might be a dumb ass question but

[Ira R (Rick) Jones]

here goes,  cleaning large panfish, filet? or dcale and gut and whack head off, or do you whack head off or tail off or cut fins out??

never caught bluegill big enough to filet

[dick tabbert]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_GGcgIFUlw

See if this can help.

[Ira R (Rick) Jones]

cool, now to catch some like that,  did as a kid in farm ponds in wisc and ill but not now

[Slip Sinker]

Great way to fillet panfish… but I’ve made one modification thru the years. I always disliked filleting the second side of the gill once the first side was cut and removed. There left a void of space that supported the initial cut along the top of the dorsal it was more difficult of a cut because your knife was skewed at a different angle. You lost time trying to be neat and not waste meat on the bone. My solution was to complete the first side or fillet up to trimming along the rib cage to complete… leaving the fillet attached to the rib cage and flipping the fish over there is now support to start the initial cuts on the second side…. Once the second side is complete and the flesh removed flip over and complete the first side trimming along the rib cage.  Both fillets cuts look perfect… now … Bill however looks like he has no problem but the second side was a bit more cumbersome for me.

Works great for me!

[dick tabbert]

Ken this is a good place for a video for people like me who better understand seeing something done rather that reading and trying to figure out what you read.

[Slip Sinker]

i know what you mean Dick im on YouTube alot

[David, aka, "McScruff"]

The answer to all your questions is yes.

If big enough - filet.
When not....
Scale
Eviscerate
De-head
De-fin

Some people like the fins themselves, hot fried to a crunchy crisp. I don't

To cook:
Pat fish dry... Sprinkle body cavity with salt
Dip in egg/milk wash
Dredge in coating*
Hot fry in 1-1 1/2" oil.

* coating - corn meal, unbleached flour, panko bread crumbs. I mix meal and panko, with about 20% flour.
Season with salt, pepper, cayenne, parsley, garlic

[Slip Sinker]

[LIKE]

[Jim Gronaw]

Check out Bill 'Musky' Modica's instructional videos on YouTube, via Road & Snake Productions, for the best and cleanest way to fillet big gills and panfish. Or, check out my 'Easy Pinbone Removal' blog on this site. Both could help...

[Andy is OptiMystic]

My preference is scale, de-head and gut bluegill. I don't eat the fins, but they help me debone the cooked fish; the dorsal is kind of a guide while I eat the top half and the tail I use to lift the spine and ribs out. I eat the top side off the bone then pull the bones and eat the bottom half.

I filet white perch down to a pretty small size. It is kind of inefficient as I basically get fingers out of the back meat; just trim the ribs away before taking the meat off the skin. Keeping white perch of all sizes is strongly encouraged here; they want them out of Piedmont lakes.

[Marty Lemons]

As the founding father of the "Catch and Eat" Foundation, I always filet them into nice bite sized morsels of culinary delight.

[Andy is OptiMystic]

BTW, my "whole" preference is for a couple of reasons. My favorite ways to prepare tend to turn out better with a thicker skin covered piece. The other reason is nostalgia; that's how we did them way back when. It's like boiling shrimp; my wife can hardly stand the odor, but when I smell it I am 10 years old, walking into Great Aunt Anna's kitchen...

[carl hendrix]

Rick;; at last year;s rendevou; Lord Of The Fly Rods;; fileted our of our gills; with a electric knife!! he could do - proably 3 to 5 in the time it takes most people to do 1!!!   fileting; is faster than scaling; gutting;head ;fin removing;;  and with out all  of the mess of that style!!   for you to see a live demonstration on his ability to do it;; come join us this May at our next rendevou!!