Cleaning bluegill

[drew03cmc]

Just what it says, how do you do it? Wondering how to clean something like a 9" gill for filets. I normally only kept bass, cats, trout, etc...and never SMALL fish...so help me out!

[CrappiePappy]

Just what it says, how do you do it? Wondering how to clean something like a 9" gill for filets. I normally only kept bass, cats, trout, etc...and never SMALL fish...so help me out!

of how to clean a fish. But, to fillet the fish (9" gill), you'd go thru the same proceedures as you would for filleting a Bass (just think of it as a "flat" Bass). Personally, on a gill of that size, I'd scale it & cut off the head and clean out the entrails ... and "fillet" it, on my plate, with a fork :D

But, to fillet it ... you have a choice of knives - regular single blade fillet knife or electric knife. Either will do a good job, and waste little meat (depending on your skill level, with either). I use an electric fillet knife. I cut into the fish with the blade running from the belly area of the fish, under the gill plate, and towards the top of the head ... with the blade itself angled about 45deg, and towards the head. I cut down to, but not into, the backbone ... then roll the knife blade under the cut and let the knife ride along the backbone. I keep the knife blade angled towards the top fin, to avoid leaving meat on the back ribs. This is done until I get to where the belly of the fish starts to narrow down and become the tail area - then I level out the knife, and continue cutting towards the tail. I stop just short of the tail, and flip the "side" over ... then continue cutting between the skin & meat, with the knife blade lying flat, until the fillet is detached from the skin. Then I cut into the fillet, just above the top of the stomach wall ribs, and remove the whole section (that contains bones). I then check the remaining fillet for bones, by feeling it with my fingers ... and cutting away any sections that contain bones, or just pulling the bones away from the meat. Flip over the remaining half of the fish, and repeat the process.
Knowing the skeletal makeup of the fish, gives you a better idea of where and how to cut it. Lots of instructional videos & pictures show making the initial cut into the fish ... at a 90deg angle to the fish (in a straight line from back to belly). Personally, I think that wastes a good section of meat. Since I'm going to cut away the belly bones area, anyway ... I would rather sacrifice that part of the fish, and cut at an angle towards the head. Most of the fillet meat, that you are going to be removing, is the back and tail meat ... so, make your cuts accordingly.
Hope this makes sense ... and if you have any further questions, feel free to ask them. I'll try and give more detailed instructions, on any part of the filleting process that you are having trouble with. ...... luck2ya ... cp

[CrappieMagnet]

A buddy Fishead from another website made a video.He also uses an electric fillet knife,however,you can see where he is cutting leaving no wasted meat,like crappiepappy says.Hope a visual helps you too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqCoph-C6Jo

_________________

[Rattler]

We clean several hundred gills every year in May and have always used an electric knife. The best way that we have found to do it is to take all of you fish and put into a styrofoam cooler and put a couple of bags of ice on them overnight and then fillet them the next morning. The fish a a bit easier to handle and the knife jsut slides right through the fish. This may be tougher to do in the hotter months of the year overnight so you could just let them sit for three or four hours and I'm sure that it would make a difference. Just remember that the further up past the gill you can get the knife, the better filet your going to get.

[SwampHunter]

We don't fillet our bream. Scale them, cut the heads off and gut it out.

[Drifty4]

You don't need any special knives. I have been using the same 6" Buck Hunting knife for 30 years. Cleans deer as well as Bluegills.:rolleyes: