Fillet maps - where to cut.
Four fish, four different jobs. Pick your fish for a diagram of where the knife goes and the steps in order - from a standard round-fish fillet to the pike's tricky Y-bones. Keep the blade sharp and take your time.
✂ Dashed lines are cuts · numbers show the order
Bass, walleye, trout, perch
The standard fillet. Two boneless fillets, one from each side, then skin off. This is the pattern most freshwater fish follow.
- 1Cut down behind the gill plate and pectoral fin to the backbone - stop, don't take the head off.
- 2Turn the blade toward the tail and slide it along the top of the backbone, letting the fillet peel away in one piece.
- 3Flip the fish and repeat on the other side.
- 4Lay each fillet skin-down and slice the curved rib bones out of the belly meat.
- 5To skin: start at the tail, angle the blade down to the skin and push forward, keeping the skin flat on the board.
💡 A flexible, sharp fillet knife does the work - let the blade follow the bones, don't force it.
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Northern pike - the Y-bone fish
Pike are superb eating, but a row of Y-shaped bones runs along the upper fillet. The trick is a fillet-then-remove sequence, not brute force.
- 1Fillet both sides as for a round fish, and skin each fillet.
- 2You'll see a row of small holes running down the middle of the fillet - that's the top of the Y-bones.
- 3Run your knife just above the Y-bones, angled in, following them to their tips - lift off the boneless back strap.
- 4Angle the knife the other way under the Y-bones to release the bone strip, leaving a clean belly piece.
- 5You end up with two boneless pieces per fillet and one thin strip of bones to discard.
💡 The 'five fillets from a pike' method takes practice - go slow, feel for the bones, and watch a video the first time.
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Catfish - skin first, no scales
Catfish have no scales but a tough, slick skin you remove before filleting. Pliers and a firm grip do it.
- 1Score the skin in a ring just behind the head and gill plate, cutting through the skin only.
- 2Grip the skin at the cut with pliers and peel it back toward the tail - it comes off like a glove.
- 3Cut down behind the head to the backbone, then slide the blade along the spine to the tail for each fillet.
- 4Trim the rib bones and any red-brown bloodline for the cleanest taste.
- 5Rinse and chill - catfish are best cooked fresh.
💡 Mind the pectoral and dorsal spines when handling a live catfish - they're sharp. Cut them off first if it helps.
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Flounder, sole, halibut
Flatfish give four fillets - two from the top, two from the bottom - split by the lateral line down the middle. This one is a top view.
- 1Lay the fish flat, dark side up, and cut straight down the middle line from head to tail, to the backbone.
- 2Make a curved cut behind the head across the fish.
- 3Slide the blade under one side, working from the centre out to the edge in long strokes - the fillet lifts off.
- 4Repeat for the second top fillet, then flip and take the two fillets from the underside.
- 5Skin each fillet tail-first if you like, the same as any other fish.
💡 Bigger flatfish (halibut) are cut into steaks or thick fillet portions instead - the four-fillet method shines on flounder and sole.
⚠️ Handle knives carefully and keep the fish and your hands cold and clean. Only keep fish where it's legal and within your limit, and follow any local advice on how much of a given water's fish is safe to eat.