How to Fillet Salmon and Halibut with Less Waste

Originally published in 2016, this guide was updated in September 2026 with refreshed photos and videos, regulations guidance and expanded fish-cleaning information.

Cleaning or filleting fish is an easy task once you know the basic steps and some important focus areas. In general, the procedure can be simplified as: 1. get the guts out, and 2. fillet the meat off. When tackling any fish those two steps are the fundamentals. Since fish come in many different shapes and sizes, the general process follows the fundamentals but there are some specific measures for each fish type that make the process a lot easier. In this article I’ll explain the key points to cleaning and filleting your catch. For clear illustration of the techniques I’ve pre-screened and selected some good video clips to highlight the important focus points that I am explaining in the article. Please enjoy the article and let me know any comments or recommendations you may have on cleaning or filleting your catch, in the comments section at the bottom of the article.

Preparing to Clean and Fillet Your Catch

Fillet Knife Selection

The right knife for the job is one of the most important considerations. There are a lot of low-cost fishing knives available that can do the job just fine but with an understanding of what all knives are out there and how they can affect the job, the angler can gain advantages in terms of processing speed and effectiveness. Effectiveness in fish cleaning means getting more meat off the fillets.

When I’m tackling a small trout sized fish then any fillet knife will do. They are commonly available for $20 and generally come with a 7″ blade. The handles are plastic, blade stainless, and they generally come with a sheath and some even with a pull through sharpener. For the price this is a good setup for smaller fish because knives sometimes fall overboard.

For larger fish this is where the size and function of the knife becomes important. For filleting 50# chinook salmon, lingcod, or tuna, a 7″ filleting knife can be used but a larger and stiffer blade will make it easier to cut clean through the fish in 1 stroke, and to cut through the larger bones including the spine when removing the head and the rib bones when removing the fillet. Some good knives for this are in the 9″-11″ length range. These knives are often manufactured with a higher quality steel, and can have more ergonomic grips, some with slime proof anti-slip handles.

For halibut, part of the trick is to flex the knife blade. This requires a softer blade that will bend when a light torque is applied. Good knives for halibut are either 7″ or 9″ filleting knives that are flexible. Filleting a halibut does not require cutting through the spine or any bones at all so a strong knife is not required. Halibut knives are designed around finesse.

Having a selection of knives of different lengths and thicknesses is valuable that way you can choose the specific knife for the specific application.

Fillet Knife Sharpening

The best thing an angler can do is become proficient at knife sharpening. All anglers will recognize that when their knife was brand new it cut amazingly and the fish cleaning was simple. Over time as the knife cuts bones or digs into the cutting board, it becomes dull and the effort, time, and frustration required to fillet the fish significantly increases. To maintain total control over your blade angles and prevent tearing the delicate meat along the spine, your tools must be in pristine condition. Ensure your edge can effortlessly handle thick rib cages by mastering the techniques in the FishinBC.COM post Knife Sharpening 101.

Pull-through sharpeners can be convenient for quick touch-ups on working fishing knives, particularly on the boat where using a sharpening stone on a rocking deck can be awkward or unsafe. I prefer models that can be held firmly against a stable surface rather than sharpeners that must be held freely in one hand. I use a light, steady touch rather than forcing the blade through the sharpener. Some pull-through sharpeners, particularly those using carbide cutters, can remove steel quite aggressively, and their fixed sharpening angle may not suit every knife. For that reason, I consider them useful for quick touch-ups on an appropriate working knife rather than a replacement for properly sharpening a knife before a fishing trip. For more detail on sharpening stones, pull-through sharpeners and maintaining the correct edge angle, see the FishinBC.COM post Knife Sharpening 101.

Your Cleaning Station Setup

When processing a full multi-species limit of groundfish and salmon, your on-board workspace layout is just as important as your blade technique. Trying to slice massive, slippery slabs on a cramped cooler lid or a cluttered deck makes precision cuts nearly impossible and increases your risk of slipping. For a dedicated fish-cleaning workspace, see the FishinBC.COM article How to Build Your Own Fish Cleaning Table.

Cleaning tables are useful for doing fish because they generally raise the working surface and make it more comfortable. In absence of a board fish can be cleaned on the floor of the boat (washdown pump recommended), on the dock, on the ground, etc. Boat boards are often easily made from starboard which is a high density plastic material. Starboard is very easy to work with standard woodworking tools and many recreational boaters can make one easily.

