Smoothly extend through the length of gut cavity to near the anal vent.
Lay the fish on its side and make a vertical cut to the backbone behind the head of the fish.
Turn the knife blade to face toward the tail and hugging the backbone cut down the length of the fish to separate the fillet from the carcass.
Remove the fillet and set it aside. Its edges should be smooth and straight. If it is raggedly, the knife needs honing.
Turn the fish over and repeat the filleting procedure for the remaining side. Then cut out and discard the rib cage from the fillet.
With a fingertip, pinch the fillet, skin-side down to the cleaning surface, and with the other hand use the Flex blade to gently cut-scrape the flesh from the skin.
Check out the photos for step-by-step instructions
Speckled and white trout are soft-boned and delicate-fleshed fish. Fish-cleaning expert Ricky Richoux of Slimeslingers Professional Fish Cleaning uses the F. Dick Stiff blade for cleaning the fish and the F. Dick Flex to remove the skin from the fillets.
Cleaning cuts are made with multiple short, gliding strokes. Ripping down the length of the fish to remove a fillet with a single motion reduces knife control and leaves excess flesh on the bone. If sawing is necessary, the knife needs to be sharpened.
