Cleaning techniques
 

So I'm used to fishing Big Lake and keeping several 16-19 inch reds that are easy to clean with an electric knife. Fishing VBay, I'm finding a whole lot more reds that are large pocket red or bulls. Those suckers can still be good eating, if prepared right, but they are always a pain to clean.

When it comes to trout, I've stopped using an electric knife. Following the lead of a couple guides I know, I've realized that I'm just as fast with a good filet knife as I am with electric, and I end up with a better filet.

But on the big reds, even the electric knife isn't strong enough. I end up taking several of them home to hit them with the Sawzall with a nine inch wood blade. Anybody got a better method? Perhaps a different way of cleaning to avoid the scales? I'd love to hear it, especially if it allows me to clean them when I'm out there so that I don't have to bring the fish guts home.

Serrated Dexter

^^^^^ This

And start at the tail and work towards the head

Get a good glove for your off hand while using a serrated dexter or you will lose a pint of blood on the cleaning table like I did.

Take a dremmel tool and cut the mister twister blade to fit in saw I can do 20 reds in under 15 min


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I clean about 70 bull reds and a couple dozen bull drum each year. I work from the head to the tail.

To separate the fillet from the back of the fish, I use a well sharpened, fixed blade buck knife with a 6" blade, 119 special or something like that. My left hand grips the head of the fish (using the eyes) so the knife in my right hand is always working away. The first cut is perpendicular to the cleaning table right behind the gill and marks the place where the fillet will begin behind the head. The second cut is along the spine parallel to the dorsal fin and runs from the dorsal fin to the ribs. I make no attempt to cut bone, so the ribs remain in place. Working front to back, once I reach the back end of the ribcage (near the anal fin), this cut is then from top to bottom separating the fillet from the spine parallel to the cutting table.

At this point, the fillet is still connected to the fish by the scales, skin, and meat along the rib cage. It takes some practice to get the locations and angles right, but then I go back to the head hold the knife more or less parallel to the rib cage and complete separating the fillet from the rib cage (rib cage still attached to the fish). The left hand secures the head (using the eyes) so the knife is always moving away from the left hand. The blade faces upward while the tip of the knife is inserted into the fillet as far as it will go, with the tip of the knife forming a pivot point where the ribs meet the spine. Then the knife cuts upward through the meat, skin, and scales as it is rotated about the pivot point. Repeat working backward until the fillet is free from the fish.

Then I use a 7" Dexter Russel fillet knife to separate the fillet from the skin and scales, working front to back and using a pair of pliers to hold the skin/scales in my left hand while working the knife with my right.

It takes longer to explain than to do it. I can work through a 100 qt ice chest with 3-4 bull reds in 15-20 minutes.

Time for this again
Fish Cleaner Man at CoCo Marina; Cocodrie, LA.3GP: http://youtu.be/lvcxk0ZAyFw

That is ridiculous. I would have stabbed myself six or seven times in that one minute moving that fast.

A. I wish he was at the boat launch so I could just pay him to clean my reds.

B. It looks like he's using a fillet knife to do that. It must have a thicker and heavier blade than an average filet knife though. Either that or somebody is removing some scales before the fish gets to him. Anybody have a thought on what type of knife it would take to do that technique but taking about 10 times as long to do it?

A serrated dexter will slice those scales like butter.

he is using a dexter

Is he just using the Dexter butcher knife? It doesn't look like he's using anything serrated. If I could clean a bull red in three to four minutes I'd be happy.

looks like a really sharp filet knife, but you can do the same thing with the serated one

Alright... so I'm a believer. There's enough people on here saying that the Dexter serrated is the way to go. I'm guessing the one they use is the Dexter Utility Knife. Is that the one to use? 6 inch or 8 inch? Or there's also the V-Lo series. Crap, they all look good. As long as they can cut through those scales, they will work for me.

9"

This is the one I use.

http://www.foodservicewarehouse.com/...L13xoCO0rw_wcB

he could be using this one looks like a filet knife, but is serrated
http://fishboneknives.com/sgl156nsc-...utility-knife/

Fantastic feedback. You guys have been great. I ordered it and plan to clean some reds with it this weekend. Thanks.

Welcome

If u cut behind the rib cage lot easier than trying to cut thru the ribs.

Technique is key. The guy in the video would most likely yield the same results with a butter knife.

Cave men beating on a coconut... This is how I like to clean them, but I'm weird because I don't like to waste meat and don't feel compelled to consider speed the metric by which I confirm my penis size.

http://youtu.be/HiU2XM4SUvs

The guy at coco marina is using a wore out dexter that he sharpens with a cheap accusharp sharpener!! It is all technique. He helped me to try to do it like him. Let's just say it ain't the knife. He cleans more fish in a day than most people clean in a year. On trout he uses an electric knife. And he can run through some trout. He cleans almost all of the fish caught by the charter boats there.

Bubba Blade Flex. I love it

Just watch RatDogs handle business......

^^this

People actually keep reds?

I try to discourage it lol. I tell people all the time you can keep all the reds you want to clean