How to Clean/Fillet a Sunfish (or any Panfish)

[TheMrEarlification]

can you give me your proccess of how you prepare your catch if you wanted it in the frying pan as the whole fish

[thundermistlures]

@TheMrEarlification In this case, you would scale the fish and remove the guts. You can now fry as is, or, you can cut off the head and trim the fins off using scissors. The fish is now ready for the frying pan and they are also very tasty this way!

[XxMrWilsonxX]

I love eating bluegill deep fried. You don't need to filet them too, saves the hassle. :D 

[thundermistlures]

@XxMrWilsonxX They're good whole as well as you mention. The skin can be left on for more flavor. Thanks for writing & good fishing!

[gcdrummer02]

This may be a dumb question, but the step between the livewell and the table, how does one dispatch the fish?

[thundermistlures]

@gcdrummer02 Thank you for your question...we do get this question periodically and although there are many ways, one of the best ways is to put the fish from the live well into a cooler with ice.

Thanks for tuning in and good luck on the water!

[jigaloe4nowatyahoo]

nice video

[thundermistlures]

@jigaloe4nowatyahoo Thanks! Good fishing in 2012!

[Dillon1842]

Does this work for Crappie also?

[thundermistlures]

@Dillon1842 Since crappie have the same bone structure as the bluegill, they can be filleted in the same manor. Thanks for you inquiry & good fishing!

[ttpetiyyy]

Thanks for the video! It's useful!

[thundermistlures]

@ttpetiyyy You're welcome & good fishing to you!

[pelletgun12]

excelent job

[thundermistlures]

@pelletgun12 Thank you and glad you enjoyed the video - thanks for tuning in and all the best in 2012!

[TheJmt200]

A SMALL BLUEGILL?

[thundermistlures]

@TheJmt200 We say small as we have gotten much bigger than that one. Thanks & good fishing!

[mtednby21]

IVO AT THE LAKE I FISH AT THE WEEDS ARE GETTING SO BAD ITS LITERALLY EVERY INCH OF THE LAKE AND THERE MITE BE LIKE 4 INCHES OF NON WEEDS ON THE TOP WHAT SHOULD I USE FOR PICKEREL/LARGEMOUTH AND HOW ABOUT CATFISH

FOR CATFISH I MADE A INGENIOUS RIG A TREBLE HOOK THEN 2 SINGLE HOOKS ON A 3 WAY SWIVEL THE TREBLE GOES IN BAITS MOUTH OTHER 2 SINGLES THROUGH THE BODY IS A GOOD RIG? GOOD LUCK ON THE WATER

[thundermistlures]

@mtednby21 If you have a boat, locate any open pockets & try to fish them. Use jigs & try vertical jigging for largemouth.

Do the same for catfish except fish in the evening with cut bait on a single hook - a single hook is all you need.Allow the bait to rest on the bottom & wait for a bite. For pickerel & even largemouth, try top-water baits & fish them above the weeds in the evening. Hope this helps. Good luck!

[Jedhaase]

I know a great way to scale any fish without making a big mess, take a tray, or any thing you can fill with water and scale the fish under water, then the scales wont fly everywhere. Also are you gonna make ice fishing videos soon?

[thundermistlures]

@Jedhaase Thanks for sharing your tip with us - we'll definitely give it a try as we have not used that method before.

We have a few ice fishing videos out from last year, and plan on doing more year, although it has been warm up until now and no ice yet :)

[Jedhaase]

@thundermistlures I live in wisconsin and ice on all lakes but its very thin and no snow its weather is strange this year

[thundermistlures]

@Jedhaase Great to hear from you in Wisconsin - heard the walleye fishing is great there!

Won't be long and we'll be ice fishing soon - a couple more weeks and we should be good to go!

Good lcuk on the water and all the best in 2012.

[Jedhaase]

@thundermistlures thanks! and yes, If you want to catch walleye and pike come up here in wisconsin great fishing!

[thundermistlures]

@Jedhaase We've heard it's great fishing there! Thanks again!

[patruhe1]

great video. is this how you would do it for cutbait?

[thundermistlures]

@patruhe1 Glad you enjoyed the video and yes, you can use this method for cut bait....once you have the fillets, then cut them in strips or chunks, which ever you prefer (we like to use strips) and you will do really well.

Until next time, good luck and good fishing!

[HATINTHEKAT]

just curious, how do you catch your panfish? i think its nice to know a variety of techniques lol

[thundermistlures]

@HATINTHEKAT The fail safe way is to use a small piece of a night crawler on a small hook. You can fish with "hook,line & sinker" or you can drop your hook about 3 - 4 feet below a bobber.

Tiny jigs also work great. Black, purple or yellow are good basic colors and small tiny twister tails or tube jigs work great. Tiny crank baits will catch you bigger fish and try fly fishing, as flies work great as well. Plenty of options and a lot of fun! Until next time, good fishing!

[HATINTHEKAT]

@thundermistlures much appreciated

[kabah088]

these videos help many fisherman who have never done this before.

[thundermistlures]

@kabah088 Glad you enjoyed the video and we are alwyas very happy to help. Thanks for writing in and good luck on the water!

[arisingartist]

i slice trough the ribcage and slice it of afterwards.

[thundermistlures]

@arisingartist Thanks for sharing your method with us - it also sounds like a very easy & effective way to fillet a sunfish.

Thanks again for writing in and until next time, good luck and good fishing!

[marvinlee718]

ITS YOUR 100th VID!!! Congratulations!

[thundermistlures]

@marvinlee718 Thank you for noticing and for the congrats :) We have plenty more videos lined up for 2012 and may even be releasing some of our past TV shows!

Thanks for tuning in and best of luck in 2012!

[sk8metalnick6]

this wastes too much meat. for panfish and trout, just gut 'em, scale 'em, rinse 'em and pan fry 'em. i only fillet bass/bluefish/fluke or anything big like that.

[thundermistlures]

@sk8metalnick6 Thanks for sharing your method with us and until next time, good luck and good fishing!

[Tori965]

I've seen people do that, here we use a knife and put it on the anuse and then cut all the way through untill you reach the head. Is it because those aren't different kind of fishes?

[thundermistlures]

@Tori965 You could also clean the sunfish as you have mentioned, but this way may be a bit easier.

Thanks for writing in and good lcuk on the water!

[immemimme53]

I cut off skin not scale

[thundermistlures]

@immemimme53 Thanks for writing in and sharing you method with us and our viewers. All the best in 2012 & good lcuk on the water!