven and fashioned it into a gear crate for his Ocean Kayak Prowler 15. Many years and many milk crates later, Burnley has witnessed the rise of kayak fishing from a bastardized fringe element to a legitimate industry with millions of devotees. The journey to becoming an angler started early in Burnley’s life. His father, Eric Burnley, is a renowned outdoor writer and former fishing guide, so the boy grew up in the cockpit of a charter boat and in the pages of national magazines. After college, Burnley lost easy access to his father’s boat, but not his passion for fishing. Once he had exhausted the limits of land-based angling, Burnley decided to try out a new thing called kayak fishing. About the same time, Burnley was looking for extra work to pay for his expensive addiction. His father, editor of the Mid-Atlantic Fisherman Magazine, offered him freelance assignments for the weekly publication. That led to a position as regional editor at Salt Water Sportsman, publication of The Complete Kayak Fisherman and editorship of Kayak Angler. Meanwhile, Burnley and his partner-in-crime, “Kayak Kevin” Whitley were exploring the boundaries of kayak fishing. With the bountiful Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean as their playground, the two anglers were the first to target big red drum, cobia, trophy striped bass, monster black drum, sheepshead and many other species. Once inshore species were exhausted, Burnley loaded his kayak onto motorboats and fished for bluefin tuna, blackfin tuna, king mackerel and amberjack. All the while, Burnley shared his experiences and knowledge with anglers through print, photos, video, radio, seminars and online. Almost 20 years later, Burnley continues to fish obsessively and share the stories. His recent projects for Kayak Angler cover the latest trends in forward-facing sonar and remote-controlled electric motors. Over the past two decades, kayak fishing and Ric Burnley have come a long way from PVC rod holders and stolen milkcrates. Education ● Radford University: BA English; Virginia Teacher’s License. Highlights ● Other Interests: Mountain biking, traveling, hiking, surfing and skateboarding ● Day Job: High School English teacher at an alternative school for at-risk students Fun Fact Ric’s name is a contraction of Eric. Ric is named after his father, Eric Sr. To differentiate between the two Erics, Mrs. Burnley removed her son’s E. To this day, she writes the boy’s name ‘Ric, with an apostrophe replacing the E.

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