3 Ways to Fillet a Crappie That Every Panfish Angler Should Know! 

Yes. They are awesome for getting through a bunch of fish quickly. Tight lines!

Thanks so much!

I agree. The best way to not waste any meat is to scale then and cook them whole. I happen to have a video on that too! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-O7YjdUHwgBo.html

You bet!

Nice! You’ll like it.

Thanks!

Thanks so much!

I never remove the small bones. When frying in oil, they will cook soft. And you won't be able to taste any difference. But very good video.

Thank you!

Thanks so much!

Thanks!

Nice! I’ve filleted thousands myself. Everything from amberjack to brown trout to bullheads to barracuda and northern pike! You name it!

Nice. Good luck!

Haha. Better go find some!

Thanks!

Thanks!

👍

Thanks!

The fam loves fish fillets!

They make great stuff!

😮

Tasty!

Me too!

Awesome! You’ll enjoy it.

Thanks. 🤤 love em!

if you know how how to use a knife a 5$ pocket would work well !!! we are all not all millionaires!!!!

Yep!

“Work well” is a stretch and 59.99 for a good, comfortable knife that will last for many years is hardly “millionaire” territory. 😆

Thanks! The scissors are Klauss shears. Here’s a link: www.zoro.com/clauss-multipurpose-shears-straight-7-34-in-l-11113/i/G5306226/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI-7i94NXS_wIVwmxvBB1MZAynEAQYASABEgJCYPD_BwE

🙏

Thank you.

Thanks so much! I’ll have to give that a try and see how it pans out.

I much prefer to bleed them and ice them. That’s not to say you have to, but I get a much cleaner finished product that way.

you can toss crappie straight on ice or ill just keep them in a fishbasket if i want them really fresh.

I’ve had some great shore lunches over the years. You are right about bacon grease and an open fire. Doesn’t get any better!

It’s a good option!

Thanks!

I believe I left a link for their website in the video description.

It might look like I am cutting toward myself but I’m really not. I’ve filleted thousands of fish and never gotten more than a scratch. (Usually from the dang spines on panfish, not the knife. 😆)

I have never noticed a difference in the flavor personally. And thanks! The link to the fillet claw should be in the description.

These were roughly 12” crappies. Keep practicing and you’ll get it!

@@calebwistad gotcha, will do. thanks a lot!!

When I hack a fish I blame it on a bad/dull knife

@@asphaltspecialties nah, i just dont fillet many fish. but ill keep that 1 in mind. lol

Practice makes perfect

It depends on the size of the fish and the cooking method. If they are smaller panfish, say 8” bluegills and you are frying them, you likely won’t notice the pin bones. If you are baking some larger perch or crappies, you will know they are there.

That’s very true!

Sure does!

It’s the Filet Claw. Link is in the description.

Here is a video that details exactly how I do it.

ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-J618QqCWx14.htmlsi=Ck3tYDneaY97EWit

Just pan fry or deep fry it!

@@calebwistad can you still bread it with the skin on? Forgive my ignorance!

So the mister twister blades fit the bubba attachment?

@@calebwistad Yes they do! I do the same thing with mine.

If I leave the skin on then yes.

Haha. Yep. The water trick is pretty slick. And yes, East of us they still have a Hodag problem. 😂

@@calebwistad, Hey man, I can hardly believe I remembered the Hodags. I’ve written and published lots of short stories while in Hawaii and most were about things in recent memory so my mind didn’t have to dig very far. But some that I’ve written from childhood days in Chicago and Wisconsin, I revert back to the place and time, and my memory comes up with things I normally wouldn’t remember. Filed away in some deep crevice of my brain, was the Hodag. I thought for a few minutes, “What the hell did the Wisconsinites call that thing?…A Hodag? That sounds right…” Then I remembered the bar where our parents took us called the “Hodag Hole”. Lots of captured and mounted Hodags decorated the walls of the bar. I must have been 10 years old and I knew this taxidermy mix of animals was a fake but my younger sister was really scared of them. I tried to show her that this thing can’t exist, but she wasn’t buying it. I don’t remember exactly what it looked like but it could obviously run, swim, and fly, had huge fangs, so not something to tangle with in the north woods for sure. Just one of those old memories from childhood that popped up and I wondered if the Wisconsinites still do that sort of thing. (I wouldn’t put it passed them), Wisconsinites are funny as hell. Thanks again for helping me dredge up memories I’d long forgotten and strangely cherish.

I do have a video on how to do that method with bluegills. Never tried it with crappies though. I bet it’s just as good!

