Cleaning Fish with the Fiddleback Forge F2

by Kevin Estela July 24, 2018

Cleaning Fish with the Fiddleback Forge F2

The Fiddleback Forge F2 is Andy Roy’s interpretation of a fish and fowl knife. It has a featherlight blade with a fine edge that is exceptionally nimble in hand and perfect for processing both fish and small game. When this knife came out, I knew I had to have one as I find myself fishing and hunting birds more than I do large game and this knife seemed ideal. It doesn’t add much weight to the pack and it is purpose built. I received my desert ironwood F2 with only a few days before leaving for South Africa on safari where it would get a really thorough field test. I had handled an F2 before at BLADE Show but there was something about this one that drove me to action immediately. I knew I had to give it a workout before packing it along to another continent. The next morning, I took a trip to my favorite local fishing hole and came up with two rainbow trout that would taste great for lunch. Just as I started to clean the first, I had an epiphany and came up with this “how to clean a fish” instructional for the Fiddleback Forge website.

Warning: If you don’t like the sight of blood, prepare to be triggered.

Warning 2: If you get triggered, toughen up, fish are delicious and you can’t grill it until you kill it. 


Step 1: Water and a Sharp Knife

Before I start cleaning a fish, I make sure my knife is sharp and I have plenty of water. A sharp knife will make cutting through skin easier and it is safer than forcing a dull knife. I also make sure I have plenty of water, running ideally, to wash my hands and the fish frequently. I also wash my knife if the handle becomes covered in fish slime. Running water will help you wash away scales (not relevant with trout that don’t have them) and you’ll also keep your workspace cleaner.


Cleaning Fish with the Fiddleback Forge F2 By Kevin Estela

Step 2: Slice from the Vent to the Gills

The type of cleaning presented in this article is not filleting. That involves removing the fillets from the fish body and discarding the head, tail, and bones. If you are in a survival situation, you can make fish stock with these normally discarded parts. Filleting fish is common on commercial boats and outfitters that package fish in ice to send home with you. The method presented here is better for grilling fish or baking them whole. It is one plenty of outdoorsmen use and I prefer it for making fish “cooking-ready” in short time.

The first step is to make a shallow slice from the vent (where fish poop comes out from from in case you were wondering what the “vent” is) to the gills. You should not cut through the lower jaw and you’ll probably stop your cut right at the gills. This slice should be shallow to prevent puncturing the entrails. Make sure to cut into the stomach cavity thoroughly and watch your hands during this step to prevent accidentally cutting yourself.

Cleaning Fish with the Fiddleback Forge F2 By Kevin Estela

Step 3: Cut the Gills Free From Under the Jaw

Directly under the jaw of the fish is a thin membrane. If you insert your knife from one side of the fish to the other cutting it free, you will have a flap you can use as a handle to pull the gills free from the carcass. Depending on the size of the fish, you may have to do a little extra trimming under the jaw and around the gills but the lower jaw should be intact with the bottom of the fish’s mouth cut away.


Cleaning Fish with the Fiddleback Forge F2 By Kevin Estela

Step 4: Get Your Fingers Dirty

This next step is one that does not feel like warm apple pie if it is your first time. When you stick your fingers into the carcass for the first time, you may be grossed out but there is nothing in there to hurt you and you have guts inside you too. Pulling backwards on the flap cut from under the fish’s mouth toward the tail, you will dislodge the gills, heart, intestines, and swim bladder with a steady and strong pull. Sometimes, the small fins just behind the gills may get ripped off in the process. What is important is removing all the guts and not puncturing or popping them inside the fish’s cavity.

Cleaning Fish with the Fiddleback Forge F2 By: Kevin Estela

One additional (and in my opinion a necessary step) is scoring the dark line of blood along the spine with the tip of your knife and using the back of your thumb nail to scrape it out toward the head. This black blood is not harmful to humans but it does have a strong fishy flavor and if you’re preparing fish for someone else, they may not like it.


Step 5: Rinse and Prepare Your Pan

The last step of cleaning a fish is thoroughly rinsing it. If you are worried about rinsing the fish in the water where it came, don’t be. As you cook the fish, you’ll kill off anything harmful in the water that is left on the fish’s body. How you cook the fish is up to you. A sharpened stick can be threaded through the mouth and pushed into the body toward the tail. Perpendicular sticks can be used to keep the body open while you cook it over the fire. My preferred way of making trout is right in a pan of butter with lemon, thyme, and garlic with spoonfuls of the buttery seasoning basted over the top as it cooks.

