BWCA Ideas for cleaning fish Boundary Waters Fishing Forum
Chat Rooms (0 Chatting)  |  Search  |   Login/Join
* For the benefit of the community, commercial posting is not allowed.
Boundary Waters Quetico Forum
   Fishing Forum
      Ideas for cleaning fish     
 Forum Sponsor

Author

Text

03/08/2021 08:19PM  
Hey, just wondering if you guys and gals had any innovative ideas on cleaning fish out in the back country. My fillet skills are...iffy. I usually find a flatish boulder of some kind and hack away. I'm always a bit frustrated by my waste as it can be rather difficult to get a nice fillet with not much for a flat surface. Looking to see what others do.

Do you haul something back like a cutting board, rig up some kind of platform? I love to fish, but don't keep much in the front country so my fillet skills are rusty. Pair that with a poor cleaning surface and it's not pretty. When I'm in the back, there's few things better then fresh fish after a long day on the water.

Thanks
 
      Print Top Bottom Previous Next
03/08/2021 08:44PM  
Flip the canoe over. Use some logs or large rock/boulder under the flipped canoe to steady it. Now you have a big flat surface to work on. Filet away on the bottom side of your canoe. You can use a cutting board if you have one but it’s not necessary.
 
Local34North
member (20)member
  
03/08/2021 08:47PM  
When push comes to shove, find a spot where your paddle is sturdy and flat. Filet your fish on the nice smooth surface of the paddle. Works like a charm.
 
schweady
distinguished member(8070)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberpower member
  
03/08/2021 10:53PM  
This is what the flat, wooden, spare paddle is for.
 
tarnkt
distinguished member (366)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
  
03/08/2021 11:19PM  
I put a cutting board on top of my blue barrel and sit in my camp chair.

Quick and comfy.
 
03/09/2021 05:59AM  
The blade of a wooden paddle works great!
 
OMGitsKa
distinguished member (374)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
  
03/09/2021 06:58AM  
Watch a few youtube videos before you go out to get it fresh in your mind. Also they have thin light weight cutting mats you can buy, that's what I use.
 
03/09/2021 07:03AM  
Had a buddy bring along a big plastic cutting board with a clamp, and it was nice for fish cleaning...but a tank of an item. Way too heavy.
We've left it at home since, and have done what most here are recommending - blade of a paddle.
 
03/09/2021 07:12AM  

Cut a piece of paneling to length then applied paint and polyurethane. Portages under a seat with my paddles. Clean fish out in the lake and dump guts in deep water away from camp. Easy clean up.
 
03/09/2021 08:35AM  
AmarilloJim: "
Cut a piece of paneling to length then applied paint and polyurethane. Portages under a seat with my paddles. Clean fish out in the lake and dump guts in deep water away from camp. Easy clean up. "


That’s clever.
 
03/09/2021 08:45AM  
This is all you need gentleman , ladies too ;) , gorilla tape/duct tape to the middle bottom of the canoe , no extra hands needed when portaging and you can always find a rock like this to level out the board and make it your filleting station. and burn it when your done , doesnt everyone have a piece like this just laying in the garage ? $0.00
 
03/09/2021 09:06AM  
snakecharmer: "The blade of a wooden paddle works great!
"
1 morning heading out of the SAk , me and 1 other member filet up 50+ fish (group of 8) on paddles , i was 31 , now i'm 60 i like to be upright as much as possible , if i have to i'll build a table and burn that at the end, especially after spine injections and hip replacement , but you'll still find me on seagull in the spring ;)
 
03/09/2021 09:25AM  
First things first practice your fish cleaning skills at home. If your skills are rusty to start with they won't get any better in the BWCA with or without a flat surface. Once you are proficient at cleaning fish its easy enough to rig up a flat surface. A flat paddle, bottom of canoe, flat rock, pack in a cutting board, etc. The basic technique for cleaning fish is pretty easy and you can watch some youtube videos to get the technique.

I pack in a thin flexible cutting board for the camp kitchen. It slides right down the side of the food back and will bend and flex it fit the shape of the pack. Its really useful for meal prep time. If there isn't a fire going the fire grate with the cutting board on top makes a nice work surface. Its not sturdy enough to be a flat surface if left unsupported but it works really well laid out on a rock and can help keep fillets clean and also protects your knife edge if you get a little carried away as it prevents your knife blade from hitting rock.
 
schweady
distinguished member(8070)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberpower member
  
03/09/2021 10:25AM  
Eliminate all of the suggestions here which suggest cleaning your fish right in camp. Walk off a ways to do the deed instead. There is no way to keep the workspace clean enough to prevent attracting unwanted visitors in camp.

You just need a surface that is flat and rigid. Not much else. I have yet to clean a fish that was too big to fit on my spare paddle blade. Sometimes, you're lucky enough to find a perfectly placed rock or fallen tree on which you can situate your paddle and do the job sitting up straight or standing semi-erect.

When renting a canoe and picking out paddles, we'll all get bent shaft aluminum with plastic blades. Then, I grab a straight wooden one for the spare and often get the comment and smile from the kid working the equipment shed, "Fish cleaning board?" I'll reply, "Rests in the bottom of the boat better," and wink.
 
03/09/2021 10:26AM  
I don't fillet a lot of fish each year. I do love to have fish dinner in the bwca.

I bring a longish cutting board that came with a Granite Gear thwart bag. I don't bring the thwart bag but keep the cutting board in a larger portage pack.

A couple of things I have found helpful for filleting.

I have a collapsible water bucket. I gather some lake water and have it next to me when filleting. I use it to keep fish blood off my hands. This helps me get a better grip on the fish.

