It was my first time ever.
Lying in front of me, I grabbed the head of the dead and proceeded to insert my knife below the gill plate and slowly cut the belly from head to tail.
Once completed, I began the process of separating the fillets from the spine. I jiggled the knife below the gill plate yet again and I pushed and pulled with the knife, slowly separating the slabs of meat from the carcass.
After the fillets were removed, I hacked at the ribs (by the way, it's supposed to be done deftly and with orthopedic alacrity) and then chucked the carcass back into the Kenai River.
And that's how an Alaskan fillets her fish.
I guess that makes me a true Alaskan right to the bone! (Pun intended)
Anyhow, we're in full fledged fishing season up here and between reds, Kings, and soon silvers, the river is hopping with activity.
Living conveniently close, it's easy for the fam and I to huff it down the steep stairs and to the boat, where we drive a minute across bank and quickly cast into the river.
And if you guessed from the filleting above, you can put two and two together and see that we were successful in our catch of the day.
Catching and harvesting our own fish... That's how so-fish-ticated Alaskans do it up here.