Some anglers will use an outdoor rug or AstroTurf type material to line on top of the cleaning table. This has two purposes, it helps keep the fish from sliding all around on the table as the boat rocks, and, it prolongs the sharpness of the knife because it is not cutting into the hard surface. This is especially valuable with aluminum cleaning tables. To clean the rug an effective technique is to cut a hole in one side of it so that a rope can be easily tied or clipped, then, toss it overboard while trolling and tie it off to a boat cleat. This will drag and wash the rug for half an hour and it will be clean.

Bleeding Your Catch

For all fish this is a very important step and one that is frequently not done because of the mess it makes. Bleeding the catch is quick and easy and will ensure the highest quality meat. Fishy flavour is a big turnoff to a lot of people and immediately bleeding a fish is one of the techniques to improving the quality of the fish when it is served on the dinner table.

To bleed a salmon, use your knife to cut some of the gills. The fish will bleed out quickly and then it will be done. You can do this onboard your boat, or you can tie a rope to the fish and toss it overboard to bleed out in the water.

For a halibut, you can cut the gills and you can also cut through the major artery in the tail. To cut the tail artery cut through the meat at the base of the tail on the dark side (do not cut the white side it messes up your photography later). Cut right down to the spine but not through the spine. Then take the tail and snap the spine bone and it should start bleeding like crazy. On a large halibut this is a good one to tie off and let bleed out of the boat because there is a lot of blood and it can congeal and this will temporarily plug up your deck drains. If you get a lot of congealed blood plugging your deck drains you can clean it out by placing the nozzle of the washdown hose directly into the deck drain and then blowing through the blood.

Know the Regulations Before Cleaning Your Fish

Before cleaning or filleting your catch on the water, make sure you understand the regulations that apply to processing your fish. Knowing which fish you can legally catch and keep is only part of the picture. Once a legally retained fish is cleaned, filleted or otherwise altered, additional requirements may apply so that the catch can still be properly identified and inspected, particularly while you are still on the water.

Depending on the species, regulations may require you to retain certain parts of the fish or leave them attached so the fish can be identified and any applicable size limit can be verified. This can affect whether you can remove the head or tail, skin the fish, or completely fillet it before returning to shore. For example, there are specific requirements for processing and measuring salmon, halibut and lingcod.

The rules can change, so always check the current Fisheries and Oceans Canada regulations before processing your catch. The cleaning and filleting techniques described below should only be used when they comply with the regulations that apply to your catch.

Cleaning and Filleting Salmon

Salmon Cleaning

To clean a salmon the general premise is to simply get the guts out. There are different techniques that can be used to do this and they are used for different reasons. The basic approach is as below:

• cut the gills out
• cut from the vent to the gills
• remove the guts
• remove the kidney
• rinse clean and remove fins if desired

Here are two videos that demonstrate the technique, the first is from our FishinBC.COM youtube channel, and the second is from an Alaskan troller.

There are a few useful details to watch for in these videos. Both demonstrate the same basic goal—opening the belly, removing the entrails and gills, cleaning out the kidney along the backbone, and leaving the fish clean and ready for icing or filleting. A sharp knife makes the entire process easier and helps keep the cuts controlled. The second video also shows a few useful commercial-fishing details, including a cleaning jig that holds the salmon belly-up and a relatively short knife with a spoon on the back for scraping out the kidney. The short blade is easy to control, particularly when the knife is flipped over to use the spoon, while the cleaning jig keeps the fish securely positioned for fast, repetitive processing.

HOW TO CLEAN A SALMON

How to Clean a King Salmon

Salmon Cleaning – Speed Approach

A speed approach that I like that reduces the time per fish is as follows:

• cut from vent to gills
• cut from top of spine behind head downwards to sever spine
• pull on head and all the entrails will come out attached to the head.

The speed approach is useful if you have a big haul of salmon and want to get through them quickly. It is not recommended if you have not already taken photographs of your catch or if you want to have opportunity to take a group shot at the end of the day with all the fish lined up, because, the head will be removed. This technique is shown in this video from YouTube. The fish is not a chromer but looking beyond the condition of the fish, the method used here is great. Note the value of the sharp and stiff blade to more easily cut through the spine behind the head. I do not cut the tail off so it can remain for species identification. If you’re going to be storing your fish in a cooler and cleaning them all at once at the end of the fishing trip be sure to bleed the fish before putting it on ice, by cutting the gills.

