never seen the splitting the meat and tearing the bones out before after over 40 yrs of guiding and many hours in a fishhouse i've seen lots of techniques i like to clean fish right from the livewell and if you take the rib bone off while still on the skin they tear out easier
Did anyone else's arsehole start puckering up at 4:40 when he started working that knife towards the fingers on his other hand? About 60 years ago I was taught to NEVER cut TOWARDS yourself and other than one incident of not listening about a day after the lesson I LEARNED WHY you don't do that and I don't think I've ever done it again!! Don't be lazy take the extra two seconds it takes to get your body parts away from the blade!
Well done. We always bleed our fish 1st too. Not many people know about zippering the 2nd set of bones out or eating the cheeks. We call them Lake Erie Scallops. Great when broiled in butter w bread crumbs. Tight lines
So not going to bag on the video I just do a lot of fish with my Kershaw and Rapala knives on the fish not cutting through the ribs and don't lose any meat either
Respectfully, for clarification, you can't reduce mercury by trimming. Still a good thing though. The dark meat including laterial line is fatty and bioacumulates pcb's not mercury. Fish will taste milder if you trim off red meat plus reduces pcb's. Regards
You do an excellent job. I'm 70 so I have been cleaning them for a long time. Before we had electric knives, I would just cut the fillet off the rib cage and never open up the abdominal cavity. With the electric I clean them pretty much the same way as you, except I peel the rib cage out with the electric knife. A little twist of the wrist and the rib bones peel right out without wasting meat. The only thing I use the hand knife for is the cheeks and the Y bone zipper cuts. One difference is, I remove the belly lining. Once used to the electric it doesn't take very long to clean Walleyes and very little meat is wasted.
@@DEVILDOG1964 Hey Jim, you should really check that keyboard of yours. It seems the caps lock is always on. I would recommend you google Dunn and Kruger effect. You are a prime example.
Great job. At the very end you mentioned that last piece of meat under the chin. Keep the 2 pectoral fins intact and cut that piece off. Save them in a freezer bag until you get 20-25 and google WALLEYE WINGS. You batter them up and deep fry, and you hold the 2 pec fins in your hands, put the rest in your mouth and pull on the pec fins and all that meat comes right off in your mouth.
Everybody has slight differences cleaning fish, I don't waste meat and I've cleaned for decades. Your method is good and systematic, these comments by others are ridiculous. If you guys wanna see some fish hacking stop at a cleaning station on Lake Erie. You'll see some pros and some absolute amateurs. I ice mine and clean them at home
@@wirymarrow9435 it's all in your head. There's no difference at all. You're just wasting your time. The only thing, is that it may be a more humane way to kill the fish quicker.
The dark meat is fatty and bioacumulates pcb's not mercury. Fish will taste milder if you trim off red meat plus reduces pcb's. It takes practice but you can float the knife on bigger eyes when skinning to get a lot of it. Trim rest with sharp knife or easiest is soak in ice water overnite if convenient and trim off before freezing. Personally, I don't care for electric knives but they are quicker and if I caught more fish I might switch. 😀 Good video, nice of the guy to share.
Used to catch these fish in Sweden, they called them gos. In Britain we call them zander, but they are only found in the Norfolk Broads, so I have only fished for them in Sweden. The biggest I caught was 3 kg, but the wife's uncle told me he had one of 10kg ! There is no fight in these fish, you just pull tjhem straight in the boat. However they are the best fish I have ever eaten. My mother in law would clean the fish and cut it into steaks, but leave the skin on. She boiled a big pan with water, salt and pepper with lots of dill. When the water was boiling, she put in the gos steaks and immediately take the pot off the heat, and leave the pot to cool overnight. the next morning the water had turned to jelly and we are the cold cooked fish with the dill jelly , new potatoes and salad from the garden. The best fish I have ever tasted !!
That’s the way I do it also but I don’t have a electric knife I just use the old wooden handle Rapla keep it sharp as a razor blade cracker batter and throw them in the hot grease 👍🤘
I've gone ocean fishing three times. Anything we caught was equal to or better than fresh water. That being said there is nothing better or more fun than a walleye cheek. Take the throats as well there is a good chunk of meat to be had. And your buffet table will look exotic with them all golden brown with fins on. Use the fins as a handle, insert into mouth and use your teeth to scrape off the meat. Every time I do it it starts quite the chatter.
