Fillet Knife

[stephen20]

I love my bubba blades. Have some that are great for big fish like salmon, and small regular knifes for panfish.

[Cold_Toes]

I have is a leech lake!  it is very nice and stays sharp.  Not your ordinary steel alloy.  Available through Reeds, good outfit. 

[Kevin23]

Interesting, I don't like to cut through the rib cage does an electric have the finesse to get around it?

Nope. Just saws right through whatever is in front of it.

[greenbackhunter]

Find a good local custom knife maker. Will make you a fantastic knife, exactly how you want.

[NateD]

Nope. Just saws right through whatever is in front of it.

No electric for me then lol

[Unclegillhunter]

Get a "guide" that forces you to apply the right angle to your blade and you will be an expert in no time👍👍

yep never figured out how to keep the right angle consistently with a steel. Tried just never figured it out!
Keep it safe! JDL

[Buckshots]

Does the Rapala lithium electric fillet knife cut as fast as the Rapala corded heavy duty electric knife? Or is it more like the standard corded electric Rapala electric knife?

[mike1]

I like Wusthof fillet and kitchen knives myself.

  Yes,  all of knives are now Wusthof-the classic I think, very good investment

[spoofhoundicefisher]

Does the Rapala lithium electric fillet knife cut as fast as the Rapala corded heavy duty electric knife? Or is it more like the standard corded electric Rapala electric knife?

for sure.  i have one of the heavy duty rapala 110volt knives and the battery one as well.  have made 2 of my friends beleivers as well in the battery operated.  will never get rid of the corded heavy duty one but this cordless one is awesome and has power to spare.  will make short work of a bucket of gills for sure.

[perch chacer]

Don't let price alone be your guide to "quality".   You do not have to spend top dollar for a great fillet knife.  I like my Rapala Marttiini Finland.  It holds an edge very well and is easy to sharpen by yourself.

[coop21]

For panfish a USA(Schrade made) Uncle Henry has done the trick for me for many years.  I am always on the lookout for a used USA(Schrade) made one.

[Ice Scratcher]

For panfish a USA(Schrade made) Uncle Henry has done the trick for me for many years.  I am always on the lookout for a used USA(Schrade) made one.

I have two I really like, the smallmouth and the steelhead size.. Both older USA made. For the price they're hard to beat..

<°)))>{

[Buckshots]

for sure.  i have one of the heavy duty rapala 110volt knives and the battery one as well.  have made 2 of my friends beleivers as well in the battery operated.  will never get rid of the corded heavy duty one but this cordless one is awesome and has power to spare.  will make short work of a bucket of gills for sure.

So your saying the Rapala lithium cuts fast like the heavy duty version? Not slow like the regular corded one? My regular corded one is real slow and has a hard time with rib bones on anything but panfish. I’ve used a friends heavy duty corded one and what a difference. It’s a beast. I haven’t tried the lithium one but if I get it and it cuts slow, I’m gonna be mad! If it doesn’t cut as quick and strong as the heavy duty one, I’d rather have the heavy duty one. The cord doesn’t bother me.

[Fishy Fishy]

For a lot of fish it's hard to beat electric.  Otherwise I love my Cutco.

[1MOFISH]

i use an electric rapala fillet knife for the bones and follow up with a dexter fillet knife for the trimming
GOD BLESS
mo

[1MOFISH]

on another note,i worked in food prep facilities,its important to have sani safe equipment when filleting fish.the gutz harbor very nasty bugs you want to avoid.i use a 20x30 inch sani safe fillet board white plastic and run water while filleting to slough off juices inside fishes cavity.i also scrub and disinfect baord after every use no matter how small.then dishwasher my knives, your good to go,and catch more fish not sit on the porceline throne!!!
GOD BLESS
mo

[Kevin23]

on another note,i worked in food prep facilities,its important to have sani safe equipment when filleting fish.the gutz harbor very nasty bugs you want to avoid.i use a 20x30 inch sani safe fillet board white plastic and run water while filleting to slough off juices inside fishes cavity.i also scrub and disinfect baord after every use no matter how small.then dishwasher my knives, your good to go,and catch more fish not sit on the porceline throne!!!
GOD BLESS
mo

Cleanliness is something a lot of people don't take seriously when filleting fish. I do cut through the guts, but when I take the side off it immediately goes into a sink or bucket (food bucket!) full of ice water. I take all of my sides off first, then at the end I wash down my board and wash my knife real quick before taking the skin off the fillets.. then they go into another clean container of ice water and get rinsed several times before putting in the fridge. Cooking will kill any of the bacteria/worms in the guts that you may get on the meat.. but you need to avoid that bile, absolutely avoid it. Any yellow that gets on the board means STOP and clean. Throw away the meat if any gets on it, you don't want to eat that.

I have seen some absolutely disgusting scenes in community fish houses, makes me wonder how the people eating it could do so without getting sick.

