filet style preference

[1tigger]

Just wondering what the general consensus is on standard  or electric knives !
I haven't tried an electric knife yet and haven't ever seen it done but I understand that it is a lot faster and the amount of flesh harvested is greater also .
Is there really any truth to that and if so what kind of knife do you reccomend ?
Thanks in advance for any suggestions !

[biggeorge50]

I use an American Angler electric.  I have both 12V and 110V and they both work great.  Normal household electric knives don't work for me.

[billditrite]

i use a rechargable model from BestAngler...faster by far yes...more fish in your fillets is still up to you...took me a few fish to get a feel for the knife but can now whip through a pile of crappies in no time. i still use a conventional fillet knife to skin the fillet but use the electic for the actual filleting

[Fishingking]

I am still stuck on a normal Fillet Knife I did 50 bluegills in about 43 minutes one evening. I like the control you have with a normal fillet knife over an electric one plus I feel I am just as fast as anyone with an electric knife.

[grumpymoe]

regular filleting knife....Grump

[wny angler]

never tried an electric and probably never will. i'm pretty handy with a 9 inch fillet knife.

[pikemaster789]

i agree with most, im always gonna stick to the old style, manual

[fishryc]

Just wondering what the general consensus is on standard  or electric knives !
I haven't tried an electric knife yet and haven't ever seen it done but I understand that it is a lot faster and the amount of flesh harvested is greater also .
Is there really any truth to that and if so what kind of knife do you reccomend ?
Thanks in advance for any suggestions !

 I only use an electric for perch. Two reasons 1) for me, it is faster, and 2) I fillet the whole side off right through the rib cage bones rather than cutting around them (again, this is faster for me). Then flip over the fillet and "flip" off those bones. We get some pretty hefty 16 to 17 inchers in the Great Lakes and those rib bones put a pretty quick dulling on my Fiskar and Rapala regular fillet knives.
 BTW, I only use the electric to do the fillet. My Fiskar does the de-boning and skinning. Also, my electric is not a fishing fillet knife with the thin blade. It's just an 11.99 Hamilton Beach turkey carver from Wal-Mart and does just fine by me........

[dachmation]

I have an American Angler 110 volt and so far Im impressed, I use it to cut the whole side off and flip it over and get the rib bones peeled off too. Im still using hand knife for the skin, leave too much meat so far, but Im just learnin. lol. 
Come Friday I hope to have some big fish to practice on, going on a Lake Mich Salmon charter. I'll let you know how it works on them

[OTIS]

BTW, I only use the electric to do the fillet. My Fiskar does the de-boning and skinning. Also, my electric is not a fishing fillet knife with the thin blade. It's just an 11.99 Hamilton Beach turkey carver from Wal-Mart and does just fine by me........

I hear ya.  My wife had one stashed away that was probably 20 years old so I tried it one night on a couple walleyes, it worked great.  I wouldn't say that you get more meat by using one, at least not when I use one.

[ladyfish]

I use an electric  fillet and I fillet the skin off the fish with it.  When I do perch, crappie or bass, I will use a regular kitchen knife to debone the rib cages so that I get the rib meat also.  When  I do bluegills in the winter, I cut around the rib cage with the electric knife, then I fillet the skin off with the knife.  Saves me a lot of time in the winter when I do large amounts of fish.

[blaque]

At oneida lake this year, a friendly local at the camp helped our group out and actually taught us how to use an electric and use teh technique mentioned above. Rip right through the ribcage, then debone the filet after its off teh fish and skinned. Used the electric for getting teh filet off the fish and skinning. Regular filet kniife to de-bone (theres a little finesse needed there). Oh and the electric worked great for the walleye cheeks as well. Ya lose a very minimal amount of meat by getting the filet off the fish in one swipe. But not much. Ill be getting one for next years trip.

[fishboy]

A good sharp reg fillet knife works best for me but i'd take an electric over a dull one most days.  I have both and prefer the reg knife. i am faster, waste less and the fillet is well cleaner with the reg knife.  The fillets seem to get a little ground with the electric, JMHO.  But like Fishing King i can do about 50 bluegills on under an hour.  i also use two reg knives most of the time one a little less sharp for skinning. 

My 2 cents

T

[rojo]

I only keep and filet panfish mostly gills and sunfish and use a 4"  Rapala knife
and Townsend fish skinner. My wife helps me skin the fish. The Townsend does
a neet job.

[bighillbilly]

I have to agree, electric for pannies.  Bigger fish typically equals lesser quantity so do it by hand - also, unless you take your time with the electric you will miss some meat, it's not a cure for poor fileting skills.