Oh and the middle row of bones can be cut out 3/4 of the way to the tip of the tail , so you can fry a nice slab of meat rather than ripping it in half
So what have people been doing wrong? Everyone does this, and man you’re throwing out a lot of meat by not keeping the “throat pops” or wings, that’s some of the best meat next to the cheek. Sorry but I was expecting a neat trick.
I watched like 10 videos on how to do this for the first 3 i caught last night. Then this morning i see yours and it makes much more sense and know more for next time. My fillets were more like fish sticks from the prior videos. Im going to buy one of those electric knives now. Setup an amazon link to it so you can get residual income from it. Gained a sub from me. Thanks.
Why bleed then out in the pale? I always bleed them in the river but I often have wondered to myself if bleeding them in my stringer and letting the current sick the blood from them isn't introducing parasites and bacteria since the second the fish dies there is that system nature's has In place to ensure everything cycles.
so i should let them sit in the bloody water and defeat the purpose of bleeding them. put them on a stringer and bleed them in the water then pack in ice and filet
If you would take the time to study the walleye filleting techniques on UA-cam you will find better and more refined ways to prepare you fish for eating boneless fish ….. happy and prosperous fishing to all.
We do the same cut on the throat latch, all fish. For walleye we are usually trolling so we cut the latch and put the fish on one of those old fashioned metal stringers with the hook latches and drag them for a few minutes to let the blood out and not have it in the boat or the cooler.
I use my side cutters (for braid line) to cut a gill or 2. Give them a few minutes in livewell to bleed out. If the livewell temp is cold or not overloaded (erie) and air temp hot, I wait til end of trip and cut them all at once. Kinda sucks but saves ice and don't have to remember to transfer fish to cooler if on a good bite. If I had a bigger boat, I'd do a 5 gal bucket with ice water...
Lmfao you can do all that just by cutting around the rib bones in half the time with a normal fillet knife.... These fishing "infliencers" love to complicate the simplest shit.
Yes, great question. This is the way I did it before I owned an electric knife, it’s absolutely do-able with any fillet knife, just make sure it’s sharp before you start!
Yes it keeps it, ugh very nice. And white. Is why we do it. You know to keep it clean. And white. You know gets the blood out for the meat. To keep it white. And clean.
Another nice video! Going to Burwell this afternoon. Planning to use the "Y" zipper technique. BTW....I did notice the geese at about the 13:45 mark. Sounds like the next video will be about early season goose hunting. Good fishing 🎣👍.
For you guys that say bleeding doesn't matter, I would challenge you to bleed half of your fish next time and leave the other half. You will for sure know which ones were bled and which were not by the color of the filets.
* Bleeding is more advantageous in some species than in others. Taste is relevant only to who is eating the fish. IMO, most fresh water fish, I.e. panfish, pike, perch, trout, salmon, catfish, etc. do not need to be bled. If bleeding trips your trigger go for it. Same applies to the removal of the lateral line. If there is a high concentration of mercury in the lateral line, I can then see why one remove it.
Put them in Ice an hour before cleaning. Cools the meat and firms it up for easier cutting, all the blood is absorbed back into the abdomen and perfectly white fillets.
Cleaned my first walleye today. Treated like a trout. Boy, I butchered it. Literally. The second row of bones threw my fillets into a mess of digging out bones. Wish I knew this before! Thanks!
I didn’t know about the zippering, cool! I just cut the full fillet like you, then cut the tail part off and then take the top back strap part north of the pin bones for two nice boneless pieces, than discard the belly section which can sometimes be a little fishy…. Less efficient and a little more wasteful, but fast and you get most.
I cut the tail section off first .( big boneless chunk of meat) then I zipper it …that belly meat is Chuck full of mercury …read the daily recommendations on portions …oh and sharpen that knife…
Seen a video a while back bleeding salmon by making that same cut at the bottom of the throat. The guy used cheap pruning shears. We tried that. Bonk the salmon. Then clip the area just below gills and the bleed out really well. I put them in fish box and dump bucket of water to help clear blood from the salmon. Then put on ice in fish bag. Works great and no blood left in fish hardly at all. Also not sure if will work for Walleye scrap meat from fillet with Tea Spoon. For salmon and other fish I have used the spoon gets a lot of meat off bone. I use it to make salmon Chowder.
