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The Top 10 Fillet Knives for Cleaning Fish

After a successful day of fishing, it’s time to take home your haul and enjoy the fish you’ve caught. Before you can cook or store your fish, you’ll need to properly clean your catch!

fishing fillet knife cutting salmon

Most experienced fishermen keep their best fishing fillet knife with their gear so that they can clean their fish on the go.

Preparing your fish takes a special touch, and it also takes a proper fillet knife. From bleeding, scaling, gutting, to finally filleting your fish, you’ll need a sharp knife and a steady hand.

Best Fillet Knives for Fish

Use one of the best fillet knives for fishing so that you get the most out of every catch!

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Mercer Culinary M23860 Millennia 8-Inch Narrow Fillet Knife

Non-staining Japanese steel resists rust, corrosion, and discoloration. Precision made for strength and durability.

a Mercer Culinary Millennia fillet knife

The razor-sharp edge makes cutting and chopping a breeze, and is easy to maintain.

Ergonomic handles are made from Santoprene for comfort and polypropylene for durability. It features textured finger points that provide slip resistance and a better grip.

Each handle is engineered to gently widen where it meets the blade to help protect fingers.


Bubba 7 Inch Tapered Flex Fillet Fishing Knife

Along with their other knives it’s made with a signature textured no-slip-grip handle and stainless-steel blade. This non-stick Teflon coated blade gives filleting a whole new feel.

bubba blade fillet knife

With its razor-sharp blade, anyone can fillet a fish. If it’s your first time filleting a fish or your thousandth time, this Bubba knife will make filleting a piece of cake.

Its smooth clean cut is ideal for Flounder or Lake Trout and a necessity for all your fishing trips.


KastKing Fillet Knife 9 inch

The 6”, 7” & 9” stainless curved blades have the perfect flexibility so the knife will follow natural contours for perfect fillets, is also an awesome ideal for thinner or more delicate cuts of meat such as fish or chicken.

A KastKing Fillet Knife

All These KastKing professional level knives will provide years of service and will quickly become your favorite tool for filleting fish, boning meet and processing any food.


Rhinoreto Fillet Knife Fishing

The Rhinoreto team launched the Fillet fish knives after extended research on all characteristics, so you could get the most out of your every filleting and fish cooking experience. 

rhinoreto fish fillet knife

The blade has the perfect curved shape and the length and can be used for filleting all freshwater and saltwater fish species from panfish, walleye to salmon and many more. They have selected a balanced stainless steel for the blade, so that it will resist corrosion and offer the right amount of flexibility at the same time. 

They added the black non-stick coat just to make sure the meat will slide off the blade even easier, for fast and chef-like filleting every time.


Victorinox Swiss Army Cutlery Fibrox Pro Curved Breaking Knife

Victorinox is a tried and true name brand that’s been making top-quality tools for a long time now.

Victorinox Fibrox Pro

These are some of the most widely-used knives because of their amazing quality at such a great price. You’ll be able to get the perfect fillet every time with this one.


Rapala Soft Grip Fillet Knife

This Soft Grip Fillet Knife is equipped with the famous Rapala flexible stainless steel blade combined with a no-slip, soft-grip molded textured handle, giving you maximum control and comfort while filleting.

Rapala4 Soft Grip

Includes a black sheath that easily fits on your belt and a single-stage sharpener to keep your Soft Grip Fillet Knife in peak performance


Kershaw Clearwater 9-In Fillet Knife

The Kershaw Clearwater 9-inch fillet knife is another great name-brand knife that I recommend to anyone. It’s made of 420J2 stainless steel for the ultimate corrosion resistance.

Kershaw Clearwater 9 inch

This fillet knife is a must-have for any angler’s tackle box or kitchen drawer. You’ll get a clean cut every time with this one.


Rapala Fish ‘N Fillet Knife with Sheath

This was my first fillet knife 20 years ago.  I still have the original to this day. 

Rapala Fish 'N Fillet Knife

It is a classic fillet knife and trusted by thousands of fishermen around the world and gets the job done right.


Dexter P94812 Fillet Knife, 7-Inch, Narrow

I always recommend the Dexter P94812 because it’s one of those no-frills fillet knives that get the job done and won’t hurt your wallet.

Dexter P94812

You can keep this one in your tackle box or on the boat and never worry again about getting that perfect fillet from your monster catch.

This 7-inch, flexible fillet knife is everything you need and nothing that you don’t.


Best Knife for Filleting Large Fish

Victorinox Swiss Army Cutlery Fibrox Pro Straight Butcher Knife

This is a serious fillet knife for some seriously big fish. The Victorinox Swiss Army Cutlery Fibrox Pro Straight Butcher Knife is ready to tackle your biggest catches.

Victorinox Fibrox Pro 12-Inch Straight Edge Butcher Knife

This beast of a fillet knife is made of high-quality, lightweight European steel with the same durability and comfort that we’ve come to expect from Victorinox.

Definitely pick this one up for all your biggest filleting tasks.


How to Pick the Right Fillet Knife for Fish

Choosing the right fillet knife for you is a tough decision.  These are a lot of choices and these are all great knives for filleting fish.  Choose for comfort and versatility. 

person filleting a fish

A quality fillet knife will be able to cut fish and not dull as fast.  Lightweight, corrosion resistant are always the way to go.


Final Thoughts

The best fillet knives for fish are strong, sharp, and easy to hold. Since you might fillet your fish while you’re still out on the water, you’ll want a fillet knife with an ergonomic handle so it doesn’t slip, and corrosion-resistant material so that the knife doesn’t get damaged by water.

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