Deba for Walleye/Northern Pike

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kartman35

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I've always used 15$ Rapala fillet knives when I go fishing for walleye and northerns, but I'm thinking of trying a Deba...

These are the techniques I'm used to for filleting my favorite fish types:

Walleye: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2njws7UYFg

Pike: Apologies for the dorky interviewer in this one... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBFrQ5KMIs8

I found a 150mm Masamoto KS for 155$ and am close to pulling the trigger on it.

Any thoughts? Will I need to learn an entirely different approach with the Deba? The only difficulty I can think of is the 90 degree turn after the incision behind the head to come along the spine...

I was originally looking for a 165mm, but I saw this deal and the next size up is 180mm and costs fifty bucks more...
Is 150mm a decent size for these fish? I tend to keep much fewer pike than walleye so the fish are usually only 1-3 pounds, similar to the one in the first video.

Is a Deba a even good idea for these fish? Would a Mioroshi be a solid enough for this work? Should I just stick with a western fillet knife for these particular fish?

This will be my first single bevel knife, any advice welcome and appreciated.
 
Ok. I'm working on my phone so I haven't watched the vids. I don't touch northerns but I fillet a lot of walleye. I've used several traditional debas for the task. Usually 120 for smaller fish, 180 for larger guys. For basic breakdown they work extremely well. I generally went to a yanagi for removing the skin if I so desired. This was before I started using a mioroshi deba. Walleye and northern bones are way weaker than most saltwater fish. Particularly fish like snapper. You won't have any problems with a mioroshi there and you'll be able to separate the skin from the flesh easily with a mioroshi. As a bonus I can stick with one size - 210 for any size of fish. The profile seems to work better for a one size allaround solution. That's my opinion but you'll probably find that several solutions could work reasonably well.
 
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