How to Fillet ANY Fish (SIMPLEST Method for BEGINNERS!)

So, maybe you've never kept a fish before but want to keep one and fillet it yourself? Maybe you have tried to fillet a fish or two but haven't had good results? Then this is the video for you! I start from the beginning with the most basic, easy method that anyone can learn in minutes. Learn to clean your first fish here!
Links:
Bubba 7" Tapered Flex Fillet Knife: amzn.to/3xe2cgN
Squeegee amzn.to/44EP9AU

[@drllf4ce]

i'm 14 and i just started fishing with my father and i gotta say, he's not the greatest at filleting lol!! will be showing him this video :)

[@calebwistad]

Haha. 👍

[@jonbird6566]

bullshit you are 14 lmao. If you genuinely are, then I am impressed. not only can you critically think about what's happening around you to include recognizing that your father isn't as good at filleting a fish, but having the confidence that you apparently have to show him some video that you found on the internet to show him up because you think the internet video is somehow better. Either you are BS-ing, or you are some super intelligent 14yr old who is an asshole to your own father. If you are 14 and really that intelligent, maybe have some intelligence that your father is trying, and he is putting in the effort to help you succeed in life. he is teaching you skills. Good on you for verifying and perfecting things, but do not make that man feel bad for having a different approach and taking the time to pass it on to you.

[@user-ye7sj7gm3f]

Call Him 'dad'.

[@ralphsimpson5230]

We British pronounce the "T" when saying Fillet, but a skilful and informative video.

[@t-bonear2539]

Thank you! Very helpful!

[@calebwistad]

You betcha!

[@ThePatente]

That's pretty much how my grand dad taught me 40 years ago. I needed a refresh, we're going strong on White Perch this summer. 😁 I always keep the skin, I love cooking it with the skin on, I think it adds flavor, maybe in my mind I don't know lol Thanks.

[@calebwistad]

Nice! White perch are fun and very tasty fish.

[@ThePatente]

@@calebwistad It's Invasive over here. So. No Quotas. We do some Over the Top Fish'N'Chip, the season begin. lol

[@alexburgdorf419]

I love a channel where the creator actually answers comments and interacts with viewers

[@calebwistad]

Thanks man! I do my best to answer every comment with a decent response.

[@soleman11100]

I struggled with filleting fish.. this was a BIG help 👍🏾

[@calebwistad]

Awesome!

[@timgraaff7551]

Thanks, I act like I know what I’m doing but I don’t how to fillet a fish, great video!

[@calebwistad]

Thanks!

[@johnsmithSongbird]

Watch this it is very good

[@davidwood2387]

I really like this presentation, a top job .

[@calebwistad]

Thank you! Glad you found it helpful.

[@pierre6625]

Love to follow your videos. I think you explain the techniques you do so well. And you are great at it. Keep teaching us, like I said you're excellent at fileting fish. Best Regards.

[@calebwistad]

Thank you very much!

[@dawnhall342]

Thank you so very much! Your explanation was perfect! I've been fishing for 48 years, but I'm now teaching myself to fillet 😊

[@calebwistad]

That’s so cool! Keep it up.

[@robertelliott1962]

thank you thats really helped, i fillet my fish and barely get by, can be very frustrating sometimes but your video has really helped, so thanks. rob, from east coast australia. cheers

[@calebwistad]

Good deal! Thanks.

[@ayyonmichaels9731]

thank you for this tutorial... it really helped me as a new fisher...

[@calebwistad]

I’m glad it was helpful!

[@brett_outdoors]

Great video. Thanks again for sharing! Well done!

[@calebwistad]

Thank you!

[@jasoncartwright586]

Big thanks - well made and clear instruction. Good job!

[@calebwistad]

Thanks!

[@donhughes8465]

Good video. You make it look so simple!

[@calebwistad]

Thanks!

