How to Fillet and Prepare Your Fish Like a Pro

Are you squeamish about cleaning fish? Most people are until they try it and realize it’s no big deal.Proper cleaning keeps you safe, prevents waste and guarantees delicious results. Follow this guide on how to prep your fish like an expert.

No Guts, No Glory

Before we dive into tools and methods, let’s address the terminology. There’s no way to put things delicately — we’re talking fish blood and fish guts here. Cleaning involves bleeding, descaling and gutting the fish. It entails entrails, but it’s not as terrifying as it sounds. You’ve seen much worse on your favorite TV series.

The only real drama concerns the time frame. From the moment you decide to keep your catch, you’re racing the clock to preserve freshness. Whether you plan to cook the fish later in the day or freeze it for another time, bleeding and gutting it right away will preserve flavor and prevent spoilage.

Tools of the Trade

If you’re cleaning the fish right off the boat, there’s probably a designated cleaning station nearby. Otherwise, you can clean fish on any flat, sturdy surface like a picnic table, the tailgate of your truck, or a portable folding table — provided there’s a source of clean running water nearby. Thoroughly sanitize the work station before you start.

Gather these supplies:

• Protective liner: Use butcher paper or a clean cutting board to protect your work surface and prevent contamination. Layer the clean paper to wrap and dispose of waste as you go.

• Running water: Clean, cool water is essential for washing away scales, blood and guts.

• Container for waste: Get a large bucket or trash bag to collect waste materials.

• Gloves: Fish skins, bones and fins can be rough and sharp. Wear special fish-cleaning gloves or clean gardening gloves.

• Descaling tool: They do make a gadget for removing scales. However, the dull edge of a knife or a large spoon will do the job.

• Sharp tools: Knives for cleaning fish, especially for filleting, have a long, slim silhouette and a distinctive curved blade. Kitchen shears come in handy for fins, stubborn bones and other tough materials, but many experienced fishermen use electric fillet knives for speedier, safer preparations.

• Paper towels: You’ll need paper towels for finishing up.

• Finally, wear something to protect your clothes.

A Step-by-Step Guide for Cleaning Fish Prepared Whole

This sounds more complicated than it is. Trust us: Once you’ve cleaned two or three fish, you’ll consider it a piece of cake.

Follow these basic steps to clean most fish:

Kill the fish. If the fish is still alive, you’ll first want to humanely kill it by delivering a sharp blow to the head above the eyes; you may use the handle of a heavy tool. Alternatively, drive a sharp knife point or screwdriver tip through the brain.

Bleed the fish. This is easily done by cutting the gills. Allow the blood to run out under clean water.

Descale the fish. (If you plan to fillet your catch, you may skip this step.)
To descale, lay the fish flat on its side. Run the descaling tool firmly along the skin, working from the tail toward the head. Flip the fish to do the other side. Thoroughly rinse the descaled fish, the descaling tool and your gloves.

Gut the fish. Gutting is removing the entrails. Turn the fish belly up. Locate the anal vent near the tail. Make a shallow incision from the anus all the way up to the jawline.

It’s important to work decisively and with confidence, but there’s no reason to mutilate the poor creature. Remember, you want your fish to look appetizing when you serve it. Also, puncturing the intestines or other organs can result in seepage that affects flavor and freshness. Don’t hack at the fish. Cut in one continuous motion just under the skin.

Then, open the fish to scoop out the guts with your gloved hands. Don’t forget the kidneys (usually two) near the backbone. If they’re stubborn, gently scrape with the tip of your knife or a soft-bristle brush.

Remove the gills. The gills and tongue are firmly attached and are best removed with kitchen shears. Not all fish have the bony flap called a gill plate — you’ll know it when you see it — but it attaches in several places. Just keep snipping your way around it to free the gills.

Do the trim work. You may choose to trim the fins or remove them entirely. Some folks keep them for presentation when cooking the fish whole. The same goes for the head. If you opt to remove it, just cut directly behind the gills.

Rinse the fish. Thoroughly rinse, inside and out, under cold water. Pat the fish dry.

To Fillet Your Catch

First, make sure that your fillet knife is sharp. Thoroughly dry the handle. You needn’t descale the fish or remove its head for fillets.

Lay the fish on its side with the backbone facing you. Imagine a 45-degree line behind the gills dividing the head from the body. Cut along that “line,” stopping when your knife hits the backbone.

Turn the blade to a flat position against the backbone. Work from head to tail, sliding the knife along the backbones as a guide. Meanwhile, with your free hand, peel back the cut flap of flesh (the fillet) as you go. You want to detach the entire side. Angle the knife as necessary to work around the ribcage.

When the first fillet is completely removed, carefully flip the fish and repeat the process.

Cleaning whole panfish, bream or crappie (sac-a-lait)

You can fillet panfish, but some folks like to cook the whole fish (with the head removed) as this preserves as much of the meat as possible. Panfish are not very large compared to other fish species, so you need more fillets to make a meal. 

[Demonstration Video]

Descale the fish. To descale, lay the fish flat on its side. Run the descaling tool firmly along the skin, working from the tail toward the head. Be careful to get the scales near the fins. You can stop at the gills as you will be discarding the head. Flip the fish to do the other side. Thoroughly rinse the descaled fish, the descaling tool and your gloves.

Remove the head of the fish. Lay the fish flat and position the knife behind the bottom fins closest to the head, and align the knife behind the gills. Be careful to align the knife as far forward as possible as this is where the fish is the thickest. You want to keep as much of the meat as possible. 

Remove internal organs. Once the head is detached, a cavity will be visible on the bottom of the fish. Thoroughly rinse, inside and out, under cold water. Pat the fish dry.

Get a Personal Demonstration

Of course, for a charter captain, preparing fresh fish is all in a day’s work. Most of our experienced captains can clean fish blindfolded, and they love showing off their skills. They get so carried away that they even handle the cleanup.

Reach out now to book a trip and learn how to clean fish like a pro.