Hello sir! I just wanted to thank you so much for making this video. All my life I have been fishing and caught many bluegills but yesterday I decided to eat my first bluegill. I spent a long time watching many videos on UA-cam to try to see how I wanted to clean it and I stumbled across your video and knew this was the one that was right. As a true beginner this video was most helpful and helped me a ton. I appreciate you taking the time to show and talk about every detail it helped me feel confident in what I was doing, feeling, and seeing. The only thing I did differently was pluck out the pin bones with tweezers to get the most meat I possibly could out of it. I fried my bluegill up and was amazed by the taste. There was a satisfaction I felt that I never had in my 22 years of life. Thank you sir very very much!!! God bless you🙏🏼
@Kneiper Thanks for this. I will try next time. 1) Aren't you supposed to cut out the entrails first? I read on some web page that there are harmful enzymes in the poop and intestines. 2) It seems we would have to catch a ton of bluegill to really eat any meat - what size below should we release them back into the pond? Yesterday we threw a lot back and kept only 5 of them. God bless you too.
Well, the way I'm cutting them, I never really cut into the guts. What size you keep is personal preference. What size is worth cleaning for you. I have many lakes by me that have good sized bluegills. So we are able to keep a couple dozen good sized ones a year. But I actually throw back the biggest ones. Those are the ones that are the most prolific spawners.
This is basically how I do it, only I don't worry about feathering around the ribs - lop them off & trim them off later. (I use 2 knives for this - one to take the fillets off & the other more flexible one to skin. The flexible knife allows me to skin anywhere on the table, not just near an edge.) If you angle your knife when cutting down the back (handle down toward the belly of the fish), you'll cut the skin from the inside and it'll be easier and more accurate than going straight on. Also, if you cut down on either side of the pin bones to the skin, the bones will fall out when you skin them.
To remove the pin bones. Can do do the same thing as walleye? Cut about a half inch in on either side of the lateral line and pull each side away to remove?
Like the cleaning board & clamp: NOW--Do we agree that these fish are small? if you want to get the most meat out of these small fish--do it this way:: Cut along the back on both sides like you did--take pliers and pull out the top fin, make a SHALLOW cut from the VERY top of the head down to the belly ,do this on both sides. Now go back to the top of the head and take your INDEX finger--not the knife and work it under the skin , down and back to the tail .do the same on both sides, YES it can be done. Next , pull back on the head and cut off and clean out the guts with you finger. Now you have A L L the meat to cook ,not just 60%. Enjoy
Yes and no. Depends on how you fry them and how big the bluegills are. The thickness of the pin bones on a 8 inch gill will be different than a 10 inch gill. I've crunched through some pin bones on fried bluegill before and then some smaller ones I've not noticed. Sometimes our fish get baked so I like to get them out.
How do you kill the fish? Several years ago, I went fishing with a neighbor in Kansas who offered to teach me to fish and was shocked to see him take the live Bluegill and scrape their scales off. I thought he was cruel.
Dave I've never cleaned (nor eaten) Bluegills before.....are those black specs in the meat a natural part of the fish or are they just debris from the cleaning board?
It's a parasite. Some fish have them and some do not. I've eaten them for 50 years. Everything I've read says they are safe to eat. Just always cook the fish.
I've been practicing feathering across the ribs as shown in this video. Any value in cutting through the ribs and fileting them out afterward? I worry that by coming over the ribs like this that I miss a lot of meat by not undercutting the ribs well enough after I pass them. Working on it.
You do still have to cut the ribs out, but some prefer to do it that way. The way I showed in the vid stays out of the guts and I don't dull the knife by cutting hard rib bones. But either way works.
just cut straight threw the rib bones, then cut them out at the end. The amount of meat lost is so minor. Plus it's literally 10 x faster than this. Not getting down on you. I just fillet hundreds a year and trying to help. Stop when you get to the tail, then flip it over and then cut it from the skin. The pinbones don't matter. They turn to nothing when fried. I feed them to my 2 year old.