When you’re done, make sure you toss all of remnants of your fish back in the water to be carried downstream if you are in bear country. Don’t make a mess of the bones or skin if you want to avoid having any visitors in camp. If you haven’t already, clean off your knife, strop it, and put a thin coat of food-grade oil on it before you store it. The more times you clean fish, the more efficient you’ll become at it. Watch professionals do it and you’ll be in awe as they manipulate the fish and blade effortlessly in a razor-sharp dance.


Cleaning Fish with the Fiddleback Forge F2 By: Kevin Estela

Remember, if you like eating what you catch, you need to know how to clean it. With a good knife like the Fiddleback Forge F2, you’ll be inspired to get outside and catch your own. I’m impressed with the “Fish” side of this knife so far and am waiting to test the “fowl” side later this fall after my safari. I’ll continue to evaluate the performance of this blade but first, there are some nice trout waiting for me.




Kevin Estela
Kevin Estela

Author

Kevin Estela is a Survival Instructor at Estela Wilderness Education. Kevin is a frequent contributing writer for publications such as RECOIL, Athlon Outdoors, and Beckett Media. He is a Sayoc Kali Associate Instructor Level 5, as well as a BJJ Purple Belt.



Leave a comment

Comments will be approved before showing up.


Also in Articles

The Less Things Change: Alaska 2021
The Less Things Change: Alaska 2021

by Kevin Estela September 08, 2021 1 Comment

It’s been a couple years since I traveled to Alaska and a couple years seems like way too long. Last time, I came with a handful of friends to explore the Kenai Peninsula and drive around the interior a bit.  That trip was incredible with plenty of fishing, laughs, and site-seeing. The opportunity came up this year to go back and highlight some of the good times I had before but from a new perspective through the lens my job at Fieldcraft Survival provides.  How do you attempt to replicate the awesome group chemistry you naturally had with your friends but this time in front of a camera for the audience to enjoy. The answer is, you don’t. You must simply trust you will have a great time in this rugged environment. When you have an opportunity to go back to Alaska, you don’t pass it up. While the world has changed some since 2019 when I was last here, I’m happy to report there is something familiar about this land. You see, the less things change the more the land keeps calling me back.

Read More

Every Man, a Rifleman
Every Man, a Rifleman

by Kevin Estela August 25, 2021 1 Comment

Author’s Foreword:
In August 2020, I attended GUNSITE Academy’s 250 Pistol Course. I had applied and received the Jeff Cooper Memorial Foundation’s scholarship (for more information, please visit jeffcooperfoundation.org) for free tuition to this baseline course all students must take. I attended and was one of 23 students broken up into two classes. At the end of the course, I earned the “Silver Chicken” which is the silver raven pin for shootoff winner. Upon completion of the course, I swore I would attend another class in the future to further my studies in the ways of the late great Lt. Col Jeff Cooper. I set aside some funds, ammo, and time and by September, had my deposit down on the 270 Rifle course.

Read More

Considerations at Elevation
Considerations at Elevation

by Kevin Estela June 16, 2021

In early June 2021, I was invited by my friends at Kifaru to join them on a backpack fishing trip to the high mountains of Colorado. If you’re not familiar with Kifaru, it is a company known for opening up the backcountry with their lineup of backpacks, sleeping bags, ultralight shelters, and hunting accessories. The company is led by Aron Snyder, a modern-day traditional bowhunting legend along with a team of employees that live the mountain life and who can often be found in the mountains at elevation. Kifaru is situated just outside of Denver, the mile-high city. Compared to my home state of Connecticut where I lived for many years at elevations ranging from 131’ to 390’ feet, the elevation of Colorado is significantly greater. What we consider mountains on the east coast, Coloradians think of them as molehills. Even though I moved to UT in January and have lived at 4524’ and work at 5587’, the trip with Kifaru would take me to double that elevation and help me identify some considerations at elevation. I can only imagine what this trip would have been like if I didn’t have half a year to acclimatize. As you’ll read, when you travel to greater heights, you need to be aware and consider some of the possible effects on your body and trip you wouldn’t expect at lower elevations.

Read More

Knives & News

Sign up with your favorite email.