DEXTREME DUAL EDGE 7” FILLET KNIFE

Reviewed by: CAPT. MIKE SCHOONVELD

Look in the places where “professionals” are cleaning fish (or avid recreational anglers) you’ll see a Dexter knife in the hands of many of them. Look in my fish cleaning kit and you’ll see a Dexter knife in mine, for sure. I couldn’t guess the number of fish that tool has dissected. Now, look in my kit and you’ll see a second Dexter knife in it – not the familiar white-handled version most use – this one sports a bright orange, comfortable, non-slip handle. The orange handle looks good but that’s not what makes this knife unique.

The blade is made from Dexter’s proprietary (American made) “Dexsteel,” the perfect blend of hardness to allow cleaning a limit of fish without needing sharpened, but not so hard that it takes an expert to put the edge back to factory sharp. Most of Dexter’s fillet knives are made from Dexsteel stainless, each one designed to provide just the right flex to produce perfect fillets. What’s unique on the Dual Edge is the tip-end on top side of the blade has a serrated, ultra sharp edge.

Dexter makes serrated bladed knives with what they call a Tiger Edge to use on frozen fish, extra boney fish or those with tough cartilage. Perfect if that’s kind of fish you encounter regularly, but it’s a specialty tool. The serrations on this dual edge knife isn’t there to be used all the time on most fish found in the Great Lakes, but occasionally, so when it’s needed, it’s there. I’ve used the serrations to cut through the wire-like bones on big walleyes and to cut through backbone on salmon I want to dress out as “steaks” rather than fillets. Mostly, however, if I miss a spot when cutting a fillet, or skinning it off, the top of the blade is sharp and I can finish the job with just a flick of the blade instead of having to change the angle or my grip to hit the spot with the regular sharp side. I selected the 7-inch blade, the perfect size walleyes and coho salmon – the fish that come aboard my boat most of the time. The 7-incher isn’t too long for perch or white bass, and it will handle the biggest kings and lakers we manage to hook when Lady Luck smiles our way.

I can’t say I’ve ever selected a knife just for the sheath that comes with it. Don’t buy this one just because of the sheath, either, but when you get one, you’ll love the fit. It’s plastic (not unusual) but when you slide the blade into the sheath, the handle sort of snaps in place just tight enough to keep the sheath in place as it rattles around in your cleaning kit, boat or the back of your tow vehicle.

Check out all of Dexters Knives and other products at www.dexteroutdoors.com. You can purchase them there, at retailers everywhere or at Amazon.com.

STOWAWAY FILET SYSTEM BY TOADFISH

Reviewed by: CAPT. MIKE SCHOONVELD

Many marinas or boat access sites don’t have fish cleaning facilities but many anglers want to clean their catch before heading home. If that’s you or that’s the place you launch, Toadfish’s Stowaway Filet System can save the day.

Toadfish, a company with an eclectic assortment of outdoor products, has produced a folding cutting board – the large size is 14X22 inches when it’s opened flat and it rolls up to the size of a 22-inch-long two-by-four (1.5 X 3.5 inches). Made of four hinged slats made from dishwasher safe high-density polyethylene, it has stainless steel hinges and built in magnets to hold it shut when not in use. When rolled open the bottom side has anti-skid material to keep if from sliding around when in use. One edge has a two-stage (carbide + ceramic) knife sharpener to keep your fillet knife razor sharp.

The cutting board is a great product on its own, but I’ve been wanting to get a quality folding fillet knife to add to my collection. That’s why I chose the Toadfish “system” that includes a high-quality folding fillet knife as well as tough neoprene sheath that contains the folded cutting board and features a snug pocket on the outside to hold the folded-up knife. I tested the extra-large size kit that matches the 22” board with the 8.5” knife.

Sadly, I’ve been in several fish cleaning stations that were just plain disgusting. Even in the nice ones, how well do you think the cutting boards or the surfaces designed to be used for cutting fish have been sanitized? Most get a quick squirt of a hose to remove obvious blood and gore, but what about the germs and bacteria festering there?

I’m not a germaphobe; but still, I always bring my own cutting board along that I know is clean and relatively germ free. Even in my pick-up, the compact size is welcome and ready to use.

Check out this and other Toadfish products at www.toadfish.com. Purchase them there, at some retailers and at numerous online sellers including Amazon.

NORTHLAKE TAILGATE BOARD

Reviewed by: CAPT. MIKE SCHOONVELD

There are very few heated fish cleaning stations at marinas or access sites around the Great Lakes. Many marinas and access sites don’t even have a dedicated facility to clean fish.

My fishing season starts long before the cleaning station is open and I’ve seen and used plenty of innovative ways to clean the fish I catch before heading home. Over the winter I got a new one – a tailgate sized cutting board.

I’ve used the tailgate of my pick-up as a work bench many times and as a fish cleaning station a few times. It’s the perfect height, but the downside of using it as a fish cleaning location is the clean-up. Even when laying the largest sized cutting board I owned on the tailgate, there was always some blood or other, slimy fishy-stuff that drips off the board onto the tailgate.

Sure, that can be cleaned up, but doing so without spraying or sloshing water into the truck bed or onto the gear stowed in the bed is tedious. That’s why, when I saw the tailgate sized cutting board from North Lake Outdoors, I realized this two-foot by four-foot cutting board was the perfect answer.

When my fishing partner and I were back at the dock with our limit of cohos (including a bonus brown trout) in early March we lined up our fish on the board for a hero shot and then I went to work. By positioning the board with an inch or so overhanging the open tailgate the blood and slime just dripped off onto the asphalt. When finished, I leaned the board against the open tailgate, dipped a bucket of water from the lake and cleaned the blood, slime and scales off the cutting board, gave it a final rinse with bleach-water I’d brought from home and stowed it in the back of the truck for the next trip.

North Lake makes a slightly smaller 48” X 19” model and a “miniature” 16” X 32” board – all made in America, all made from food-grade polyethylene. Check them out and order one for yourself at www.northlakeoutdoors.com.