Put the fillet skin on the table or board with the tail facing you, and then start cutting along the tail to separate the meat from the skin, cutting all the way to the top and removing the entire fillet. The same thing applies for the other fillet, so now all that is left is to get rid of the Y bones.

With walleye, removing Y bones is simple. You also won’t be losing too much of the meat. The fillet has somewhat of a center line going through it, where the Y bones are, and you can also feel them by running your fingers on the fillet near the center line.

To start removing the Y bones, use your knife and cut along the outside of them, and you should make a cut that is about a third of the entire fillet’s length. Make sure you get the knife all the way through the meat to the surface of the cutting board, then make another cut the same way along the center. After you have done this, discard this bit of the meat, because it is full of the Y bones and they are not meant to be eaten.

Now all you have to do is clean the fillet and put it in the frying pan, oven or cook it however you intend to.

To get the full “How To Filet A Walleye” article you’ll need to download it here.