Fillet instructions

Step 1) Lay the fish on it side. Start by cutting into the fish directly behind the gills at a slight angle towards the gills so as not to cut against the scales. Cut through from the backbone until the bottom of the fish, staying behind the fin. Turn the knife towards the rear and slide the point under the stomach skin while keeping the point facing the rear and the sharp end facing you. Cut towards the rear, making sure to stay as close as possible to the skin, to avoid cutting the organs, and intestines. When the fish is open, you can pull them out to avoid cutting them open in the fish. Start cutting the top part from the front towards the rear, staying as close as possible to / along the backbone. This is where you will be cutting through the ribs. Be sure not to cut through the back bone, the cutting gets easier as you get closer to the tail. When finished, repeat the last procedure on the other side of the fish. You should now have 2 identical fillets, and one large piece containing the head, backbone, tail and intestines.

Step 2) Discard the head / backbone piece. Place one of the fillets on it's side (skin on the cutting board) , and remove the ribs by slicing under the top part of them (under the fish's lateral line). Slide the knife under them under cut outwards, staying as close to the ribs as possible, to preserve more meat. Finish by trimming of any remaining fins, as well as their bones. Repeat this procedure for the second fillet.

Step 3A) Bass, trout, perch, walleye and most other game fish (except pike). Most game fish have a set of thin bones following their lateral line (or close to it). These can easily be removed without losing more meat by cutting straight down along the bone all the way through to the skin. Follow the line of bones until the rear of the fish with your knife for perch, walleye, trout, and about halfway down the fish for most species of bass. Repeat on the other side of the bones. Always stay as close as possible to the bones without cutting through them. Once the cuts are complete, slide your nail under the first bone and hold the fillet down by the skin. Use your other hand to pinch onto the first couple bones and pull away from the fish slowly. The bones should all come off in one long line, kind of like opening a zipper. DO NOT follow this procedure for pike, as cutting though the "Y" bones, will complicate the de-boning.

Step 3B) Northern Pike - To remove a pike's Y bones successfully, after completing steps 1 and 2 as you would for other fish, place the fillet with the inside facing up. Start by locating the Y bone. At this point, it looks like 2 sets of bones running in the same direction, the lower part is along the lateral line, the upper part should be less than an inch closer to the top of the fillet. The "Y" actually runs towards the top of the fillet, so begin by following the upper bones with your knife toward the top of the fillet. Be careful not to cut through the bone, as this will turn the double bone into a quadruple bone, which will complicate de-boning the fillet. Keep following the upper bones as far as they go toward the rear of the fillet, it should run about ¾ of the way. Once you are done, start following the lower set, which is directly on the lateral line. This is a lot easier, as the line already exist, simply follow it about halfway through to the skin, all the way to the end of the bones. You should now have 2 lateral cuts of the same length. The final step is to begin at the front of the fillet and get under the complete set of Y bones. This can be done by sliding the knife in to the lateral line cut, and pushing towards the top of the fillet, making sure to stay under the bones. At this point you should actually see the knife under the top part of the "Y", follow through towards the rear of the fillet until you reach the end of the previous cuts. Once the cuts are complete, slide your nail under the cuts and hold the fillet down by the skin. Use your other hand to pinch onto the first couple bones and pull away from the fish slowly. The bones should all come off in one long line, kind of like opening a zipper. If the meat starts to tear away toward the top of the fillet, your cuts weren't accurate, you can use the knife to help salvage more meat.