Mike Hehner demonstrates an easy way to fillet pike while avoiding those pesky Y-bones. Northern Pike aren’t just for pickling ladies and gents!

Fillet Pike with NO BONES: 5 Piece Method

Northern pike make a great table fare, but are often avoided because of their Y-bones. This filleting method will produce five boneless pieces of meat when you are done. For this method a six-inch Bubba Ultra Flex works great!

Step 1:

Start by making a cut behind the head of the fish down to the back bone. Then make a cut right in front of the dorsal fin down to the backbone. Once you have done that go ahead and remove that piece.

Step 2:

Once the top piece is removed you should be able to see the Y-bones on the northern pike when looking at the back of the fish. The next step is to remove the two side pieces. Make a cut just above the Y-bones and cut down towards the belly of the fish removing the side piece. Then flip it over and repeat the process.

Step 3:

At this point you should have three pieces filleted off the pike. The only pieces remaining are the two tail fillets.  Make a cut starting at the dorsal fin and remove tail fillet. Then flip the fish over and repeat that cut on the other side.

Step 4:

You should have all five pieces removed from the pike. Now it is time to remove the skin from all five of the fillets. Once you’ve done that its time to cook up your boneless pike fillets!