# Fish Cleaning Tricks And Tips



## Catchemall (May 8, 2018)

I'd love to see what tricks and tips some of you masters have for the rest of us. Here's a couple of things I've learned through the years. 
I love the throats out of any decent sized fish from snapper to sheepshead and used to cut them out with a knife, slicing between the plates on the sides and then working a blade in to get the latch. A real pain on some fish. As an arborist and hunter who uses hand pruners a lot it finally hit me to try them and it's a real time saver if you eat the throats. And if you've been throwing them away, STOP IT! It's the most flavorful part of most fish.
I also like to leave about 1/16 of an inch of meat on the hide when skinning fish with a bloodline like snapper and redfish. I split the fillets on bigger fish before skinning and when skinning, angle the knife ever so slightly upward toward the center of the fillet where the dark meat is. It saves a lot of trimming and cleanup time in the end and wastes nothing. I even do it on mingos, cleans them up and makes them even sweeter. One picture is skinning to the hide and the other is leaving that little bit of red on the skin, you can see the difference.
Okay, what have you got?


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## H2OMARK (Oct 2, 2007)

Nice, how do you manage to leave the layer on the skin?


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## Catchemall (May 8, 2018)

A sharp knife and a little practice. It's easier than you think.


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## jaster (Oct 7, 2007)

Comfortable cleaning station is my tip, lol









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## KnotSure (Jul 8, 2017)

Catchemall said:


> One picture is skinning to the hide and the other is leaving that little bit of red on the skin, you can see the difference.
> Okay, what have you got?


Been doing that for years, especially on Blues and Spanish. 
If my knife is too sharp I cant do it that well, so after I sharpen it I will run the blade edge over a sawed end of a piece of soft wood to get it like I like it.


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## Jason (Oct 2, 2007)

jaster said:


> Comfortable cleaning station is my tip, lol
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Jason, your ole lady must clean the fish....no way your feet fit behind that sink without falling backwards!!!!!




Dang Catchemall got a foot in there too!!!! dang everyone just wants to be in my thread, ya'll are killing me!!!!


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## Catchemall (May 8, 2018)

KnotSure;79 56756 said:


> Been doing that for years, especially on Blues and Spanish.
> If my knife is too sharp I cant do it that well, so after I sharpen it I will run the blade edge over a sawed end of a piece of soft wood to get it like I like it.


Dead on. Throw seatrout into that list too. With large scale, tough hided fish like snapper I want it sharp.


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## Catchemall (May 8, 2018)

jaster said:


> Comfortable cleaning station is my tip, lol
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> ...


Nice station. I am amazed at the folks that try to clean fish on a board or cooler top. Getting the height just right and having a good surface makes all the difference. I also like storing my knives, sharpeners, skinning pliers and scaler under mine. Always got what I need and don't have to hunt em down. A stainless bolt on each end of the table makes a good spray nozzle hanger. I've got mine rigged where four people can clean at the same time so we don't have any slackers. Then again, there's some folks that I'd rather have washing the boat


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## jaster (Oct 7, 2007)

Hahaha, Jason I fit now that I am 118lbs lighter!

I like the bolt idea, but I finally got it plumbed last week, so the sprayer in the sink does what I need great! 

Now I just have to finish the roof on the deck and my outdoor kitchen so I can quit frying on the cleaning station, lol


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## CPD67 (Mar 7, 2017)

I think a good cleaning station is a must myself...


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## CPD67 (Mar 7, 2017)

My cleaning station does it all ...it’s even my cook shed 


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## Catchemall (May 8, 2018)

Nice! I keep saying I'm going to screen mine in. Then the yellow flies slack off a little and I forget.


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## Dmoney (Feb 19, 2017)

Nice!! Had a man show me a little different way to clean Spanish when 
I was in PC last month. He lays the fish on its side and then uses a sharp knife to trim off the dorsal fins all the hide on a thin strip from the tail to the back of the head and then turns the fish over and does the same to the bottom of the fish. After you do this you have about a 1/2 inch strip on the top and bottom of the fish from tail to head. You then take a pair of catfish nippers and simply pull the skin off. This eliminates the tedious task of cutting the hide from the meat and inevitably having to come back with nippers or pliers if you want the fillets skinned. After you skin the fish you cut the fillets off and finish processing as you like. Most of you probably use this method already but I just learned it this summer. 


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