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

[Slip Sinker]

looks like great sport

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOhqnE3qYvY

[Slip Sinker]

his cooler must be full! lol

[Andy is OptiMystic]

This is my local lake:

http://www.northcarolinasportsman.com/details.php?id=4364

“I actually prefer eating white perch over crappie. It’s the best tasting fish in the lake, and we caught over a hundred this morning,” he said.

 

[Andy is OptiMystic]

Another very short article about the new regs about netting them:

http://www.northcarolinasportsman.com/details.php?id=4366

[Slip Sinker]

i would be all over them like white on rice

[Andy is OptiMystic]

I wish I could find a video of them blitzing. I found one on YouTube but it isn't playing right. I have not been getting the size that the guide in the article has, at least not on average. I have gotten a few large ones, but mostly small. A buddy has offered a few perch jerking trips on his boat this year while I can't paddle, so I will probably be doing a bit of that.

[Jim Gronaw]

Agreed...white perch are among the very best tasting fish out there...I prefer them to crappies as well. Easy to fillet, too.

[Marty Lemons]

I'm President of the "Catch &Eat Foundation " and I agree with everything that has been said so far....lol

[dick tabbert]

I remember them Lake Norman days Crappie fishing and them White perch were such a big nuisance made it hard to catch crappies.

[Marty Lemons]

Thanks for the link to the YouTube videos on the absolute best way to filet a Bluegill as he is a Master

[[e-mail]]

I fry 'em. I bake 'em. I Casserole them. I can't figure out how to smoke them. But, they all get the same process. If the crows don't hound me out of the head and guts, the gills get home whole. They have urinary retention, and it's a good idea to give them a little squeeze as soon as you dispatch them. It's a good idea to point them away from yourself. From the time they feel the hook, to the time they feel my heel, is probably less than a minute. Ice is especially important with small fish. Ice, right now! I follow the electric knife videos on You Tube. I have two, for when the first one gets hot. One thing that I do, before cleaning, is to take a pair of poultry shears and cut off the top and bottom fins on the centerline. They stab you and they redirect your knife blade. The recommendation to leave the first filet on, and flip it over and do the other side, is good advice. I get home with as many as seventy fish. And, that's a hundred and forty nice little boneless, skinless filets. Two tacos in a fish. Eight fish to a canned pint (Maybe more). I used to filet them with a filet knife. I don't miss it and I don't lose any product. I just now am wondering if there is a rechargeable. If so, I'll get it and do a comparison test. I don't think I could be happier with my fish. Except for, they don't look like what you guys catch.

[Chad Hood]

I filet every fish I eat. I have a background in culinary and was a chef for many years. This by no way means my way is the best but it works for me and no fix no broke.