[@derek876544]

A chef once told me have a small plate of salt next to you when filleting. Dip your fingers in frequently and fish won't slip in your hands again. It works

[@gypsybev2]

Worked like a charm! Thank you. It's my first fish fillet, I'm adding it to my fish chowder.

[@calebwistad]

Perfect!

[@zlvirag]

Excellent method and great explanation of it, thanks....

[@calebwistad]

Glad you found it helpful!

[@reyray5]

great detailed video strait to the point no B.S. life story talk. camera is zoomed in perfect. thank you sir!🍻

[@calebwistad]

Thanks so much!

[@sanpansam7977]

Very nicely done.

[@calebwistad]

Thanks!

[@cpapa1]

I've been catching fish for many years but wasn't able to do more than scale and gut my catch Thanks to your tutorial, I feel confident enough to give filleting another go. Heading out on the water in a couple of days time. I'm looking forward to dealing with our catch when we get back to shore. Thank you for sharing and teaching.👍

[@calebwistad]

Awesome! Glad I could help!

[@billbadass3773]

Dude same!!!

[@helenfelimon3944]

I'm your new subscriber to your channel,keep safe always,watching fr.Doha Qatar

[@calebwistad]

Awesome. Thanks for the sub!

[@mewnboy]

Super helpful breakdown (punintended). Tysm! :)

[@calebwistad]

Thanks! 😂

[@michaelwitkiewicz7052]

Great video. I’ve been doing this way for 40+ years and it is the best simple filet way for speed and where you don’t have lots of water to clean up afterwards. One thing if you haven’t tried is reverse and start from tail. If you have a sharp knife and a bigger fish like maybe a salmon you can easily go either way. Single slice from tail to first rib, along top of ribs to head and then slice and peel off ribs. I find it easier to do second side of fish that way.

[@calebwistad]

I might have to try that! Thanks.

[@hadiashoori7594]

Nice video with good description

[@calebwistad]

Thanks!

[@reudagerashby196]

big help thanks man.

[@calebwistad]

You bet!!

[@tadeuszmichaelwlodarczyk3120]

Excellent 👌👍 from Melbourne AUSTRALIA 👍🤠

[@calebwistad]

Thanks!🙏

[@PavloKosteki]

very usefull! Thank you! We can use these skills for our crossing of the atlantic. caught a Mahimahi yesterday. filleting didnt work as smoothly though

[@calebwistad]

Awesome! Yes, this method will work for mahi. Just a little bigger fish!

[@Hoopzie631]

thanks i had a hard time!

[@calebwistad]

You bet!

[@jotar0zestyman]

Thank you so much

[@calebwistad]

You bet!

[@Monkeee594]

Thanks

[@calebwistad]

You bet!

[@davemelsha9483]

Thankyou.

[@calebwistad]

You bet!

[@mikec8123]

I enjoy your videos but all fish that I fillet I do not cut it off the fish. I leave it attached at the tail then remove it from the skin. I know you have shown this in previous videos. Also I fillet one side but do not remove it from fish until I fillet the other side than I remove it from the skin.

[@calebwistad]

Both good ways to do it!

[@skorpio88]

PERFECT!

[@calebwistad]

Thanks!

[@lonnyniejadlik3243]

thank you

[@calebwistad]

You bet!

[@oonasettembre9359]

Nice.

[@calebwistad]

Thanks!

[@mjnowak27]

Great video! Have you ever cooked up the walleye wings? It's basically under the jaw, and the two under pectoral fins. The fins fry up like a potato chip, the meat has a structural bone, eats like chicken wings

[@calebwistad]

Yes! I actually have a video on how to get the wings off as well.

[@xboxserf3041]

I just butchered three pretty big fish trying to fillet them and then I saw this video. I guess you live and you learn

[@calebwistad]

Now u know!

[@DLJ2890]

can you tweaser out the pin bones like branzino?

[@calebwistad]

Yes you can. I have a trout fillet video in which I do that but you can also do it on a walleye.

