First electric fillet knife

[NCkenner]

Thanks for all the feedback guys, very helpful…..that Bubba electric knife looks really nice and impressive but that’s way more then I’m willing to pay. I didn’t want to spend a whole lot just something that will get the job done without hassle. I ended up buying a Hamilton beach electric knife from Walmart for $32. Came with a 9” and a 5” blade. Great reviews on Amazon but I’m sure majority aren’t cleaning fish with it LOL. It says it has a “powerful 120 watt” motor….but who knows, all I’m going to clean with it is crappie. If it stinks I can always return it, but do you all think this will do the job?

What you've bought will work and probably last for a few years with light use and good care. What you're getting with the more expensive higher powered options in the ease of use and speed. The cordless knives can be used anywhere and drop cords/outlets being available are removed from the fish cleaning equation. The more expensive higher powered knives also make the job easier thus saving you time and making you less tired at the end of the day. The old adage of "you get what you pay for" is very applicable to most tools and this is a tool to perform the fish cleaning task.
I understand your thought process and I did the same thing when I first turned to electric knives. I weighed price more heavily than other factors and purchased several cheap knives only to find they didn't work great and didn't last long. I've had the Hamilton beach, Black and Decker, Rapala, etc. The Rapala was by far the worst I had. Hopefully the HD model is better for those who choose it.
My experience may be different than yours as we clean hundreds of stripers and quite a large number of catfish each year along with the crappie/panfish. That makes my experience a little tougher on knives than the hard core crappie only angler.

At the end of the day use your own judgement and learn from your own fails/wins. Hopefully my fails can help the rest of you.

Chris

[Johnnywad]

I had a Bubba 110V knife. The gears in it stripped out after only 200 fish. Less than impressed for the money. Went back to a $50 Rapala heavy duty. They last one I opened was the cheaper Rapala and it lasted 6-7 years.

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[Kevind62]

Here is my American Angler 12V. It also came with an adaptor with alligator clips for the cigarette lighter to hook straight to the battery terminals if you don't have the plug in on your boat. I purchased this knife in 1995. I don't know how many thousands of fish it's cleaned over the years. These are the original blades also. I've cleaned crappie, speckled trout, redfish, king mackerel, and black fin tuna with it. It did get a little warm after cleaning about a dozen black fin tuna so I haven't used it for large boned fish since. It still cleans small fish like crappie, bream, speckled trout, etc., as fast and easy as it did when it was new. I paid $12.99 plus tax for it at Academy Sports.




This is my newest one. It's a 120V Ozark Trail. $14.87 at your local wally world ( I thought it was from Academy but looking at my receipt it was Walmart). Seems to work fine. Had it a year now. The trigger is the only issue. If you don't press it just right it doesn't come on. Not a big issue yet. I think it's just the length of the trigger. If you press on just the back end it doesn't engage. When squeezing in the middle or front works fine.

[HuskerSE]

Best bang for your buck is the mister twister. I've cleaned well over 1000 panfish with mine and it still works great.

I got a fancy cordless bubba knife for Christmas and I like the mister twisted better. Seems to have much more power since it's corded. Bubba would be great for remote camping but if you have power I would highly recommend a corded knife

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[Micmac]

it was a gift

[Charman03]

Mister twister

[Sky Pilot]

I got an Old Timer cordless fillet knife that I have been using lately. With work and highwater I haven't used it much, but so far so good. It was in the $60 range.

[220cst]

Did anyone recommend the American Angler

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[DockShootinJack]

I believe it has been recommended several times. Mine has been a real workhorse

[NCkenner]

I believe it has been recommended several times. Mine has been a real workhorse

For the corded models, American Angler is the best I’ve ever had.


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