The Best Fillet Knife For Bluegill

Rapala’s R12 HD is the newest and most powerful in the Rapala family of cordless knives, and the rapid response on the trigger makes for quick work on crappie. When the trigger is pulled, a small LED light activates, making cleanup simple even in dim light. As a bonus, having a spare pair of blades ensures you’ll always have access to razor-sharp tools.

The Old Timer 110V Electric Fillet Knife is a great option if you usually skin your fish in a place with electricity. It boasts a wonderfully curved, flexible 8-inch blade that accommodates most fish cleaning demands and comes with an 8-foot cord for greater reach at the cleaning station. The knife’s innovative locking trigger and self-draining storage sheath ensure it stays dry between outings.

When storage space is at a premium, a folding fillet knife like the Gerber Controller 6 is a must-have. When folded, the handle of the Gerber Controller 6-inch folder only takes up about 7 inches of space. The 6-inch stainless blade becomes a full-size knife suitable for most fish cleaning tasks when unfolded and locked into place. With the same HydroTread grip material as Gerber’s other fillet knives, this one is simple to grasp for cleaning. The mirror-polished blade has Gerber’s SaltRx technology to keep it looking beautiful in either salt or freshwater situations.

If you regularly clean a variety of fish, the Bubba Pro Series Cordless Electric Fillet Knife is an excellent choice. This knife can cut through anything from a panfish to the largest saltwater quarry, with its four distinct blade options ranging from thin and flexible to wide and hard. As a result of having two batteries and a quick charging system, you never have to worry about running out of juice. It’s convenient to have the Bubba Pro knife, its batteries, charger, and spare blades all in one place, thanks to the included sturdy carrying and storage case.

This Kershaw Narrow Fillet knife, measuring in at 7.5 inches, is my go-to whether I’m cleaning a live well full of crappie or a stringer of trout. The stainless steel blade can be simply resharpened and is robust and flexible enough to separate meat from the bone and slip effortlessly between the fillet and skin. This knife’s overmolded K-Texture rubberized grip is one of its best features. The soft grip makes it simple to hold onto the knife, even in the messiest of fish-cleaning situations, while still being solid enough not to slip. A blade guard slides onto the knife’s blade to protect users from injury.

If you’re the angler who catches panfish one week and the biggest saltwater fish the next, the Bubba Multi-Flex package is a fantastic investment. It has various blade sizes and shapes, from thin and bendy to thick and sturdy. A serrated nine-inch blade is included for more demanding cutting tasks. The blades can be removed and replaced with a simple squeeze of the tabs on either side of the handle. Slime or wetness on your hands makes it more difficult to use the easy blade release tabs.

Even though much of my career has happened inside a kitchen, I always opted for flimsy outdoorsman fillet knives until recently when I discovered Dalstrong’s Gladiator Fillet. The blade profile is what you’d expect from a fillet knife – thin and flexible enough to maneuver around bones and cartilage even in a small fish like bluegill. The difference is that the steel is forged and much better than your standard fillet, and the entire assembly has some heft to it which means more durability and easier cuts.