[@doctorkayak]

I have a heck of a time keeping my blade sharp. Yesterday I broke down and bought the Rapala Finland 4in. Do you have any EASY tricks/tips/surefire ways of sharpening a knife or am I stuck with a whetstone?

[@calebwistad]

Well, a whetstone is really only designed to re sharpen a knife that has lost it’s edge. It takes quite a bit of work to sharpen a knife properly with a whetstone as well. That’s where a steel comes in. Once you have a good edge on a knife, you should be able to touch it up with a steel many, many times before it needs to be resharpened. The steel simply realigns the edge and does not take any material off the blade like the whetstone.

[@doctorkayak]

​@@calebwistad Thanks for getting back to me so quickly. I have a cheapo steel that came with a set/block of knives. The set has a "boning" knife that looks much like a fillet knife. That WAS the one I was using but it has been crushing tomatoes instead of cutting them. The steel doesn't come close to helping so I know it needs an edge. I have spent time with the stone with little success. I was hoping for a easy way to get an edge on them. Guess I will stick with the stone/steel. Can't wait to use my Rapala knife. Thanks again!

[@cpapa1]

I recently saw a contraption that sharpens knives. Google warthog knife sharpener. I'm seriously thinking about getting one. Please let me know what you think.

[@yattafrom936]

Gettig into fishing nice

[@calebwistad]

Good deal!

[@bbulliard]

Redfish have a small soft scaleless section along either side of top fin making it easy to cut thru

[@calebwistad]

Interesting!

[@doctorkayak]

"How to Fillet Your First Fish"? I really need to know how to fillet my 4th fish... Just kidding! Great vid! Thank you!

[@calebwistad]

Haha. This just worked on like my 12,000th fish so I think you can really plug it in anywhere. 😂

[@MrGabehawk]

Great video dude ! Can I do it with mullets?

[@calebwistad]

I’m trying to reach back in my memory but I believe I did fillet mullet and this method worked.

[@mibli2935]

I am planning to catch my first fish in Whole Foods and fillet it. Any advice on WF type of fish (bass etc) is aprreciated.

[@calebwistad]

Nice! There are so many kinds of fish you can buy and I’m not sure what they have, but seabass, snapper, cod, haddock, etc are all good.

[@joshua7999]

How do you keep it from flopping around?

[@calebwistad]

I’ve bled it out ahead of time so it’s already dead. That’s also why the meat comes out so nice and white.

[@joshua7999]

@@calebwistad is there a video on that? Sorry total newbie

[@johnsmithSongbird]

You can also use a clipboard to hold hold the skin Do both side's same way

[@calebwistad]

Yes. I’ve seen that trick and it works.

[@gabrielnorthrup8761]

when i cleaned my first fish, i felt awful that I butchered it and lost so much meat, BUT DONT LET THAT DISCOURAGE YOU NEW ANGLERS! its part of learning, as long as you give your all and have good intentions on legal fish, it takes a few to get the method down.

[@calebwistad]

That’s right. Practice makes perfect!

[@VincentMolina86]

Does this work for trout too?

[@calebwistad]

Yes. It’s a little bit different but virtually the same process. I have a couple trout-specific fillet videos on my channel as well.

[@gillgetter3004]

Nice job. If you go to Canada you have to leave a inch of the skin on if transporting. I guess so the species can be identified. I fillet a lot of bluegill and a few crappie, but my favorite is yellow perch basically a small walleye. It’s the only fish I scale and fillet butterfly style👍

[@calebwistad]

Nice! I love perch. One of the best.

[@doctordutch]

how long do you wait before gutting?

[@calebwistad]

I don’t gut the fish if I just fillet it. No need.

[@jonahcarter7705]

Would this work on smaller fish like a crappie?

[@calebwistad]

Yes! Same exact concept.

[@billyjonesy2972]

At 9:07, you said you cut off the belly meat. Is that the meat that appears to remain on the carcass? Is that meat something you don’t eat and, if so, why?

[@calebwistad]

The belly meat is good on some fish but it’s really thin and hard to cook without shriveling it up on smaller fish. I keep it on larger catfish and burbot.