Yes, that method works great also. I agree that the pin bones aren't much in 7-8 inch bluegills, but in 9-10 inchers I notice them. Especially when we bake the bluegills. One reason I cut the fillet completely off is often my wife is cleaning with me and I take the sides off and she skins them. Like an assembly line. I do believe cutting through the ribs is faster. I see a lot of guys like to use electric knifes when cleaning this way. If I did hundreds a year I might get an electric knife and do it that way. We keep 30-60 gills a year and I don't have to sharpen my knife as much if I don't cut through the ribs. Again, cutting through the ribs probably is faster, but if you're doing hundreds a year, you would be very fast at either method. In this video I went very slow for teaching purposes, but I did do a couple of fast ones at the end of this other video I did ua-cam.com/video/-cej-iSBolc/v-deo.html And keep in mind I don't have to come back after and take out the ribs. Again, I know your method works great. There is just more than one way to skin a cat......or bluegill LOL! Thanks for the add in my friend! I do love to discuss the pros and cons of these things.
Hello sir! I just wanted to thank you so much for making this video. All my life I have been fishing and caught many bluegills but yesterday I decided to eat my first bluegill. I spent a long time watching many videos on UA-cam to try to see how I wanted to clean it and I stumbled across your video and knew this was the one that was right. As a true beginner this video was most helpful and helped me a ton. I appreciate you taking the time to show and talk about every detail it helped me feel confident in what I was doing, feeling, and seeing. The only thing I did differently was pluck out the pin bones with tweezers to get the most meat I possibly could out of it. I fried my bluegill up and was amazed by the taste. There was a satisfaction I felt that I never had in my 22 years of life. Thank you sir very very much!!! God bless you🙏🏼
Thank you so much for sharing that. I love helping people enjoy the outdoors!
Awesome video sir 👍
Thanks for watching!
Good job Dave!
thanks
Awesome, I use bone tweezers, work great for them pin bones
That will work
You had me at "bunghole"
Thanks, it's a fun word right?
After the first 10 you're a pro!
After a couple hundred you are a Master!
I always held a fish with a old Fork
Yes, I need to leave on with my knifes just for that purpose.
Great video. Excellent job. Occasionally love to keep skin on and trails when we do it.. Those Tails taste like bacon.
Oh yes that works too!
Loved watching this. Haven’t filleted a bluegill since I was a kid. Think it’s time to change that.
Change it!
Never filleted one before. Thanks
I hope this helps
@Kneiper Thanks for this. I will try next time. 1) Aren't you supposed to cut out the entrails first? I read on some web page that there are harmful enzymes in the poop and intestines. 2) It seems we would have to catch a ton of bluegill to really eat any meat - what size below should we release them back into the pond? Yesterday we threw a lot back and kept only 5 of them. God bless you too.
Well, the way I'm cutting them, I never really cut into the guts. What size you keep is personal preference. What size is worth cleaning for you. I have many lakes by me that have good sized bluegills. So we are able to keep a couple dozen good sized ones a year. But I actually throw back the biggest ones. Those are the ones that are the most prolific spawners.
Looks good
thanks
That's awesome. I just need to catch about twenty and have a fish fry
You should!
This is basically how I do it, only I don't worry about feathering around the ribs - lop them off & trim them off later. (I use 2 knives for this - one to take the fillets off & the other more flexible one to skin. The flexible knife allows me to skin anywhere on the table, not just near an edge.)
If you angle your knife when cutting down the back (handle down toward the belly of the fish), you'll cut the skin from the inside and it'll be easier and more accurate than going straight on. Also, if you cut down on either side of the pin bones to the skin, the bones will fall out when you skin them.
Good stuff, thanks!
My favorite to eat. Grind up some club crackers to fry them in next time.
Nice
I'd like to order 100 filets please lol, Great video as always!
Deal!
To remove the pin bones. Can do do the same thing as walleye? Cut about a half inch in on either side of the lateral line and pull each side away to remove?
