Unless you fish only to catch and release, you'll want to know how to fillet your own largemouth bass. The process isn't difficult to learn, though you will get better with practice. Once you learn you won't have to worry about asking friends to do it on every fishing excursion.
Place the largemouth bass on the cutting board lengthwise with its dorsal side facing away from you. Use a fillet knife to remove the scales by gently scraping from the fish's tail to its head. Wash the scales away with cold water from the sink or from an outdoor hose.
2
Slice open the largemouth bass from its gill juncture to its rectum, maintaining from a 1/4-inch to a 1/2-inch incision the entire way. Completely remove the fish's organs--heart, lungs, intestines and stomach--until the entire cavity is clean. Use the hose or sink to wash out any remaining blood or tissue.
3
Make another incision at the very back of the largemouth bass's head, approximately a 1/4-inch deep, then follow the spine around the dorsal fin all the way to the tail.
4
Start the next incision in the same place as the last, at the back of the fish's head, and cut downward around the pectoral fin to the beginning of the first incision.
5
Slide the knife from the pectoral fin all the way to the tail, keeping the tip of the fillet knife right against the fish's spine. Do not cut through the tail.
6
Flip the entire section you have just created away from the head and toward the tail. The two sides of the fish should not look like a mirror image of one another.
7
Separate the meat from the skin by sliding the fillet knife laterally down the tail juncture. You will now be left with the fillet. Clean your work surface with the hose or with a sponge.
Tips & Warnings
If you plan to use an electric fillet knife to fillet your largemouth bass, you can use any other type of standard knife (steak knife or pocket knife) to remove the scales.
The gill juncture on a largemouth bass is located at the top of its throat, in front of the dorsal fin.
It is usually easier and less messy to fillet a largemouth bass outside rather than inside. This will also cut down on leftover smell and will allow you to dispose of the carcass easily.
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