On my last trip I also used one of the cut resistant fillet gloves on one hand. This also helped me get a better grip on the fish as well.
 
03/09/2021 10:40AM  
rdgbwca: "I don't fillet a lot of fish each year. I do love to have fish dinner in the bwca.


I bring a longish cutting board that came with a Granite Gear thwart bag. I don't bring the thwart bag but keep the cutting board in a larger portage pack.


A couple of things I have found helpful for filleting.


I have a collapsible water bucket. I gather some lake water and have it next to me when filleting. I use it to keep fish blood off my hands. This helps me get a better grip on the fish.


On my last trip I also used one of the cut resistant fillet gloves on one hand. This also helped me get a better grip on the fish as well."

Pull a few gills out 10 minutes before you clean your fish and you won't have any blood.
 
03/09/2021 03:08PM  
Amarillo Jim +1

Learned how to “bleed out” walleye before fileting and no blood ... just beautiful white filets ready for the fry pan.
 
03/09/2021 08:03PM  
I second the use of thin flexible cutting boards for fileting fish. Just set them on any flat piece of ground and clean away. They are cheap and lightweight and can slide down the back of your pack and you won't even know they are there...until you need to prepare dinner. Protects your knife, protects your canoe, protects your paddle and protects your filet from dirt, etc. They also come in handy for multiple other food prep task on a canoe trip. At this price and weight you can't go wrong.



Thin, flexible and lightweight cutting boards
 
QueticoMike
distinguished member(5280)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberpower member
  
03/10/2021 05:51AM  
I just slide a cutting board with a handle that lines the inside back of my food pack.
 
Kawishiwashy
distinguished member (157)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
  
03/10/2021 10:55AM  
Similar to QueticoMike, I use a 18"x24" piece of wood paneling and slide it down the back of the food pack to give the pack some ridgidness. Like others stated, the fillet board doubles as a table when placed correctly over fire grate (not while in use), between rocks, on the ground, on top of a pack, etc.
 
Mad_Angler
distinguished member(1720)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
  
03/10/2021 01:39PM  
I have a Bending Branches bent shaft paddle. The flat side works great for cleaning fish.

I always clean fish on shore at camp. I do this near the water edge. After cleaning the fish, I clean the paddle in the lake and rinse the area by splashing up water from the lake.



As for your fileting skills, take up panfish fishing. After cleaning a mess of panfish several times, your skill will get better.
 
Basspro69
distinguished member(14142)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished membermaster membermaster member
  
03/10/2021 03:19PM  
Use your paddle , and don’t worry about not getting a perfect fillet the animals will take care of the leftovers.
 
Mad_Angler
distinguished member(1720)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
  
03/10/2021 03:46PM  
Basspro69: "Use your paddle , and don’t worry about not getting a perfect fillet the animals will take care of the leftovers."


yup. Go catch one more fish. The turtles and crawfish have to eat too...
 
zski
distinguished member (331)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
  
03/10/2021 03:57PM  
lindylair: "I second the use of thin flexible cutting boards for fileting fish. Just set them on any flat piece of ground and clean away. They are cheap and lightweight and can slide down the back of your pack and you won't even know they are there...until you need to prepare dinner. Protects your knife, protects your canoe, protects your paddle and protects your filet from dirt, etc. They also come in handy for multiple other food prep task on a canoe trip. At this price and weight you can't go wrong.
Thin, flexible and lightweight cutting boards "

Yes !
 
Abbey
distinguished member (278)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
  
03/11/2021 10:27PM  
I always used a paddle blade, but switched to the flexible plastic cutting board a few years ago.

Last year, my kid wanted to “roast” a fish. I had read about it. No gutting or cutting. Just shove a sharpened stick down it’s mouth into the guts so the fish stays on and patiently roast it. The skin will char but just peels off, and it’s like baked/steamed fish. Leaving the guts in seems to help avoid burning. Plus it really feels like you’re in the wilderness. Smaller fish are probably better with this to avoid burning. Particularly effective when only one kid wants fish that meal and you don’t feel like getting out the filet knife. My kid talks about it every time BWCA is mentioned.
 
03/12/2021 06:28AM  
Abbey,

I was up In Ontario many years ago and had a First Nation Indian fishing guide for a day as part of a fishing lodge deal. I asked the Indian what his favorite fish to eat was? I was thinking he would say walleye or pike. But he said “ ON A STICK” ... just like you said in your post. LOL.
 
salukiguy
distinguished member(597)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
  
03/15/2021 11:49AM  
Sometimes I keep the fish on the stringer and hold on to the stringer near the fishes mouth while I am filleting.
 
03/15/2021 01:40PM  
Basspro69: "... and don’t worry about not getting a perfect..."


I always strive for a perfect filet... it is a thing of beauty!
 
missmolly
distinguished member(7681)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberpower member
  
03/16/2021 07:41AM  
Basspro69: "Use your paddle , and don’t worry about not getting a perfect fillet the animals will take care of the leftovers."


By Day Two, we always have a camp turtle and if we eat a little late, he's always waiting and watching.
 
Savage Voyageur
distinguished member(14414)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished membermaster membermaster member
  
03/16/2021 08:59AM  
I’m going to make one of those fish cleaning boards that straps to a tree for this years trip.
 
Mad_Angler
distinguished member(1720)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
  
03/18/2021 04:00PM  
Savage Voyageur: "I’m going to make one of those fish cleaning boards that straps to a tree for this years trip. "


??

Picture?
 
      Print Top Bottom Previous Next
Fishing Sponsor:
Seagull Outfitters