Hi all
I have never really targeted crappie but I do know of a few spots that hold fish. I was wondering what is the best and easiest way to clean the little buggers. Fillet or just scale them.
BottomBouncer
Cleaning Crappie
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Bottombouncer
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- Location: Stittsville
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Wall-I-Guy
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I'm with WIG on this one, but an electric knife isn't all that bad, I use mine for perch as well as everything else, you just have to feel the spine and know to back off.
If I was you, unless you already have one, go buy one of those 25 dollar ones, that way the blades are new and sharp and you won't feel bad ( or in my case anger the significant other) when you burn the motor out of it.
Good luck
If I was you, unless you already have one, go buy one of those 25 dollar ones, that way the blades are new and sharp and you won't feel bad ( or in my case anger the significant other) when you burn the motor out of it.
Good luck
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freshwater shark
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- Location: Oshawa.
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Hi guys...yea I'm still here , I'm one of those dreaded lurkers now 
To fillet a crappie, I use a electric knife....if fact I use a electric knife for all my fish cleaning fron perch to Salmon
first you make a cut just behind the gill plate on a angle towards the head, stop when you hit the back bone...from there I turn the knife towards the tail and run it along the back bone ,cutting thru the rib cage ,stop the cut at the tail leaving the fillet attched to the body of the fish hold your knife on a slight angle towards the skin side of the fillet, from there you slid the knife right to the wide part of the fillet (The head end)leaving just the skin attched to the carcus, do the same for the other side, now you have two fillets with the rib cage , I don't bother trying to save the meat that is attched to the cage(Not enough to worry about)I just cut the rib cage completely out(Crappie only)....that will leave you a bonless slab of meat....you should run your fingers over the fillet to make sure you have got all the bones. I'll do the same with Walleye , but on the walleye Perch, Bass ect....if you feel on the lateral line of the fillet (towards the head end)there is a small set of bones, to take those out ,I just run the knife right along the lateral line making a cut on both side of the lateral line , you should be taking out a small strip of meat and bones about 1/16 to 1/8 of a inch wide, these lateral line bones will run till to the end of the rib cage cavity ....I'll tell you it's a hell of lot easter to do , than try to write how to do it
To fillet a crappie, I use a electric knife....if fact I use a electric knife for all my fish cleaning fron perch to Salmon
first you make a cut just behind the gill plate on a angle towards the head, stop when you hit the back bone...from there I turn the knife towards the tail and run it along the back bone ,cutting thru the rib cage ,stop the cut at the tail leaving the fillet attched to the body of the fish hold your knife on a slight angle towards the skin side of the fillet, from there you slid the knife right to the wide part of the fillet (The head end)leaving just the skin attched to the carcus, do the same for the other side, now you have two fillets with the rib cage , I don't bother trying to save the meat that is attched to the cage(Not enough to worry about)I just cut the rib cage completely out(Crappie only)....that will leave you a bonless slab of meat....you should run your fingers over the fillet to make sure you have got all the bones. I'll do the same with Walleye , but on the walleye Perch, Bass ect....if you feel on the lateral line of the fillet (towards the head end)there is a small set of bones, to take those out ,I just run the knife right along the lateral line making a cut on both side of the lateral line , you should be taking out a small strip of meat and bones about 1/16 to 1/8 of a inch wide, these lateral line bones will run till to the end of the rib cage cavity ....I'll tell you it's a hell of lot easter to do , than try to write how to do it