How to Clean A Sturgeon (the easy way)

I figured with the AOTY with it's most entrants ever this year there's a good chance a newb gets their first dino. One thing you're struck with if you keep it is "how the hell do I clean this damn dinosaur???"

There is a traditional 23 step way that's a real PITA and then a way that our dino killing friend @ NCKA (KZreelrods) likes to do it. I have yet to try it but looks like it's pretty easy to do and gets a lot of the meat from the carcass. Without further ado, the easy way to clean a dino!

Z


"The first time I cleaned a sturgeon, I did it the conventional way.  Cut off the head, cut off the tail, pull the noto cord, cut off the scutes and fins, peel off the skin with pliers, and steak it out.  Needless to say, I was exhasted when it was over and it took FOREVER. 

Then I attended Keith Fraser's sturgon seminar and saw how to do it the easy way... there are variations on this method too. 

1.  Cut off the top scutes and fins.




2.  Make an incision behind the head down to the pectoral fin.


3.  Cut lengthwise along the spine and down the lenght of the fish.


4.  Work the meat off the cartilidge skeleton, over the ribs and down to the belly meat.


5.  Cut off the fillets.




6.  Skin the fillets like you would anything else. 


7.  Cut out any "red meat" before cooking it.


As a variation, some will cut off all of the scutes and peel off the skin with a pliers and/or knife before filleting.

You never have to open the body cavity with this method, making it nice and neat for a home fillet job.  If you're into caviar or gizzard you can check for eggs by cutting through the ribcage closer to the spine so all the guts won't just come spilling out." 

Thanks Z,

I was wondering what the best method would be. Hopefully I can put your informative, and detailed plan into effect sometime this year! I hope lots of us will be able to stock up on some tasty sturgeon fillets.

Dave

Thanks Z. I too was wondering how this is done properly. Can't wait till a have to try it....

Nice little "How To" Z!

That's similar to how I do it but I like peeling the skin before filleting it. 

Also, make sure you trim off ALL the fat when you're filleting them.  They're bottom feeders and all that rich PCB/mercury/heavy metal goodness gets stored in the fat.

Oh yeah, avoid puncturing the abdominal cavity also.  *GaCk* Wouldn't want to ruin your awesome fillets.

I never understood pulling the notochord...

I break mine down hanging them by the head from a eye bolt above a garbage can next to my fillet table, and held tight from moving around by a 15lb weight attached to their tail. With the weight on the tail you don't even have to hardly handle the fish to peel the filets off like a banana.  I don't cut the scuts off.. why do you guys do that?  Next gator I get I will do a pictorial of my method.

I have never found eggs in keeper sized fish..  I think the slot limit now excludes the breeding age fish.  When I was a kid and the upper end of the slot was 6ft or less my dad had one right at six feet that had eggs in it but that is the only one I have seen.

So.......where to catch 'em??  Is this a Williamette/Columbia deal only?  And is the Columbia current not too swift for a 'yak?  Does one need to anchor in the Columbia?  Tell us, O Expert sturgeon surgeons....

Tell us, O Expert sturgeon surgeons....

I claim no responsibility for that line.  A great deal of editorial license taken on the original article......

I haven't fished the Columbia yet for sturgeon from a kayak (with the exception of the estuary).  I'm sure that there are areas easily fished from kayaks though.  Honestly, I believe that there hasn't been enough experimentation on anchoring SOT's in the Columbia.  I plan to work on that this summer.

Coastal bays offer a good alternative to the Columbia and Willamette.  Tillamook and Columbia tidewaters are well known sturgeon grounds.  I'd be surprised if there were no sturgeon available around Westport....

The Chehalis estuary has sturgies, might be the closest for KT. I've heard rumors for other locations, but I haven't directly confirmed them by my experience.