FS Digest

I'll be going out for (and hopefully catching) some fall Chinook this weekend on the Oregon coast. The thing of it is, I'm not great at fileting fish and these should be some good size 20lb+ salmon! Does anybody have any useful tips for me besides a sharp knife or YouTube?

Much appreciated!

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by No-Enthusiasm141

JohnG Loc: Long Island NY.

The trick is cutting down the backbone initially and then just following the rib/bone line down. No big secrets.

Damstraight Loc: Union city mi

The key is the knife. Sharp sharp sharpen after every use

bfallens Loc: Cape Coral, Florida

get a glove to filet with... will help with grip and somewhat protect from cuts,

bapabear Loc: Blaine, Washington

If you are really new, It helps to pressure hose off the scales. This also removes the slime and makes the fish much easier to grip. ( Do it were you don't mind scales on the ground and clear the area around you. They glue themselves to vehicles). I know you said besides u-tube, but a picture in this case is truly better than a thousand words. If have some aversion to u-tube, just look up salmon cleaning and you will find something with diagrams besides u-tube. If not, lots of books have diagrams. I also use a very high quality bone tweezers for the pin bones. It both saves a lot of meat and makes a better looking filet.

LKPKGA

If you are using a guide, you should not have to fillet you fish. Good luck.