Great video and a good tutorial for those that want to learn. The only thing that I would add would be to cut and cook the rabbit ears at the bottom you said was good for soup. My daughters love them fried as well.
First, thanks on showing how to pin bone a walleye fillet, that part I didn't know. One helpful tip, after bleeding the fish roll the fish in a piece of newspaper and throw it in the fridge for a few hours before you fillet it. When you take the fish out of the fridge and remove the paper you will have a fish that is not slimy and straight as a board and much easier to fillet.
Not going to lie... you went over it four times and it wasn't until the fourth time that I really got the Y bit. Really nice job explaining everything. I'm not bad at cleaning walleye but I feel like this made me a little better. Thanks for the master class in cleaning walleye. Everyone has a different take but you're really good at explaining.
Good job. I pretty much do the same. I have one suggestion, use a fork when taking the rib bones out, works great for me. for those that say it doesn't make a difference bleeding the fish out, that is just nonsense, I have been catching Walleye for 40 years and just started doing it about 8 years ago, less mess (blood) filleting and the fillet is much whiter. I was stubborn at first but don't be
Same way I have been cleaning since my dad taught me over 50 yrs ago lol. He did it for 30 years prior. Never bled them out either perch bluegill bass all the same
I am impressed. thank you!!!! now I just have to figure out how to Catch then in Colorado. As a Wisconsin native... it was a lot easier back in the midwest to catch them. I really appreciate the video!
you should be removing the ribs before you remove the skin makes it much easier , you don't need to cut them all the way out either , cut the ribs away from the vertical bones then pull the bones from front of the filet twards the tail they pull right out
I've cleaned too many Walleyes to count and not once have I "bleed them" and not once have I had a bloody filet. Beyond that, it's the same way I've been doing mine for decades.
I agree 100% I never bled out a fish prior to about 2 years ago when I gave it a try. A friend challenged me one time to bleed one fish out and compare fillets and yea I was proven wrong, the fish that was bled out was a much whiter color and even had a much less of a fishy smell. I’ve been doing it ever send. You should try it out, just do a comparison. You do have to cut the vein while they’re still completely alive. You can see the blood shoot out.
you should try one, ive been doing it for 20 years manually too, last year i had 15-20 to fillet one night, it was amazing to use. saved so much time, they are actually great. i still dont have one but this might be the year
Iv'e used the manual knife method all my life, but my friend uses the electric saw, and I have to agree with him that the saw is less hassle zipping along the back bone of a mucus coated walleye. It's not the best for everything though.
That’s impressive!! I’ve been cleaning fish for over 50 years and never seen it done this way!!!very good job!!!
You sir are a good teacher!!
never seen the splitting the meat and tearing the bones out before
after over 40 yrs of guiding and many hours in a fishhouse i've seen lots of techniques
i like to clean fish right from the livewell
and if you take the rib bone off while still on the skin they tear out easier
What ? Most guys zip their walleye filets.
@@jiggyjay682 not around here where there's a lot of walleys cleaned...
And not a lot of guides use electric knives either
Don’t forget the pc around the fins by the gills, makes great walleye wings!!
I was gonna say the very same, almost better than the cheeks
We call them the rabbits here.. good chunk of meat!
Did anyone else's arsehole start puckering up at 4:40 when he started working that knife towards the fingers on his other hand? About 60 years ago I was taught to NEVER cut TOWARDS yourself and other than one incident of not listening about a day after the lesson I LEARNED WHY you don't do that and I don't think I've ever done it again!! Don't be lazy take the extra two seconds it takes to get your body parts away from the blade!
Awesome! Thanks for sharing this technique
Well done. We always bleed our fish 1st too. Not many people know about zippering the 2nd set of bones out or eating the cheeks. We call them Lake Erie Scallops. Great when broiled in butter w bread crumbs. Tight lines
Thank you for taking the time to educate us! Well done.
Awesome. Liked and subscribed. I haven't cleaned a fish in years so I appreciate the great video. Cheers.
