I just caught dinner! Anyone enjoy fishing like I do?

Goodness no I cut the head, fins and tail off, but after the fish is cooked I crab ahold of the tail part of the fish and start peeling the bone away working towards the front. The main backbone comes out eazily as well as some other bones with it. Yes there is a bit of work to cleaning fish but it's SO worth it. I don't know why I thought bass was hard to scale, obviously I'm getting it mixed up with other fish. See I learnt something today from a good friend on myLot! It seems like a hundred years since I was lucky enough to clean and eat a fish. I sure miss it too. That store bought stuff just doesn't measure up. Thanks dear and happy fishing.

OMG! All that is involved in cleaning a fish? Well, fish are out for me! Just store bought fish from now on. Fish is so super healthy, but don't like the idea of doing that much work for a meal.

I'm not fond of cleaning fish, but I'll do it if I caught it. Besides, my husband would never touch one! LOL He actually prefers McDonald's fish sandwich! He's weird. You mean you leave the tail and head on? I always try to get the fins cut off along with the tail and head. I've stopped trying to filet them before they're cooked, though. I'll leave the bones in there. They are so much easier to pull out once the fish is cooked. Bass are not hard to scale (de-scale?). I use a vegetable peeler! Works better than a knife for me. To beautyqueen: Yep, there's a lot to cleaning a fish. And, it's quite messy, too! You have to LOVE fishing and cleaning them if you want really, really fresh fish! Luckily, I do.

I have the same feeling when fishing! It's so peaceful; tranquil. I don't have to catch anything, either. It's a great time to do some thinking or reflecting. I doubt it's a Piscean thing because I'm an Arien! Typically, Aries people are not supposed to be able to sit still long enough to enjoy something like fishing, but life has slowed me down. I learned patience a long time ago when my children were babies. I do like a fresh fish dinner, though. You can't get fresher than catching it yourself!

I wouldn't say you suck at it! Grabbing your hook as you're reeling in to re-cast? That's awesome! AND having one jump right in your boat??? You must have some kind of "fish magnetism"!!! LOL My husband's idea of a fish dinner comes from McDonald's. He's worthless when it comes to cleaning fish. He has a phobia of choking so he's always leery of eating the fish I catch because there "might" be a bone in there that he would definitely choke on (in his mind, of course). So, I usually eat the fish I catch and he eats the frozen, breaded kind from the grocery store. Sigh!

Thanks for the comment. It is a small world, indeed. Isn't VA beautiful? I'm so thankful I've had a chance to live here for the past 25 years. Next time you catch a striper, try tasting the dark meat by itself and tell me what you think. Sometimes with the mixture of the two, the flavor can get covered up. But as you said, "To each his own." Also, like you said about removing the ribs, I find it easier to remove the dark meat after it's cooked because the meat is much more managable.

I was born and raised in Maryland, but visited relatives in VA occasionally and completely fell in love it with! We just moved here last year. Virginia is indeed very beautiful! I will try your suggestion about the dark meat the next time I catch a stripped bass and let you know what I think.

Wow! This is weird! I haven't had enough time to answer everyone right away and just got to yours. The weird thing is that I will be almost passing by Smith Mountain Lake this Tuesday! I live in Winchester, VA and own a house in Halifax, VA. Smith Mountain Lake is right on the way! I'll be going to Halifax this Tuesday to meet with a realtor to put that house on the market. Small world, huh? Anyway, now that that's out of the way, your question... I don't believe I've ever removed the black stripe, but haven't noticed the strong taste. I started out catching catfish and everyone knows that they have a VERY strong flavor, so I learned a trick to mellow that taste down some: milk. I soaked them in milk for about a half-hour before frying, grilling, baking or broiling them. I started doing this with all fish except for trout, which have a naturally light flavor. My favorite fish is definitely trout, but our lake isn't stocked with trout. My usual catch is bluegill/sunnies, and I'm told that there are channel catfish in there, but I haven't seen any. We also have striped bass and largemouth bass. I've caught both of them and use my milk method. But, since I love the dark meat of chicken and turkey, I probably wouldn't have a problem with the bass if I didn't soak them in milk. Actually, you are the first person I've ever heard from who mentioned the dark meat, so I guess most people either like it, or they just don't mention it. To each his own, huh? Happy fishing! I'll yell "HI" as I drive by Smith Mountain Lake this Tuesday. Maybe you'll hear me! LOL

Are eels edible? I never heard about the milk soaking. I'll pass that information along to friends who might be interested. I like salmon, but I only eat it in a restaurant. If it smells at all, I send it back. A waiter told be salmon are prone to a fishy taste and smell depending on where and what they eat. Fish in the grocery store still creep me out. All that adds up to not being a fisherwoman, as you suggested. I think a person needs plenty of patience to fish. I don't know if I can sit still for any length of time. Nice to see you again. I hate losing days inbetween postings. Life gets in the way!

