How about filleting your Walleye or Catch of the Day?

I’ve always been a catch and release guy (fish that is) but this year my buddies said ‘why not keep the fish and give them to us to eat.’ Well, I decided to do just that this year in the Kawarthas.

It then got me thinking about whether to give them the fish I caught, currently Walleye (Pickerel) and Crappie, whole and fresh (say a few hours that is because they don’t live right next door) or as fillets of fresh fish first to surprise them with the evenings meal.

My first choice was an easy one and no problem. Catch the fish first, then bag them and finally drive them over to drop them off for the next meal the buddies had planned.

The second choice was a little more interesting. As I said before, I’m a catch and release angler, so I never got around to filleting fish so this choice was a more difficult one to make.

OK! what could be so difficult about filleting a fish anyway?

The first obstacle was not having a fillet knife. The general rule of thumb is make sure you use a sharp filleting knife. Filleting and cleaning fish can only be done properly if one has a proper clean and sharp knife - fillet knife preferably. Next obstacle was to spend a little bit of money and buy myself a good fillet knife.

Once the fillet knife was purchased, next came the filleting process. Filleting walleye (and for that matter freshwater perch) is supposedly a fairly easy thing to do. And walleye are supposed to be a bit easier to hang onto when compared to northern pike and trout.

This is what I’ve learned so far about filleting walleye. If you have any different techniques or methods and tools to use, please let me know.

You might want to scale the fish first by scraping the outer skin but this is only a preference thing.

Start with the belly of the fish toward you and the head of the walleye away form you. Take your sharp fillet knife and make a cut behind the pectoral fin into the fish up to the spine (halfway through the body). If the fish had a neck, this is basically where you are cutting.

Turn your knife and cut parallel to the backbone. Continue the cut toward the bottom of the fish and right through to the end of the tail. You will now have one fillet attached to the outer skin. You should be able to see the rib cage attached to the meat.

Put that fillet to the side. Turn the fish over and do exactly the same thing on the other side. Cut under the pectoral fin turning the knife and running the cut all the way through the length of the body and out the tail. This cut might be a little tougher than the first one as you no longer have the “other half of the body” to act as a base. Take your time.

OK. You’re well on your way to learn how to fillet walleye. Next step is getting the rib cage off the fillet.

Take the first fillet and place it on the cutting board skin side up with the top of the fillet to the right. Place your hand on the top of the fillet pushing your fingers firmly into the skin to give you a good grip (some people push their knuckles into the fish rather than their fingers). This will flatten the ribs to the cutting board. This is what you want. It will ensure you don’t waste any meat.

Next, take your thumb and lift the side of the fillet closest to you and slide your knife between the rib cage and the meat. Start at the top of the fillet and cut toward the belly that was once there. The key is to put pressure down on your knife as you cut along the rib cage making sure you slide your knife all the way through the fillet. You will know you have enough pressure on your knife when the blade gives a bit as you are making your cut. Slow and steady in the process is important. Once you get the hang of it, you will discover it is the fastest and cleanest way to remove the rib cage.

Next place the fillet skin down on the table with the tail closest to you. Begin a cut at the tail to remove the meat from the skin. Carefully cut along the length of the fillet toward the top and completely remove the fillet in one piece.

The second fillet is no different, so repeat as above.

Finally removal of the Y bones. This is simple in a walleye fillet and something that can be done without sacrificing much meat. You will notice the fillet has a ‘center line’ running through it. By running your fingers on the fillet parallel to the center line you will be able to feel the Y bones. Take your knife and make a cut along the outside of the Y bones. Typically the length of the cut should be about one third of the fillet. Cut through into the cutting board. Secondly make a cut along the center line of the same length. Remove this piece of meat (which is full of Y bones).

That’s about it I think.

Next clean up the fillet and get it in the frying pan or package it for delivery to a friend - thats if you are a catch and release angler like me.

Happy fishing! Happy Filleting!