I have fished my whole life and have always struggled with taking them apart with a flexible fillet knife, like my dad taught me (he always made it look easy.) I live inland, so I only catch freshwater fish like rainbow trout, channel catfish and walleye. Every winter they stock trout in my local lake, and I always have good luck catching fish between 2 and 4 pounds. I have tried many times to fillet them with my old Rapala fillet knife, but have always managed to frustrate myself more than anything else.
This week I bought a Suisin 165mm Deba out of curiosity for such a knife. This morning I caught 4 nice rainbows, all between 3 and 4 pounds. I didn't take the time to sharpen the knife, but I set out to fillet the fish when I got home. My results were far from restaurant presentable, but it was so easy to peel the meat off those bones compared to the futile method I have employed in the past. I think once I put a nice edge on the the knife, filleting fish will be become as fun as catching them has always been to me. I know I have a lot of technique to learn, but I am so much more confident with the power of all that steel in my hand. I can't wait to see how it flies through chickens too.
I have been lurking here for awhile, but I figured I would share my positive experience. Thanks everyone for all the great info.
This week I bought a Suisin 165mm Deba out of curiosity for such a knife. This morning I caught 4 nice rainbows, all between 3 and 4 pounds. I didn't take the time to sharpen the knife, but I set out to fillet the fish when I got home. My results were far from restaurant presentable, but it was so easy to peel the meat off those bones compared to the futile method I have employed in the past. I think once I put a nice edge on the the knife, filleting fish will be become as fun as catching them has always been to me. I know I have a lot of technique to learn, but I am so much more confident with the power of all that steel in my hand. I can't wait to see how it flies through chickens too.
I have been lurking here for awhile, but I figured I would share my positive experience. Thanks everyone for all the great info.