Check out some of the other videos on my channel!

Sorry, this video does not contain any information on the difficulty level of filleting crappies. If you want the answer to your question you may have to look elsewhere… My guess is that you won’t have to look far to find some videos that make it look very, very hard.

I detail it in this video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-J618QqCWx14.html

Lol. Maybe you will find some big ones some time!

Yes. Nice. Pretty much interchangeable!

That’s definitely one of the big ideas behind it. Do you prefer the taste of un-bled fillets? Just curious why you disagree in general.

I do prefer the taste, I do however let my fillets sit in water overnight

I'd just rather wait and soak out my fillets overnight

Wow! How does the tumbler work?

@@calebwistad google tumbler drum fish scaler. I scale 25 at a time takes 20 minutes. Then when scaling the next 25 I filet the 1st 25. Cleaned and scaled 50 last night to about 45 minutes total.

I’ll have to look into that.

It’s not the cheapest of electric knives but it’s been excellent for me so far.

Yes I actually have a whole video on de-sliming fish!

What attachment do you use?

Good tip!

Practice practice practice! I’ve filleted thousands of fish and I do it every single week.

I agree that I could have gotten a bit more off the belly. I know some people really like the thin belly meat but personally, I’m not a huge fan. When you fry it it gets a bit over cooked because it’s so thin. Some people love it, some don’t! Either way, you are correct, I could have been a bit more careful around the ribs and belly.

👍 you bet!

Man, I’ll have to try that!

Give it a try, would like to see you do a video if you like it

nope easiest way is drag them behind the boat in a laundry bag on way to the landing . will not be one scale left

​@@Suckmyjagon lol no way

@@Re-leafLLC yerp did it on accident once i do it every time now . when you get to landing they just need gutting all scales gone one them laundry bags like a net works great . its just like a pressure washer

Definitely a good option at times!

Thanks.

I’ve heard that works. Never tried it.

True. Might be different for different people though.

I have some that I use on trout. Never tried them on panfish though!

I’m sure you can! I can buy a lot of really nice, sharp hand saws for the price of a power saw too. 😂 I’m not saying electric fillet knives are for everyone. What I am saying is that, if you want one, this one has knocked it out of the park for me so far. BTW, I am not sponsored by Bubba, I just happen to really like their products.

Feel along that middle part with your finger on a bigger panfish and you will feel them!

Usually. Always need a disclaimer. 😆

The tail.

Everyone has their favorite. I also did a video on cooking panfish whole as you describe.

Never tried it. How do you cook it?

I didn’t find any when I ate them. Maybe I missed a couple in the video and cleaned them up later. That’s possible.

Well, to each his own. Neither is right or wrong in my opinion. I know that in 99% of restaurants they will serve you boneless fillets. Almost NOBODY cooks panfish whole here in the Midwest. I have done it myself though, and I actually have another video about how to cook panfish whole that would probably be more your style.

Oh, and by the way, there are no regulations about how efficient you have to be when butchering a deer either so I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t get “arrested” for missing some useable meat on a carcass either. 😆 Not that I recommend or or even excuse wasting meat, but just pointing out that that’s a bit of an exaggeration to assert that it’s illegal.

Welllllll…… I’ve been doing this a while myself. I’ve done it both ways and seen the difference, plus it’s how they do it in commercial fishing. I guess if you’ve never bled a fish a single time in 78 years though, why start now?

😂 I’ll have to try that.

Definitely in the works so stay tuned!

You can! I show how to fillet them with the skin on in method #3 in this video. You can also gut them and scale them and cook them whole like I do in this video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-O7YjdUHwgBo.html

I happen to have a video on that method as well. To each his own right? ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-O7YjdUHwgBo.html

Well, primarily because I’m about 1500 miles from the nearest marlin. 😂

@@calebwistad So? I hunt and if I'm hundreds of miles away from the nearest Elk I dont all of a sudden go around shooting mice lol🙄

😆 I am a multi species angler and have a blast catching all kinds of different fish from 8” brook trout to 8’ bull sharks. They are all fun to me in their own way. But hey, if you only enjoy catching fish based off their size, I’d stick to marlin and mahi if I were you.

@@calebwistad Good answer to a guy being an azzhole. I am your newest subscriber. I live in Canada and only fish the premium fish when i spend winter in Los cabos 3 months every winter. But in the meantime I fish freshwater for perch walleye and pike. I get it. Sorry for being a bit of a dick. Fishing is fishing no matter the species. Peace.