Clean a fish in 20 seconds

Salmon Filleting

Salmon filleting can be done on fish with the guts in, or on a fish that has been cleaned previously. The approach is to put the knife in behind the head and push the blade along the spine backwards toward the tail, cutting through the rib bones. A sturdy blade is valuable it will make it easier to cut through the rib bones especially on larger fish. Also of critical importance is the length of the blade. On larger fish in the 30-60lb range the depth of the fillet (from belly to dorsal) can be quite deep and here is where a 9-11″ long blade proves its weight in gold. The longer blade will cut through in a single swipe. This is not only faster but the less hacking and cutting the less waste there will be. This YouTube video shows very well the value of the longer blade and the amount of force that is required to quickly push the large and sharp knife through the fillets.

Filleting 2 king salmon

Filleting Halibut and Lingcod

Halibut Filleting

Since a halibut is significantly different shape and much larger size than the typical salmon, bass, or trout, the process to fillet this beast may not be immediately clear. Filleting a halibut is a very easy process once you understand the approach. In general, you will lie the fish on the table, cut two fillets from the white side, remove the halibut cheek, and then flip the fish over, remove 2 fillets from the dark side, remove the halibut cheek, and then toss the carcass or use it for crab bait.

Here is a video from YouTube showing how to fillet a 300lb Alaskan halibut. People tend to be critical of videos like this and the performance of the individual but I like this video because it shows the important techniques. First that it is possible to do a fish on a boat and without any cleaning table. The washdown hose is handy to keep everything really clean. Rain pants are handy for working with any fish. The captains knife is clearly very sharp. I like how he smoothly traces around the entire fish to cut the skin and then proceeds to slice off the slabs. Last is to note that he did the entire fish in 4 minutes which is impressive.

How To Filet: A 300 Pound Alaskan Halibut

Lingcod Filleting

The procedure to fillet a lingcod is the same as to fillet a salmon. A stiff and sharp knife is valuable for filleting a lingcod because the rib bones just behind the head are quite thick and it can take a bit of pressure on the knife to cut through them. Too thin a knife (i.e. halibut filleting knife) it will want to bend a lot and will take more effort to get through the ribs. If your only doing one or two lings then any knife will suffice but if you’ve got a big haul of them then a more sturdy blade will cut down the overall cleaning time.

Caring for and Learning From Your Catch

Icing Your Catch

Once the fish has been cleaned it should be put on ice. Chipped ice can be worked into the body cavity and this will keep the fish cool all day. For fillets, placing ice directly on fillets can cause damage to the fillets. For this reason it is best to only clean the fish on the water and then put the cleaned fish on ice all day, then do the filleting at the end of the day and prior to freezing the meat. For another way to keep a day’s catch cold on the boat, see the FishinBC.COM Fish Cooler Bag Review.

Stomach Contents Analysis

To catch more fish you need to match the hatch. When cleaning your fish its important to check the stomach contents. This will show exactly what the fish is eating including species and size. Salmon can feed on different sizes of baitfish, and halibut or lingcod you may find all sorts of creatures including full size Dungeness crabs, and octopus. When you’re checking the stomach contents be careful not to get any digestive juices on the fish meat that you are keeping. A good idea is to finish filleting or cleaning the fish and then check the stomach contents.

Complete Guides to Salmon, Halibut, and Lingcod Fishing

Cleaning and filleting are only part of the process. If you are looking for more information on targeting each species, our complete fishing guides cover the tackle, techniques and other details that help put salmon, halibut and lingcod in the boat.

• Halibut: For more on finding halibut, choosing tackle and bait, rigging, fishing techniques and safely landing your catch, see the FishinBC.COM Complete Guide to Halibut Fishing.
• Lingcod: For more on finding productive structure, choosing tackle and jigs, drift fishing, landing fish and handling your catch, see the FishinBC.COM Complete Guide to Lingcod Fishing.
• Salmon: For more on tackle, trolling techniques, finding fish, fighting and landing salmon, see the FishinBC.COM Complete Guide to Salmon Fishing.

Your Turn: How Do You Clean and Fillet Your Catch?

There are lots of ways to clean and fillet salmon, halibut and lingcod, and everyone develops their own techniques over time. What works best for you? If you have a favourite knife, cleaning setup or technique that helps you process fish more efficiently or reduce waste, let us know in the comments below.

If you have a question about cleaning, filleting or handling your catch, leave that below too. We read the comments and are always interested in what other anglers have learned.

Tight Lines…FishinBC.COM!