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Drum-Type Fish Scalers

I'm considering getting one of these from Cabelas but thought I'd ask if any of you have had any experience with these or know anyone else who has. I'm wondering if they can do the job on gills, how much time does it take, and whether they are really worth it. The flavor of good gill fillet is really in the skin but hate scaling the dang things with a hand scaler or spoon. Am anxious to hear your thoughts. Sincerely, Bob

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Comment by Bob Davis on October 13, 2011 at 8:52am: Vic, It's been some time since I added to this topic but since then I got a Tumble Drumm Fish Scaler from Cabelas and as hoped, it was one of the best fish cleaning investments I've made in some time. Why most of us have gone to filleting fish and skinning them in the end is because everyone hates scaling fish. Did it as I started with my Grampa and just hated it. But it was his way and that's the way it was! What you're missing with the skinning process is the added flavor of the skin being removed in the skinning process. You can still fillet the fish after it's scaled but you leave the part with the most flavor still attached by scaling them. It's all a person preference but for me, the scaler is still a great addition to my process and have added lot of lost taste back into the fish we eat now. Man, what a table of perch! Got some dandies on Lake Winnebago in Wisconsin several weeks back. Can't beat those little beauties! Bob

Comment by Vic Tankersley on October 13, 2011 at 6:16am: Got a friend who has one of these and he swears by it. Fill it up, turn it on ,drink a beer and clean your catch without scaping scales...I myself fillet everything and don't leave the skin on so have no use for one.

Comment by Bob Davis on July 6, 2009 at 6:29am: Charles, I can see how these things would work well on perch because of the cigar type shape but am unsure of the flat shape of a blue gill. Was going to check one out at Cabelas the other day but spent too much time in the FLY SHOP and forgot all about it until halfway home. Lucky for me! I spent way too much in the shop! Oh well, maybe next time!

Comment by Charles on July 1, 2009 at 12:05pm: Bob you should get one. I own the Tumble Drumm and have used my friends Slick Skin Scaler. I prefer the Slick Skin because you can add more fish and I like the door a little better. You will not be disappointed if you get one. I would also suggest that you get a Pan Handler. It makes filleting fish super easy. But you should know that gills that are over 1lb won't fit in the Pan Handler. The use of a drum scaler and the Pan Handler has cut my time spent cleaning fish in half. I will be cleaning 550 fish on Fri July 3rd that I caught in Ontario. If you want I will take pictures of our fish cleaning process and email them to you. I bet that with the help of two of my fishing buddies, we will be able to clean all those fish in 3 hours.

Comment by Bruce Condello on June 19, 2009 at 11:23am: We need to get Mayo to weigh in on this one!

Comment by Bob Davis on June 19, 2009 at 11:17am: John, Just go to the Cabelas website and type in fish drum scaler and it should come right up. They run about $200.00 so don't want to invest in something that doesn't work. Bob