Dont forget to soak them in cold water with salt in it for an hour or two and then its the best fish ever
So not going to bag on the video I just do a lot of fish with my Kershaw and Rapala knives on the fish not cutting through the ribs and don't lose any meat either
Split the tail at the blood vein. One cut on each side. Than just rip the fillets off. Much easier.
I was taught that taking out the bloodline in the fillet takes out about 95% of the mercury in the meat as well.
Yes, always remove the lateral line dark fatty part,fish tastes much better that way.
Respectfully, for clarification, you can't reduce mercury by trimming. Still a good thing though. The dark meat including laterial line is fatty and bioacumulates pcb's not mercury. Fish will taste milder if you trim off red meat plus reduces pcb's. Regards
Never understood cutting into the gutz.. keep them alive as long as possible throw on ice and clean them up and zip the fillets
The best tasting fish in the world ❤❤🎉🎉😊😊f j b 😊😊
Great Vid Thx
so you dont mind that silver skin on the belly? guess its too hard to remove but it must taste ok for you not to remove the whole belly piece
thanks for the tips
wow, nice
I’ve never seen a Walleye so this would be true...🤔
I zipper...but just the rib area....same knife...bubba is awesome....this guy has some good things...but a joke for other parts
called "Zippering"
How do you think the FISH FEELS!?!?? (I’m guessing delicious?) 😂 Gotta get me a Bubba Pro. 🫡 Semper Fi (sh)
You do an excellent job. I'm 70 so I have been cleaning them for a long time. Before we had electric knives, I would just cut the fillet off the rib cage and never open up the abdominal cavity. With the electric I clean them pretty much the same way as you, except I peel the rib cage out with the electric knife. A little twist of the wrist and the rib bones peel right out without wasting meat. The only thing I use the hand knife for is the cheeks and the Y bone zipper cuts. One difference is, I remove the belly lining. Once used to the electric it doesn't take very long to clean Walleyes and very little meat is wasted.
😊😊😊😊
Y
If you don't bleed your fish it is worth the effort. I am convinced the fish tastes much better. I bleed every fish I keep.
PLACEBO EFFECT GOOGLE IT.
@@DEVILDOG1964 Hey Jim, you should really check that keyboard of yours. It seems the caps lock is always on.
I would recommend you google Dunn and Kruger effect. You are a prime example.
Great job. At the very end you mentioned that last piece of meat under the chin. Keep the 2 pectoral fins intact and cut that piece off. Save them in a freezer bag until you get 20-25 and google WALLEYE WINGS. You batter them up and deep fry, and you hold the 2 pec fins in your hands, put the rest in your mouth and pull on the pec fins and all that meat comes right off in your mouth.
I keep all walleye wings... Very good and you can eat without actually getting any bones... My wife demands I keep them
Everybody has slight differences cleaning fish, I don't waste meat and I've cleaned for decades. Your method is good and systematic, these comments by others are ridiculous. If you guys wanna see some fish hacking stop at a cleaning station on Lake Erie. You'll see some pros and some absolute amateurs. I ice mine and clean them at home
Don't do as this guy did and waste 3/4 of the poor mans scallops, damn this was so painful to watch
My exact technique, except I trim all red looking meat off
Yeah! That dark meat on the back definitely needs trimmed off!
Always bleed your fish alive. their heart pumps the meat clean.
bleeding them out is all a waste of time myth. No need to do it if you know how to fillet theres no bloody fillets at all
It’s not I’ve ate bled out fish and not bled out fish both had minimal blood and the bled out one taste better
@@wirymarrow9435 it's all in your head. There's no difference at all. You're just wasting your time. The only thing, is that it may be a more humane way to kill the fish quicker.
You forgot the WIngs, Tons of meat on those.. Otherwise good Job.
You waste waaaaaay more meat with your method than the method I learned decades ago! I'd have to say, "you've are cleaning walleye wrong"!
Please elaborate. We would love to learn!
prove it ..
The only thing wasted here is the red stuff that carries mercury and bad taste
The dark meat is fatty and bioacumulates pcb's not mercury. Fish will taste milder if you trim off red meat plus reduces pcb's. It takes practice but you can float the knife on bigger eyes when skinning to get a lot of it. Trim rest with sharp knife or easiest is soak in ice water overnite if convenient and trim off before freezing. Personally, I don't care for electric knives but they are quicker and if I caught more fish I might switch. 😀 Good video, nice of the guy to share.