[wlatrout]

 Still use a 4" Rapala for panfish and a 6" for larger fish. To old to change I guess.

[smitty]

Thanks for all the replies and options on filet knives. I ended finding a Normark Fiskars 3D filet knife among all my ice fishing gear. My neighbor is a chef, he offered to sharpened it. All that's left now is too catch some fish!!!

smitty

[backatit]

Still use a 4" Rapala for panfish and a 6" for larger fish. To old to change I guess.

X2 and all for 18.00 that includes a sharpener.

[IceFishFreak]

I have an American Angler electric, and I like it a lot.  It comes with a big 8" or 9" blade (I forget), but I bought the smaller blade since I'm mainly targeting panfish and that was a good decision. 

A lithium one would eliminate the cord, which would be nice.  If I ever get another electric fillet knife, I'll likely go that route.

I bought a american angler pro (tan one).  It'd motor is geared so low i can't even cut through a 17-18 inch walleye ribs with it.  I thought the AA eknife was one of the best out there.  i'm really NOT satisfied at all with it. 

As far a regular fillet knife,  i use all rapala's.  keep em sharp and they work well.

[Buckshots]

I bought a american angler pro (tan one).  It'd motor is geared so low i can't even cut through a 17-18 inch walleye ribs with it.  I thought the AA eknife was one of the best out there.  i'm really NOT satisfied at all with it. 

As far a regular fillet knife,  i use all rapala's.  keep em sharp and they work well.

The new AA knives aren’t even close to being as good as the old ones. They are crap.

[johnb340]

Thanks for all the replies and options on filet knives. I ended finding a Normark Fiskars 3D filet knife among all my ice fishing gear. My neighbor is a chef, he offered to sharpened it. All that's left now is too catch some fish!!!

smitty

Isn't that something that you found that knife in your fishing gear.  There are a million different ways to sharpen a knife and arguments every which way that come with it.  Watch your chef neighbor sharpen the knife and you can learn to do it yourself.  I don't go beserk sharpening a knife, a couple swipes on my flatstone is usually good.

[NateD]

Isn't that something that you found that knife in your fishing gear.  There are a million different ways to sharpen a knife and arguments every which way that come with it.  Watch your chef neighbor sharpen the knife and you can learn to do it yourself.  I don't go beserk sharpening a knife, a couple swipes on my flatstone is usually good.

What kind of stone do you have? I want to get into sharpening and it is pretty confusing trying to decide between whetstones, oil stones, or a lansky/worksharp kind of system.

[princecraft]

I have been using a Mister Twister Electric for the past 20 years and it keeps on working great.  I have heard the new Mister Twister have had there share of problems.  So when my Twister quits working, not sure what I will switch to.  Maybe give the rapala lithium a try.
Have heard so much of people saying they will never use an electric because of wasted meat.  When you use nothing but electrics and get used to using them you will not lose anymore meat than a regular filet knife.  I will never go back to a regular filet knife again.  So much easier and faster to use. 

[johnb340]

Nate, I have a 6" D6FC flat DMT diamond sharpener that's course on one side and fine on the other.  I'm one that bulldozes thru the ribcage when fileting so I'm rough with the knife and when it comes to sharpening I'm kind of lazy and a couple dry swipes up and back works for me.  I use this with my jackknives, broadheads and even hooks like the hali's that get destroyed.  I've never been one to go all out wetstoning and leather stropping and all the art forms of sharpening a knife.  This filet knife has lasted me 40 years and still going so I guess the way I sharpen it hasn't ruined it, lol.  I just looked these up online and holy moly the've gotten pricey.

[Kevin23]

Isn't that something that you found that knife in your fishing gear.  There are a million different ways to sharpen a knife and arguments every which way that come with it.  Watch your chef neighbor sharpen the knife and you can learn to do it yourself.  I don't go beserk sharpening a knife, a couple swipes on my flatstone is usually good.

My uncle was a butcher and told me something that I will never forget. Sharpen a knife once, hone it for line. If you take the time to hone with a steel regularly, you should not have to sharpen a knife for A LOT of fish (thousands) if the knife is quality and you aren't abusing it. A "dull knife" is usually just that your edge has feathered or rolled, a stone or steel will have it back to pristine in 4-5 passes.

[johnb340]

That's a good video.  I swipe the opposite of what this guy does only because I don't like the blade facing me coming back but it doesn't matter and it really is that easy.

[NateD]

That's a good video.  I swipe the opposite of what this guy does only because I don't like the blade facing me coming back but it doesn't matter and it really is that easy.

So do you hold the steel vertical facing down and swipe the blade down? The way he is doing it in the video you would need to switch hands to always we swiping away from you.

[johnb340]

No, I hold the stone horizontal in my left hand or on the table and the knife in my right hand.  I have the sharp blade facing toward me as I push the knife away and then I just rotate my hand and pull the knife toward me with the sharp blade facing away.