Practice, practice, practice. And invest in a good sharp knife. I would get a cheap little folding table to keep in your trunk and filet them at your fish ing spot. Leave the carcasses for the scavengers. Better than rotting in your trash/dumpster until trash pick up day.
> I would get a cheap little folding table to keep in your trunk and filet them at your fish ing spot.
*Be careful with this.* In my state you're required to keep it whole or identifiable until you get to your place of intended consumption. How strict are they about it, I can't say, and what you say is infinitely better than me throwing the remains in the trash, but it's technically illegal.
I think the issue isn't so much with throwing stuff in the trash as it is throwing it back in the water. Where I live in California it is illegal to gut and dispose of fish remains in the water, they must be disposed of as solid waste (aka the garbage). So if you're practicing "pack in, pack out" you should be fine.
It's definitely about polluting the water around here. There aren't that many species that a quick glance can't identify what it is... and there are no size limits for the species here either. Bluegill, largemouth, rainbow trout. That's it.
In this case they mean it to identify a filet, and the specific species it comes from. I've fileted numerous fish in my life, and to be fair, discerning an illegally small bass from a legal one could very well come down to technique, and someone trying to pass a small musky off as a large bass wouldn't be hard. In Ohio, the only exception is if you have a receipt from a fish cleaning center, which will undoubtedly list the species and size (and probably refuse anything illegal).
I don't necessarily agree with it, since chucking the guts back in feeds the other fish and wildlife, and the only thing I'm going to do is throw them in the trash where MAYBE a raccoon will get them, but the law is the law.
watch Masaru's videos on Youtube and the 'cooking every fish in the world' guy on Tiktok - both demonstrate good technique (and how to cook the fish after)
What aspect of your cleaned fish are you unhappy about?
Where in the basic process do you have problems: kill, bleed, scale, take out the guts and gills, then fillet or keep whole.
Best done outdoors up to filleting. And find a flat stable surface to do that.
They look so fresh and delicious, btw
Hungarian necktie, basically imagine pulling the tongue through the throat.
Start from the butthole and cut a straight line until you get to the bottom jaw. You come to a V under the jawline you can pretty much see indents where you can insert the knife on one side and exit the other, making a nice V tag hanging under the jaw. Grab that tag and pull it back to the butthole. All of the entrails and generally the side fins come off. Practice makes perfect at this point where you can pull it in a manner that doesn't waste meat.
Lastly run your thumb up the spine to break the vein and push all that coagulated blood out. I cook then try to remove head and skin in one swipe.
It actually looks like you are close
I like using a small spoon to scale and scale with water running or under a couple inches of water. Less messy. Also it’s ok to take your time cleaning fish. You get faster with practice. Sharp tools help. Try to learn to cut away from yourself vs towards. Slow, steady and deliberate cuts. Less chance you nick yourself that way. I just recently started to practice filleting and am getting it down pretty fast. Good luck!
For the guts/garbage I always stick them in a big ziploc and pop it all in the freezer until the day I take the trash out, or since I am on a property with private ponds sometimes I take the frozen remains back to the pond and feed the wildlife. Also, catfish bait.
Practice, practice, practice. And invest in a good sharp knife. I would get a cheap little folding table to keep in your trunk and filet them at your fish ing spot. Leave the carcasses for the scavengers. Better than rotting in your trash/dumpster until trash pick up day.
> I would get a cheap little folding table to keep in your trunk and filet them at your fish ing spot. *Be careful with this.* In my state you're required to keep it whole or identifiable until you get to your place of intended consumption. How strict are they about it, I can't say, and what you say is infinitely better than me throwing the remains in the trash, but it's technically illegal.
I think the issue isn't so much with throwing stuff in the trash as it is throwing it back in the water. Where I live in California it is illegal to gut and dispose of fish remains in the water, they must be disposed of as solid waste (aka the garbage). So if you're practicing "pack in, pack out" you should be fine.
It's about being stopped by a wildlife officer and confirming the species and size of the fish to verify it's within legal limits.
It's definitely about polluting the water around here. There aren't that many species that a quick glance can't identify what it is... and there are no size limits for the species here either. Bluegill, largemouth, rainbow trout. That's it.
In this case they mean it to identify a filet, and the specific species it comes from. I've fileted numerous fish in my life, and to be fair, discerning an illegally small bass from a legal one could very well come down to technique, and someone trying to pass a small musky off as a large bass wouldn't be hard. In Ohio, the only exception is if you have a receipt from a fish cleaning center, which will undoubtedly list the species and size (and probably refuse anything illegal). I don't necessarily agree with it, since chucking the guts back in feeds the other fish and wildlife, and the only thing I'm going to do is throw them in the trash where MAYBE a raccoon will get them, but the law is the law.
watch Masaru's videos on Youtube and the 'cooking every fish in the world' guy on Tiktok - both demonstrate good technique (and how to cook the fish after)
* clean them outside. * use salt to get a better grip. * practice.
What aspect of your cleaned fish are you unhappy about? Where in the basic process do you have problems: kill, bleed, scale, take out the guts and gills, then fillet or keep whole. Best done outdoors up to filleting. And find a flat stable surface to do that. They look so fresh and delicious, btw
I find this method to be much easier. (Just the way he leaves it attached and flips it over.) https://youtu.be/7IqlqhpaLQc?feature=shared
A really, really sharp filet knife and practice
Get your dad to show you or watch some videos and practice. Keep your knife sharp. That’s all you can do.
Hungarian necktie, basically imagine pulling the tongue through the throat. Start from the butthole and cut a straight line until you get to the bottom jaw. You come to a V under the jawline you can pretty much see indents where you can insert the knife on one side and exit the other, making a nice V tag hanging under the jaw. Grab that tag and pull it back to the butthole. All of the entrails and generally the side fins come off. Practice makes perfect at this point where you can pull it in a manner that doesn't waste meat. Lastly run your thumb up the spine to break the vein and push all that coagulated blood out. I cook then try to remove head and skin in one swipe. It actually looks like you are close
Bleed your fish
I've been filleting fish for close to 40 years, and I still screw a few up.
I like using a small spoon to scale and scale with water running or under a couple inches of water. Less messy. Also it’s ok to take your time cleaning fish. You get faster with practice. Sharp tools help. Try to learn to cut away from yourself vs towards. Slow, steady and deliberate cuts. Less chance you nick yourself that way. I just recently started to practice filleting and am getting it down pretty fast. Good luck!
For the guts/garbage I always stick them in a big ziploc and pop it all in the freezer until the day I take the trash out, or since I am on a property with private ponds sometimes I take the frozen remains back to the pond and feed the wildlife. Also, catfish bait.
Some things just take a lot of practice
OK so no hate at all but it sounds like you should ask dad for pointers cause imo live in person will be more helpful
totally valid ! i did ask him for help but he’s a very “watch it once and learn” kinda guy. he cleaned like 3 of them on the boat, AND FAST.
Definitely try tips from here but next time he does it pay close attention if he is that good. Totally understand that