Try flipping the fillet ribs down and use the cordless to remove the ribs. Super fast once you get the hang of it.
Used to catch these fish in Sweden, they called them gos. In Britain we call them zander, but they are only found in the Norfolk Broads, so I have only fished for them in Sweden. The biggest I caught was 3 kg, but the wife's uncle told me he had one of 10kg ! There is no fight in these fish, you just pull tjhem straight in the boat. However they are the best fish I have ever eaten. My mother in law would clean the fish and cut it into steaks, but leave the skin on. She boiled a big pan with water, salt and pepper with lots of dill. When the water was boiling, she put in the gos steaks and immediately take the pot off the heat, and leave the pot to cool overnight. the next morning the water had turned to jelly and we are the cold cooked fish with the dill jelly , new potatoes and salad from the garden. The best fish I have ever tasted !!
That’s the way I do it also but I don’t have a electric knife I just use the old wooden handle Rapla keep it sharp as a razor blade cracker batter and throw them in the hot grease 👍🤘
There is no better bite of fish in the world better than a walleye cheek! Change my mind……
True, walleye cheek is filet mignon of fish
I've gone ocean fishing three times. Anything we caught was equal to or better than fresh water. That being said there is nothing better or more fun than a walleye cheek. Take the throats as well there is a good chunk of meat to be had. And your buffet table will look exotic with them all golden brown with fins on. Use the fins as a handle, insert into mouth and use your teeth to scrape off the meat. Every time I do it it starts quite the chatter.
Cheeks are the best part , glad you showed the procedure !!
Oh and the middle row of bones can be cut out 3/4 of the way to the tip of the tail , so you can fry a nice slab of meat rather than ripping it in half
Here on the Maumee River, when we're done fishing, we cut their gills and let them bleed out as we make our way to the bank (shore).
I can only imagine how good those would taste! Clean job my friend.
Thanks a million! They taste excellent!!
Too much needless talking
Take out your walleye wings. They are succulent.
Awesome. I'm getting pretty good at cleaning fish, but learned a few new things from your video. Cheers
I didn’t even know that those little black things were bones lol you don’t even notice them when eating it why do the extra work to remove them
Walleye scallobs are tiny compared to the wings.....you threw more away then what you saved
You still have red in your fillet. It has less to do with bleeding them out and more to do with cutting too close to the skin.
So what have people been doing wrong? Everyone does this, and man you’re throwing out a lot of meat by not keeping the “throat pops” or wings, that’s some of the best meat next to the cheek. Sorry but I was expecting a neat trick.
James--- Just watched your walleye filet job--well done !! Still used the Rapala to finish the job of course
You didn't take the wings off, it's a big chunk of meat.
I watched like 10 videos on how to do this for the first 3 i caught last night. Then this morning i see yours and it makes much more sense and know more for next time. My fillets were more like fish sticks from the prior videos. Im going to buy one of those electric knives now. Setup an amazon link to it so you can get residual income from it. Gained a sub from me. Thanks.
Why bleed then out in the pale? I always bleed them in the river but I often have wondered to myself if bleeding them in my stringer and letting the current sick the blood from them isn't introducing parasites and bacteria since the second the fish dies there is that system nature's has In place to ensure everything cycles.
No worries unless you don't cook them. 😀
The bucket is just more convenient for some boats.
Should have used your regular fillet knife to remove the cheeks.
so i should let them sit in the bloody water and defeat the purpose of bleeding them. put them on a stringer and bleed them in the water then pack in ice and filet
if youre not smart enough to bleed em out in a live well or a bucket then maybe you shouldnt go on a boat
If you would take the time to study the walleye filleting techniques on UA-cam you will find better and more refined ways to prepare you fish for eating boneless fish ….. happy and prosperous fishing to all.
GREATTTT JOB..THATS WHAT MY SON DID BLEAD THEM OUT...GREATTTT JOB ON THE CHEEKS .... But I normally just cut out my y bones..😊
you can save the front fins as well. There is lots of meat attached. We call them butterflies. Very tasty dipped in shrimp sauce.
