How to Clean a Fish
Going fishing is a great activity that allows you to spend a peaceful day on the lake or at the river and bond with friends. You hopefully will also get the added benefit of catching your dinner! However, if you don’t know how to prepare your freshly caught fish, your relaxing day can soon turn stressful. Cleaning a fish can be performed effortlessly and easily if you know the correct steps.
- Set up an area to clean the fish. Because fish cleaning can be messy, it is best to do it outdoors, but if you must complete the cleaning indoors, put down newspaper and have a garbage can close by.
- Wash your fish under fresh water to remove any lake or river water to help reduce contamination.
- Lay the fish on a piece of newspaper and hold it with a clean cloth. Using a dull knife or a fish scaler, scrape off the scales working from the tail to the head. It helps if you hold the knife or scaler tilted slightly toward you to keep the scales from going everywhere. Short strokes are the most effective at removing scales.
- Rinse the fish again to ensure that all of the scales that have been scraped off are no longer sticking to the body.
- Position the fish on a table so that the belly is up. Using a sharp knife, cut out the fish’s anus.
- Split the belly open by placing your knife in the hole you just cut and dragging it to the fish’s head until you reach the gills.
- Open the fish up by spreading the sides and pull out the entrails and any clotted blood.
- Give the fish a final rinse and then dry it with a paper towel to remove any excess water.