Likes Likes:  0
Thanks Thanks:  0
HaHa HaHa:  0
Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 17

Thread: Where did I go wrong????

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    San Angelo, TX
    Posts
    5
    Post Thanks / Like

    Angry Where did I go wrong????


    First off, is this a crappie at all?

    http://responseforce.com/private/P4040382.JPG


    Second off.. I got a rapella filet knife.. spent some money on it.. but it doesnt just slice right through them like youtube videos... something seriously went wrong.. blood is not supposed to be here no? Also I didn't gut it because none of the youtube crappie filet videos say to gut it, or show it being gutted. Finally after 2 months I catch one and mess it up bigtime... had to throw it away

    http://responseforce.com/private/P4040402.JPG
    Last edited by CrappiePappy; 04-04-2010 at 09:19 PM.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
    Location
    Toledo Bend In Texas
    Posts
    18,443
    Post Thanks / Like

    Default

    First your pics are too big. Next you have to follow the back bone all the way through. It's much easier to use an electric knife.

    Go down just behind the gill plates and turn it when you hit the back bone and work it back and forth through the entire fish until you hit the tail,. then flip it over and start at the tail where you stopped and scraping the skin take it all off.

    Used a regular knife for year and did thousands of fish when I was guiding, but an electric knife is so much easier. Oh and do the side with the fish belly facing you first that will make the other side easier.

    Skip

    Peak Vise Dealer
    Tying Materials, Chenille and Hackle
    For Pictures of my Crystal, Nylon/Rayon or
    New Age Chenille Please PM Me! Also I
    have the Saltwater Neck Hackle and some
    colors of Marabou plus other things!

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    San Diego
    Posts
    211
    Post Thanks / Like

    Default

    Click on this link and take your choice of these how-to videos
    panfish cleaning - Google Search
    Jim (Ike) Isaac - San Diego CA

    Purveyor of sea stories, fish tales
    and other prevarications.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    San Diego
    Posts
    211
    Post Thanks / Like

    Default

    Please ignore my first post. I should have read your initial post more carefully, you have already seen the videos.
    Sorry
    Jim (Ike) Isaac - San Diego CA

    Purveyor of sea stories, fish tales
    and other prevarications.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Posts
    7,252
    Post Thanks / Like

    Default

    Skip is right on except I would add that when you get down to the tail, do not cut all the way through where you have two seperate pieces. When you reach the base of the tail just at the edge stop your knife. Then lay over the cut piece and start at the tail and go back like skip said. This way it gives you a guide to hold

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    Northern California
    Posts
    33
    Post Thanks / Like

    Default

    Well you have to start somewhere. Maybe have somebody show you in person. It is really not that hard once you get a couple under your belt.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    Down by the Coosa River
    Posts
    2,579
    Post Thanks / Like

    Default

    I just scale them,cut the head off, pull the guts out and fry them whole when they're that small!:p

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    Vilonia, AR
    Posts
    504
    Post Thanks / Like

    Default

    Don't be to hard on yourself and way to stay after them and catch one! Congrats. Practice makes perfect, and an electric knife will help abunch. Once you get the hang of it then filleting them is the way to go, especially around kids, no bones to worry about.
    nothing beats time on the water

  9. #9
    CrappiePappy's Avatar
    CrappiePappy is offline Super Moderator - 2013 Man Of The Year * Crappie.com Supporter
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    Lexington, KY
    Posts
    23,501
    Post Thanks / Like

    Exclamation Michael .....

    Quote Originally Posted by michael View Post
    First off, is this a crappie at all?

    http://responseforce.com/private/P4040382.JPG
    Second off.. I got a rapella filet knife.. spent some money on it.. but it doesnt just slice right through them like youtube videos... something seriously went wrong.. blood is not supposed to be here no? Also I didn't gut it because none of the youtube crappie filet videos say to gut it, or show it being gutted. Finally after 2 months I catch one and mess it up bigtime... had to throw it away
    http://responseforce.com/private/P4040402.JPG
    First off ... Yes, that's definitely a Crappie !! Looks to be a male White Crappie, or possibly a male Hybrid Crappie.

    Secondly ... remember that the people doing the youtube videos have probably been filleting fish for quite some time. And don't let this one incident sour you on using the knife .... I've been filleting fish for decades, and mostly with a elec knife, and I still mess one up now & then :p
    Blood is normal, regardless of which type of knife used.

    Note: if you keep using the Rapala ... make your first cut much further up towards the head, and not at a 90deg angle (you're losing a huge chunk of meat if you cut straight down the side of the fish). Just under the gill flap, you should find a semi-circular plate ... see the black spot on the gill flap, it's right under there. Cut right underneath that, and towards the downslope of the hump of the fish's back (about halfway between the eye and where you started your cut). Then take the point of your Rapala knife and cut down the middle of the back of the fish (down into the fish, until you touch backbone) & alongside the top fin, until you get to where the last ray of the top fin comes out of the fish's back .... then push the knife point on thru the bottom of the fish, and continue cutting alongside the backbone until you reach the tail fin. You can do this "cutting" by repeated "slicing" motions or "sawing" motions. (you don't want to try and cut through the rib bones that come off the backbone, if using a filet knife, you'll just dull the knife blade).

    OK ... now you should have the fish cut from hump to tail .... so you need to fold the cut side away from the body of the fish, and finish cutting that section off ... all except where it attaches to the tail. Lay that cut over, meat side up, and lay your knife blade against where the meat & skin meet ... at a low angle ... and make a cut. Holding down the folded over skin section with your fingers, continue to hold the knife at a low angle & saw back & forth with the knife as you push the knife towards the thicker end of that filet. Your knife should seperate the skin from the meat, very cleanly. Repeat the same proceedure for the other side.

    When using that type of knife, you need to imagine the skeleton of the fish ... and use the top fin & backbone as a guide for your knife, as you cut on each side.
    And even if you try & fail on your next attempt ... don't just chuck the fish into the trash, as a lost cause. Continue to cut on the fish, examining where the meat runs, where the bones are, how the top fin just floats, how far up the head that the meat runs (& is accessible), where the rib bones connect with the backbone ... just like science class dissecting You'll learn the anatomy of the fish ... which will aid you in learning how to fillet one.

    If you're going to filet the fish .... don't remove the scales, and don't worry about gutting it. The scales will help keep the knife from cutting thru the skin, and the guts will be left with the carcass.

    From the looks of the picture ... the only thing that "went wrong" was .... the new knife was very sharp, and you got in a little bit of a hurry :p

    And ... if your picture hosting site allows you to ... downsize your pics to around 640x480 pixels. If it don't .... use the URL address, rather than the IMG address (which is what I did, when I changed/edited your pics).

    .. cp

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    Ridgeland, Ms.
    Posts
    966
    Post Thanks / Like

    Default

    I like to put the fish on ice for a while before I clean them.
    Bobby Garland Pro Staff Bass Pro Shop Pro Staff
    Hi-Tek Pro Staff
    Denali Rods Pro Staff Road Runner Pro Staff
    K2 Coolers Pro Staff

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

BACK TO TOP