Battered and fried with Hot sauce. Good stuff!
We do the same cut on the throat latch, all fish. For walleye we are usually trolling so we cut the latch and put the fish on one of those old fashioned metal stringers with the hook latches and drag them for a few minutes to let the blood out and not have it in the boat or the cooler.
5 Gal.pail of water
I use my side cutters (for braid line) to cut a gill or 2. Give them a few minutes in livewell to bleed out. If the livewell temp is cold or not overloaded (erie) and air temp hot, I wait til end of trip and cut them all at once. Kinda sucks but saves ice and don't have to remember to transfer fish to cooler if on a good bite. If I had a bigger boat, I'd do a 5 gal bucket with ice water...
I don’t zipper my walleye, I just fry them up and eat them never worry about those bones.
I’ll zipper a Pike.
Lmfao you can do all that just by cutting around the rib bones in half the time with a normal fillet knife.... These fishing "infliencers" love to complicate the simplest shit.
Nice job! Bleeding the fish really makes a difference, fillets are nearly white, no blood at all.
Is this method doable without the electric knife? Like is it possible to get through the rib bones with a non electric fillet knife?
Yes, great question. This is the way I did it before I owned an electric knife, it’s absolutely do-able with any fillet knife, just make sure it’s sharp before you start!
Great job but you can fillet them so you don’t have to trim off the rib cage
Like the hand tearing technique, I'm definitely using this. THanks man
Question. Does bleeding it out keep the meat nice and white?
yes it does. that is the primary reason to do it.
@@kro5579 lol, yes I know. That was sarcasm, just because he said it so many times at the beginning.
Yes it keeps it, ugh very nice. And white. Is why we do it. You know to keep it clean. And white. You know gets the blood out for the meat. To keep it white. And clean.
thanks for the info.. now I just need to catch' em
Another nice video! Going to Burwell this afternoon. Planning to use the "Y" zipper technique. BTW....I did notice the geese at about the 13:45 mark. Sounds like the next video will be about early season goose hunting. Good fishing 🎣👍.
Absolutely, I’m going to get after those early season geese soon!!
At this point in the video, I'd love for you to grab a 12 guage and add a bonus goose cleaning video!
I just posted a video how I clean walleye, I use a fillet knife and carve around the rib cage first...
I cut the gills to bleed them. If you cut the throat you cut the heart preventing it from pumping out the blood.
Cheeks are the Best Part , don't waste em ...
Geez bro. A rapala fillet knife is faster. Good tip on the cheeks.
For you guys that say bleeding doesn't matter, I would challenge you to bleed half of your fish next time and leave the other half. You will for sure know which ones were bled and which were not by the color of the filets.
* Bleeding is more advantageous in some species than in others. Taste is relevant only to who is eating the fish. IMO, most fresh water fish, I.e. panfish, pike, perch, trout, salmon, catfish, etc. do not need to be bled. If bleeding trips your trigger go for it. Same applies to the removal of the lateral line. If there is a high concentration of mercury in the lateral line, I can then see why one remove it.
Put them in Ice an hour before cleaning. Cools the meat and firms it up for easier cutting, all the blood is absorbed back into the abdomen and perfectly white fillets.
People would rather argue than try to learn something new is a better way
Cleaned my first walleye today. Treated like a trout. Boy, I butchered it. Literally. The second row of bones threw my fillets into a mess of digging out bones. Wish I knew this before! Thanks!
No electric knife, but everything else is done the same way.
Also break down the filets into frying-size pieces depending how large they are.
I didn’t know about the zippering, cool! I just cut the full fillet like you, then cut the tail part off and then take the top back strap part north of the pin bones for two nice boneless pieces, than discard the belly section which can sometimes be a little fishy…. Less efficient and a little more wasteful, but fast and you get most.
I cut the tail section off first .( big boneless chunk of meat) then I zipper it …that belly meat is Chuck full of mercury …read the daily recommendations on portions …oh and sharpen that knife…
Great Video and best tutorial I've seen to date for cleaning walleyes . Liked and Subscribed. Thanks!
Missed the wings
Thanks for that thorough explanation… it’s great to see what to do AND what not to do. I understand so much better now.
