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Quality fi llet knives and fi sh skinning pliers are not expensive and can be purchased at sporting goods and department stores. Fish can be cleaned on any surface, but a small cutting board allows for portable cleaning options and easier clean-up. LAWS Where length and bag limits apply, fi sh may not be fi lleted until fi shing is completed for the day and anglers are off the water. Fish subject to bag and possession limits but not length limits may be processed before transport if the fi llets are kept in one piece until cooked, so the bag and possession limit can be determined. Fish species subject to a length limit may not be possessed with more than the gills, viscera and scales removed while on the water, wading or engaged in fi shing. Any fi sh in possession while actively fi shing or on the water will be subject to length and bag limits that apply to the water being fi shed. Once off the water, the fi sh may be fi lleted for transportation and storage. CHAPTER 7 FISH CLEANING AND PREPARATION THE BENEFITS OF EATING FISH YOU CAUGHT A banquet-plate of fried crappie fi llets is an environmentally low-impact renewable resource. A freshly-caught catfi sh dinner is a high-protein, "good fat" (omega-3 fatty acid) delicacy. A shore lunch of grilled-on-a-stick white bass is a gustatory-memory within a fi shing trip. Cleaning a stringer of trout with the help of a bunch of kids is an edible biology lesson. Catch and keep some; it's good for you. h skinning pliers be purchased rtment d PRESERVING THE CATCH Fish are a very perishable food product and the quality of the meal is only as good as the handling of the fi sh after the catch. If possible, fi sh should be kept alive until just prior to cleaning. A bucket of water or a fi sh stringer will work for holding fi sh for a short time. If you know you are going to be keeping fi sh, take along a cooler with ice and place them in it immediately after catching. Cleaned fi sh can be frozen for later consumption, but are very susceptible to "freezer burn." Vacuum packaging or freezing in water will help lengthen frozen fi sh storage-life. TOOLS Fish can be cleaned in a variety of ways and a knife is the one tool that will be necessary for any method. While any long and thin knife will work, a fi llet knife has a thin, pointed and fl exible blade suited for delicate cutting. Also consider a small knife sharpener which is often supplied with fi llet knife packages. A pair of mechanics pliers will be necessary for skinning catfi sh, but a preferred tool is a fi sh skinning pliers that grip the skin more securely. variety of one tool or o consider a hich is often packages. rs will be catfi sh, but a kinning pliers securely. 38 38 38 38 38 38 38 38 38 38 38 38 38 38 38 38 38 38 38 38 38 38 38 38 38 38 38 38 38 38 CHAPTER 7 ● FISH CLEANING AND PREPARATION