We get a few comments here and there about why we scale and gut fish if we’re filleting. There’s a few reasons for scaling.
One reason is breaking through scales with your knife can dull your blade.
Next is it’s just plain messy. It’s good to just handle all the mess and clean it and work with fish without a scale in sight.
Also, this helps remove all slime and creates a less slippery fish to deal with.
In terms of gutting the fish, this allows you to be able to give the fish a wash so when you’re done with your fillet job, you don’t need to wash the fillets introducing more water into the meat and washing away the flavor.
Sure these methods take more time, but in a sport and passion we love, it’s always good to take that extra time and enjoy the process instead of dreading it.
Here’s an image of how little meat we waste when doing it this way.
Hook2Cook 