Seen a video a while back bleeding salmon by making that same cut at the bottom of the throat. The guy used cheap pruning shears. We tried that. Bonk the salmon. Then clip the area just below gills and the bleed out really well. I put them in fish box and dump bucket of water to help clear blood from the salmon. Then put on ice in fish bag. Works great and no blood left in fish hardly at all.
Also not sure if will work for Walleye scrap meat from fillet with Tea Spoon. For salmon and other fish I have used the spoon gets a lot of meat off bone. I use it to make salmon Chowder.
Great video and a good tutorial for those that want to learn. The only thing that I would add would be to cut and cook the rabbit ears at the bottom you said was good for soup.
My daughters love them fried as well.
First, thanks on showing how to pin bone a walleye fillet, that part I didn't know. One helpful tip, after bleeding the fish roll the fish in a piece of newspaper and throw it in the fridge for a few hours before you fillet it. When you take the fish out of the fridge and remove the paper you will have a fish that is not slimy and straight as a board and much easier to fillet.
Not going to lie... you went over it four times and it wasn't until the fourth time that I really got the Y bit. Really nice job explaining everything. I'm not bad at cleaning walleye but I feel like this made me a little better. Thanks for the master class in cleaning walleye. Everyone has a different take but you're really good at explaining.
Good job. I pretty much do the same. I have one suggestion, use a fork when taking the rib bones out, works great for me. for those that say it doesn't make a difference bleeding the fish out, that is just nonsense, I have been catching Walleye for 40 years and just started doing it about 8 years ago, less mess (blood) filleting and the fillet is much whiter. I was stubborn at first but don't be
Same way I have been cleaning since my dad taught me over 50 yrs ago lol. He did it for 30 years prior. Never bled them out either perch bluegill bass all the same
great video with detailed explanations - thank you!
I am impressed. thank you!!!! now I just have to figure out how to Catch then in Colorado. As a Wisconsin native... it was a lot easier back in the midwest to catch them. I really appreciate the video!
you should be removing the ribs before you remove the skin makes it much easier , you don't need to cut them all the way out either , cut the ribs away from the vertical bones then pull the bones from front of the filet twards the tail they pull right out
And then you just wrap those babies around some 8 ounce sinkers and hit the walleye trail😂
Hi , Im from fla. Just curious what state are you from and what water do you fish ? Thanks..Pop's
Belly is a waste of time but otherwise yeah. Works just as well with a sharp regular fillet knife and not cutting through bone.
The pelvic fins ( on the bottom of the fish by the gills) you can always cut those off and fry em up. Almost like a walleye wing
Wasted cheek meat though
Also those walleye wings
He took the cheeks...but not wings
I just wish I could always be cleaning a 24 in Walleye- nice video - never seen the zipper method - will try it this summer
I’ve never filleted a walleye wrong.
"Little hand-blade"
Also sometimes known as a knife
I've never seen a walleye fillet like that. no pin bones in far back of tail. The fillets are y shaped.
You get the job done for sure. I was curious why so much red meat. My filets are always pure white. The cheeks are my favorite.
I've cleaned too many Walleyes to count and not once have I "bleed them" and not once have I had a bloody filet. Beyond that, it's the same way I've been doing mine for decades.
Pink, white..it's ALMOST the same 🤷♂️
I agree! ❤ 1:28
I agree 100% I never bled out a fish prior to about 2 years ago when I gave it a try. A friend challenged me one time to bleed one fish out and compare fillets and yea I was proven wrong, the fish that was bled out was a much whiter color and even had a much less of a fishy smell. I’ve been doing it ever send. You should try it out, just do a comparison. You do have to cut the vein while they’re still completely alive. You can see the blood shoot out.
Not a bloody fillet I say BS
😅
Looks like the art of filleting is being lost to the electric saw ...lol
you should try one, ive been doing it for 20 years manually too, last year i had 15-20 to fillet one night, it was amazing to use. saved so much time, they are actually great. i still dont have one but this might be the year
Iv'e used the manual knife method all my life, but my friend uses the electric saw, and I have to agree with him that the saw is less hassle zipping along the back bone of a mucus coated walleye. It's not the best for everything though.