[@dalevonthun5257]

Is there an easy way to keep a good edge on a knife?

[@calebwistad]

For maintaining an edge a good steel is all you need. If you need to re sharpen I would recommend a whetstone. I’m hoping to do a video on sharpening in the near future.

[@dalevonthun5257]

I really like your videos. Keep up the good work.

[@jenbear8652]

Did you scale the fish first?

[@calebwistad]

No, no need when you skin them.

[@pain_weaver]

Ok but they gotta be caught first. My lake is known by the local fisherman as the dead sea. But i know there are walleye in there. I just cant find and catch em. I get the odd walleye from time to time. My pb walleye was caught in the lake but from shore during spawn. I cant find them offshore.

[@calebwistad]

So true! I have some other videos that might help with the catching part as well.

[@wilmarkjohnatty4924]

I find that when doing the opposite side - the fish has very little structure because you removed the first fillet and it makes it difficult, esp if the fish is small. I prefer to do both cuts along the length before removing any fillet.

[@calebwistad]

That’s interesting. Definitely true that the second fillet comes off differently than the first.

[@mfr3914]

My biggest problem is a dull knife...need to get a new sharpener

[@calebwistad]

Sharp knife’s a must!

[@alexbrellenthin7975]

I imagine the fish has already been cleaned/gutted first?

[@calebwistad]

No, you can leave the guts in for this method.

[@aperson1181]

how to remove scales?

[@calebwistad]

I have a couple other videos on that.

[@TheVisualAddiction]

Great technique. I just wouldn't cut right through the belly on the first cut of each side, you're essentially getting gut bacteria on your knife and subsequently, the rest of the fillet.

[@calebwistad]

Not a bad idea! Since I wash the fillets I’m not too concerned about it but I know guys who don’t like to let water touch their fillets and in that case I’d definitely be more careful.

[@user-fy5by5xp7n]

How do you kill them?

[@calebwistad]

Cut the gills.

[@Imbapiranha]

I'm pretty sure that going to the supermarket and giving the fish to someone else to fillet is actually the simplest. Debunked your claim!

[@calebwistad]

Ok, you got me on a technicality. 😆

[@johnsmithSongbird]

Brim perch need to be fat as your hand is and be sure to cut the meat leave bones they will be tiny

[@calebwistad]

That’s a good gauge.

[@doctordutch]

can you eat skin?

[@calebwistad]

Yes. If you scale the fish, most fish can be cooked with the skin on.

[@Jz-sv1ju]

I came here because i thought this was get a free fillet o fish from McDonalds

[@calebwistad]

So close. 😂

[@reylafontaine4507]

Wasting meat near head that knife not sharp!

[@calebwistad]

Maybe missed a tiny bit by the head. I assure you my knife was plenty sharp.

[@airmaillocks]

Invest in a microphone. I can't hear you.

[@calebwistad]

I have one. I could turn up the volume at the edit stage a touch though.

[@mikehunt7419]

Lol you may need your hearing tested. No, he doesnt have an overhead boom mic operator but it sounds fine to me!

[@chrissigley4657]

Do you have to take guts out if fileting

[@calebwistad]

Nope. Leave ‘em in!

[@kenduhr9773]

cut that belly meat out thats where all the murcure is

[@calebwistad]

The most mercury tends to build up in the internal organs of fish and secondly in the muscle tissue. There is no muscle tissue that has proven to build up any more mercury than other muscle tissue.

[@ML-ks2lj]

I like to "zipper" them. I bleed and zipper get pretty much 0 fishy taste, which i dont mind a bit of fish flavor but my wife and seemingly everyone else i know cant stand it

[@calebwistad]

Bleeding makes a big difference.

[@paiiininthebuttt2477]

Fish skin 🤤🤤🤤🤤

[@calebwistad]

Crunchy fish skin is great!

[@HakimAlimi-py3fm]

thank you

[@calebwistad]

You bet!