Story by Capt. Chris Medlin
Selected Photos by BJ Cothran

Uh oh, now you've done it.  You have been reading my column so much, you now have a cooler full of fish to contend with.  So what’s next?  And how can you manage to do what the fish monger down the street does so elegantly?  You watch him and with two quick strokes the fish is filleted and skinned.  You ask yourself if this is possible as you think back to the last time you were hacking away at the poor bluefish as it looked up at you in dismay as if to say, "Please remove my eyes before you do that!”

There is one big difference between the fish monger and most people who are having a hard time cleaning their catch and that is the knife they are using.  Is it the right one and is it "right" sharp?

When choosing a knife or two there are a few things you should think about.  Number one is what kind of fish you will be cleaning most of the time.  It is better to have a fillet knife for fish like flounder, trout, and spots and then a boning knife for fish like kings and wahoo (or grouper and tuna for some).  Fillet knives have a flexible blade which makes getting under the flesh easier and it can bend and curve with the contours of the fish.  Boning knives are good for making steaks and cutting through spinal columns and rib cages.  (I prefer a serrated edge on my boning knife). 

There is a third option that is overlooked at times and that is an electric knife.  I never quite got the hang of it, but I have seen some folks make short work of a "mess" with a good electric knife.

The next thing to think about is what kind of material you want your knife to be made of.  Most would automatically say stainless because of its ability to resist rusting, but stainless knives are quite a bit harder to put a good edge on.  High carbon knives will take an edge easier, but do rust.  I prefer high carbon knives because I dry them well after using them anyway.  I actually have some high carbon Dexter Russell fillet knives my grandfather put in our store in the 1950s and boy, do they work great.  If you are keeping a knife on a boat you will want to go with stainless because of the moisture.

Sharpening a knife seems like a skill that is best left to the professionals, but with the right tools and a little patience you too can have a knife edge Kurt Russell would be proud to shave his stubble with.  There are so many sharpening tools on the market it’s hard to decide which one is the best.  If you have the time to learn the fine art of the whetstone, by all means do so, since that may give you the best edge you can get. 

However, most of us prefer the quick and easy way.  Accusharp makes a draw sharpener that works great.  The accusharp costs around twelve dollars and is well worth it.  They have a set of sharpening blades that last a long time and after they wear out you can flip them over and use the other side.  The edge a draw sharpener puts on a knife does not last as long as one done with a whetstone but it is easier and faster.

You would think scalers are pretty straight forward, and they are to some degree, but there are choices.  The old-time one with big teeth and a curved head is hard to beat, but I love my electric fish scaler.  The electric fish scaler has an electric motor with a flexible shaft and a revolving head that lifts the scales off beautifully. 

You can also use a water hose to blast the scales off of fish.  Just make sure you have a clear area and are wearing clothes you don’t mind getting dirty.  You can even dump a load of fish in a washing machine and it will scale them slick as a whistle.  I tried it and my wife was not very happy.  So I suggest you do it in a separate machine from which she does the whites!

There are three basic ways of cleaning fish.  Filleting is probable the best known.  This is where the flesh is separated from the fish's skeleton so that there are very few bones in the edible part.  Then there is the method of de-scaling, gutting, and lopping off the head.  This leaves the bones in the fish, but I prefer this method because it leaves the meat moist.  Steaking is also popular.  This method is usually only used on fish like king mackerel and wahoo.  Steaking involves just slicing the fish in one inch thick or thicker steaks and is best done with a boning knife.

This is just the tip of the equipment and how-to techniques for cleaning fish.  For more explanation feel free to come by the shop where I will be happy to demonstrate on a fish dummy or on your fish if you bring it (BYOF) the techniques explained above.  Most of the fish houses will be happy to explain their techniques, too, if you just ask.  Most fish mongers are proud of the abilities they have earned over the years “splittin’ mullets.” 

As with most things, the best way to learn is to do.  I cannot explain how to feel the knife tip rubbing the spine so as to dislodge every morsel of fish flesh from the skeleton.  Some things can only be learned by feeling your way through and with practice.  Your first few fish might be mangled a bit but they’ll taste just as good. 

So until next time keep your lines tight, your cooler full, and your feet in the sand.

CAPT. CHRIS MEDLIN is a third generation tackle shop owner and a local charter captain.  For questions or his weekly fishing/weather report, drop him a line at www.eastcoastsports.com or ecsports@earthlink.net.