By R. Karl
When I was about 10 years old, my father took me
fishing in Ontario to a place called Lac de Milles Lacs. It was some of
the best walleye fishing I have ever seen. More importantly, I saw
my first walleye cleaned and filleted by a family friend who was also on
the trip. Ray was as fast with a fillet knife as anyone I have ever seen
I later nicknamed him "30-Second Ray" and the finished fillet was as
if prepared by a surgeon.
I failed miserably on my first attempt (a 1 ½ lb. Walleye was reduced to
a patch of flesh about 10 cm long), but I swore to emulate the work of
Ray. After 30 years of filleting walleyes using the same method I
learned from my mentor, a resort owner showed me a different way. I was
amazed at how easy it was, and the finished product yielded more fillet.
If you have not yet seen or tried this method, I hope that the text and graphics
in my Instructions article will help you to learn it. The best
knife for the job? a
Henckels Pro S 5.5-Inch High Carbon Stainless Steel Boning Knife.
...Then, turn the knife blade and, keeping pressure on
the back of the blade, cut along the backbone and through the rib cage,
all the way through to the tail and out. The whole side of the fish
comes off and the rib cage remains attached to the fillet...
If you would like the entire step-by-step instructions
on Filleting Walleye, it can be purchased and downloaded for $1.99! Buy Now
Also available, step-by-step instructions on filleting
all four of the most popular freshwater gamefish (northern
pike,
walleye, smallmouth bass and
bluegill) bundled as one
downloadable .zip file for only $5.99! Buy Now
Comments
from readers who have used these instructions:
"I just wanted to say thanks a lot for
the fillet pics on the website. They helped me FINALLY do a decent
job of filleting a walleye." (D.F.)
"I have just read and used your
technique for filleting a couple of walleyes I caught last night.
I chose your technique over some others I found due to the way you
removed the rib bones. I found it to be very easy to follow..."
(A.M.)
