Have you ever received a gift certificate for Cabela’s and then wandered around the store looking at this and at that but then leaving without buying what you thought you needed? I have. I vowed that the next time I received a gift card I wouldn’t go into the store until I knew exactly what I thought I needed or at least wanted.  

That brings me to the topic of fish cleaning. I have always been a little old school because growing up in a commercial fishing family there were ample opportunities to hone the skill. At Beck’s Fish Market there was another way to “skin a catfish.” Donnie and Bruce were two skilled River Rats who made fish cleaning look simple. They could clean 100 pounds of catfish in eight minutes flat, including a smoke break and that’s no fish tale.

To get Donnie or Bruce to clean our catch of walleyes was easy. All it took was one of my brothers or me to do a hack job on the first walleye fillet and they were immediately insulted. It was like painting by numbers in front of Picasso. One of them would grab the fillet knife and seconds later the job was completed properly. The fee for cleaning our fish was too often paid by them confiscating enough fish for their own fish fry. In the end, both parties thought they got the better deal.

I told you that story for two reasons: (1) because it’s a great true story of growing up a river rat and (2) because I learned how to fillet fish from the very best. Whenever I am in a fish camp, I am now the one who grabs the fillet knife because I don’t want to see a green horn leave meat on the bone. Until now, I have always used an old school fillet knife to clean all of those fish.

A couple of months ago I walked into a Cabela’s store with gift certificate in hand. This time I knew exactly how I was going to spend it. I headed towards the fishing department and there they were: fillet knives. Because I had the gift card it felt like I was using house money so I didn’t even consider the corded knives on the bottom shelves. Nope, I went top shelf to the Bass Pro Shop XPS Lithium Battery Operated Fillet Knife (cue dramatic music of angels singing).  

I have always been curious on how the knives actually worked and figured other fish cleaners did too. As a PSA (Public Service Announcement) here is my review of the Bass Pro Shop XPS Lithium Battery Operated Fillet Knife.  

The first thing to note about this product is the name and it’s a pretty cool one. I have no idea what XPS means but it sounds awesome.  

Shortly after I bought the knife, I made my way to the Mississippi River and came home with a couple of walleyes. It was “go time” with the new knife. I started with the smaller blade and it worked, just not as smooth as I expected. When I flipped the walleye over to fillet the opposite side of the fish I switched to the longer blade. Hot dog! The knife breezed down the side of the fish. I used the same longer blade to remove the actual fillet from the skin. It all happened pretty quickly and without much effort.

The second walleye took less time as I got the knack of using the knife. The end result was that there was such little meat left on the back bone that I could almost see through it. That is the test of a good fillet job. Even Donnie and Bruce would have given it their seal of approval with a subtle nod and a puff on the Marlboro.

Didn’t get enough Dave this week? Visit “Outdoor Trails and Tales with Dave Beck” on Facebook or at  ottwithdavebeck on Instagram for photos and video of Dave’s adventures. You can share your own photos and video with him there as well, or by emailing him at dave@piercecountyjournal.news Also, check out OTT content on Instagram @thepiercecountyjournal