Nope, it sounds like you're definitely not a fisherwoman! LOL But, that's why they sell fish in grocery stores, huh? I caught an eel once... twice, actually, but one managed to "unhook" itself before I pulled it in. The other one scared me bad, too! They have teeth! They actually attack!!! I just cut the line and nudged this fella back into the water with my food (I had boots on). There's a little trick I learned about making fish taste better. Soak them in milk for about a half hour before cooking them. It takes all of the nasty or strong taste out of them... neutralizes it or something. I don't like catfish because it has such a strong flavor, but if it's soaked in milk, it tastes delicious! I've gone crabbing before and really enjoyed that. I caught 2 dozen crabs! Well, I caught a lot more than that, but a lot of them were under the size limit so I threw them back. I never had to deal with a lobster, though! I could probably handle that. I started seriously fishing about 9 years ago and I've been "hooked" ever since! LOL

I need to learn your method! I'm still using the "gutting and scaling" method and I really don't like it! I never learned how to filet a fish. Can you give me some hints? I'd really appreciate it!

mentalward, The way we do it is: We use a ceramic cutting board and an electric knife. Cut down behind the gills to the backbone, then turn your knife and cut down the backbone, stopping just before cutting through the skin at the tail. Then you flip the filet over, skin side down and cut between the meat and the skin. Then you flip the fish over and do the same thing on the other side. Next I take my kitchen sheers and cut off the rib cage and that removes all the bones, leaving you with just a nice white chunk of meat. It takes practice but soon you will be able to clean a big mess of fish in no time. I hope this helps and that you can understand what I am saying. Good luck and happy fishing. Nana

Sound like your friend can really cook. Have a good one.

I have personally never grilled fish, but I've eaten grilled fish. A friend of mine who prepares his that way always wrapped them in aluminum foil with seasonings before putting them on the grill. I imagine you can also put some veggies in there with them, including lemon slices.

I love trout! That's my favorite fish. We don't have any trout in our lake. I envy you your pike fishing! We don't have pike around here and they are some very impressive fish! I never thought of preparing them the way you mentioned! Interesting... and healthy, too! But how do you get rid of the bones? I love fishing and, even though my husband doesn't like to fish, he loves to eat it but is so afraid of choking on a bone. (He's actually almost phobic about it!)

Oh, yes! It is VERY relaxing! I enjoy the peace and serenity I get when I go fishing. I'm alone with my thoughts and am able to work out problems in my mind while fishing. Even if you're with someone else when you go fishing, you can still get that feeling. I guess it could test a person's patience if they weren't naturally patient. I wasn't a patient person at all before I had kids. THEY taught me patience! I used to fish with a person who need to change fishing spots every 5 minutes or so. He drive me nuts because he didn't have much patience.

Well I know my husband uses an electric fillet knife, he starts just below the head on one side, and cuts right against the spine or the bones whatever, all the way down to the tail, he said you can feel what your doing, you can tell just how close you are to the spine, then he turns the fish over to the other side and does the same thing, all you'll have left is the skin hanging on the fish. Its best to do this on a bigger fish, we catch catfish and thats how we do them, for bluegill, they are too small to mess with, unless you catch some big ones, they're just too hard to fillet. Thats the best way I can explain it, I don't really know how he does it, I've just watched him.

How does one go about filleting a fish? Believe it or not, I've never done that! I'm sure I'd love it because I've eaten enough filleted fish from the grocery store! Is there a trick to it or is it pretty straightforward?

I love the peace and serenity that you get when fishing, too. It is so nice to be alone with your thoughts and nature.

I hope that someday you will be able to be in that position again to go fishing. There is nothing like it!

Forty? Wow! That must've been SOME fishing trip! Yes, fishing is indeed very peaceful. That's one of the reasons I love it so much. I'm glad fishing helps, but I'm sorry to hear that you and your husband fight a lot. I hope it's not serious. I've heard that some people prefer it that way, though. If you're not one of those people who like to fight, try feeding a lot of those fish to your husband... they say it's "brain food", so maybe he'll get smarter and learn to say, "Yes, Dear!" instead of arguing! LOL

You cut through the ribcage? You mean you cut the backbone off? I'm confused. I'll try anything to get as many of those pesky rib bones out as possible (for my husband's sake, the weenie!). Tell your husband that's why they make knife sharpeners! We wouldn't want to put the knife sharpener makers out of business, now would we?

I went fishing once in the winter. Never again! I froze my buns off! LOL It's always fun to have a fishing buddy, especially in a boat. Fish is considered "brain" food, so it's very good for you. Actually, fish is high in Omega-3 which is also a cancer-fighting agent. Everyone should eat fish at least once a week, at least that's my opinion.

Yummy! Steamed haddock sounds delicious! I wish I could catch that in my lake! I don't have much of a choice, though. My neighbors have told me that the bluegill are great and I have to agree that they taste nice, but they are so small that they are not worth the trouble of cleaning them.