How to Remove Northern Pike Y Bones

Ryan DeChaine explains his procedure for easily removing the Y-bone form Northern Pike and getting the most meat with minimal waste from your catch.

[gregoryjamesaustin]

By far the BEST video I have seen on pike. Quick and efficient.

[CookingwithShotgunRed]

I been de-boning Northerns for years and I got to say ... yours is the cleanest, easiest, simple way I have found anywhere.  You make it so simple.  I think I seen you do it on a cooler or something one time and I have looked all over until I found you doing that again.  I remember the wife gets the best part of the filet from the last version. Lol 

Oops! I just remembered your in Canada ...you can't bring home fish meat with no skin!
If you do bring home the entire filet... you can still keep them strips at home! Lol


Everybody else makes it a lot of work....  Thank! Thanks! Thanks!

[CookingwithShotgunRed]

Great video!... but take all the "Y bone" strips home in a cooler then freeze them ...later when your making pickled northern ...cube them up and put them in with the rest of your pickled northern chunks. All the Y bones disappear anyway.. so keep that strip for the brine! I just want all the pickled northen I can get! Lol

When you chopped off the tail piece and cut down the middle of the filet and cut the belly piece in half and instantly had 3 nice pieces of boneless northern before you even worked on the top half... you had my attention! Great northern filet video. The best!

I have sent this to all my minnesota friends! Thanks Steve

[unknownbogey]

I know that walleye is king eating here in Minnesota. I have to say that when a northern pike is properly de-boned, it makes for a great fish fry. Too many poeple pass up this tasty treat.. Well done sir!!

[tsocanuck]

best method i have seen on youtube to clean pike

[zachabbott]

I like how you mare getting pieces away as you go. You don't have to worry about bones in those first few pieces. This is how I'm going to do it from now on. Thank

[wecatchfish]

best video I've seen on cutting pike up. very little meat loss. good job.

[johne]

Wow, your method is so simple, wouldn't take much practice to become second nature. I've been shown another method by an elder fisherman to remove the y-bones which still allows the fish to be transported legally, but his method takes a LOT of practice to do right. (of course he's been doing it for near 70 years). Thanks, can hardly wait for the opener in MN!

[robr]

Great video and excellent way to fillet a pike. It is faster and leaves less waste than the single fillet method. The fillet needs to get cut up to bread and fry, so it makes sense to cut it up as you go.

[keen]

Without a doubt, the absolute best way to filet a pike with minimal waste.

[dominicdrost]

This is the best Video I've seen on this! Thank you

[gxtmfa]

I was happy to see you kept the sheepshead- I think they're quite good!

[albertapikewalleye]

Great video thanks fir the pointers dude

[dusty]

Great Video Always wanted to Learn How To De Bone

[alexfamie]

4:09 can you please tell me what's with belly meat? Some keep it, some discard it.. is it BAD for you?

[glennwilck]

Just did a pike for the first time definitely gonna do it this way next time seems so much easier! And leas wasted. Do you need to cut the gills on a pike?

[patrickchapko]

After watching this video, this is the best way to filet a northern pike. Pike are very good eating!

[wwadv]

Nice one Ryan. You had everybody following along just fine until you decide to rotate the fillet, flip the fillet, then remove the backstrap. Then you proceed to flip the fillet twice again before cutting out the Y bones. As the camera was not over your shoulder, but in front of you, from a reversed angle, was it your intention to make it nearly impossible for the average guy, after downing a 6 pack of Sleeman Clear, to follow along?

[harryohschmidt]

Have not fished for pike in years. However any under 5 lbs. "can be" difficult to fillet. Let them grow. To me 5 lbs. or less can be a mess.

[awalt]

Your method is very well suited for a shore lunch but totally unsuited for transporting home. Using an electric knife to avoid hard labour, get real.