Yes walleyes are similar. I got a vid for that ua-cam.com/play/PLksX0m4wrQHxnO2W7FKfGoG4WlYh4S4Qk.html and others
Never seen Bluegill.
No bluegills in Finland Pekka?
@@KnettersPracticalOutdoors No. Or very rare.
Like the cleaning board & clamp: NOW--Do we agree that these fish are small? if you want to get the most meat out of these small fish--do it this way:: Cut along the back on both sides like you did--take pliers and pull out the top fin, make a SHALLOW cut from the VERY top of the head down to the belly ,do this on both sides. Now go back to the top of the head and take your INDEX finger--not the knife and work it under the skin , down and back to the tail .do the same on both sides, YES it can be done. Next , pull back on the head and cut off and clean out the guts with you finger. Now you have A L L the meat to cook ,not just 60%. Enjoy
Thanks for adding in.
Won’t those pin bones fry up to just eat without knowing they are there?
Yes and no. Depends on how you fry them and how big the bluegills are. The thickness of the pin bones on a 8 inch gill will be different than a 10 inch gill. I've crunched through some pin bones on fried bluegill before and then some smaller ones I've not noticed. Sometimes our fish get baked so I like to get them out.
@@KnettersPracticalOutdoors not saying you are wrong for taking the pin bones out. I fry my gills and have never noticed them.
@@poimendave9536 No, I didn't think that at all. Thanks for the interest and comment.
How do you kill the fish? Several years ago, I went fishing with a neighbor in Kansas who offered to teach me to fish and was shocked to see him take the live Bluegill and scrape their scales off. I thought he was cruel.
Wack on the head.
What knife are you using?
Rapala fillet knife
Dave I've never cleaned (nor eaten) Bluegills before.....are those black specs in the meat a natural part of the fish or are they just debris from the cleaning board?
It's a parasite. Some fish have them and some do not. I've eaten them for 50 years. Everything I've read says they are safe to eat. Just always cook the fish.
I've been practicing feathering across the ribs as shown in this video. Any value in cutting through the ribs and fileting them out afterward? I worry that by coming over the ribs like this that I miss a lot of meat by not undercutting the ribs well enough after I pass them. Working on it.
You do still have to cut the ribs out, but some prefer to do it that way. The way I showed in the vid stays out of the guts and I don't dull the knife by cutting hard rib bones. But either way works.
Ouch 🔪 🐟 Ouch 🔪 🐟 Ouch 🔪 🐟
ok
just cut straight threw the rib bones, then cut them out at the end. The amount of meat lost is so minor. Plus it's literally 10 x faster than this. Not getting down on you. I just fillet hundreds a year and trying to help. Stop when you get to the tail, then flip it over and then cut it from the skin. The pinbones don't matter. They turn to nothing when fried. I feed them to my 2 year old.
Yes, that method works great also. I agree that the pin bones aren't much in 7-8 inch bluegills, but in 9-10 inchers I notice them. Especially when we bake the bluegills. One reason I cut the fillet completely off is often my wife is cleaning with me and I take the sides off and she skins them. Like an assembly line. I do believe cutting through the ribs is faster. I see a lot of guys like to use electric knifes when cleaning this way. If I did hundreds a year I might get an electric knife and do it that way. We keep 30-60 gills a year and I don't have to sharpen my knife as much if I don't cut through the ribs. Again, cutting through the ribs probably is faster, but if you're doing hundreds a year, you would be very fast at either method. In this video I went very slow for teaching purposes, but I did do a couple of fast ones at the end of this other video I did ua-cam.com/video/-cej-iSBolc/v-deo.html And keep in mind I don't have to come back after and take out the ribs. Again, I know your method works great. There is just more than one way to skin a cat......or bluegill LOL! Thanks for the add in my friend! I do love to discuss the pros and cons of these things.
Be nice .... But I don't catch plate size bluegills 😂
Location, location, location!
What are those black spots in the meat? Parasites??
Yes, harmless.
Wouldn’t be enough meat left on that bluegill for Sylvester the cat to put on a garbage can lid.
LOL, that's what I try for!