[Sundancefisher]

Originally Posted by slingshotz

We were out there two weeks ago and caught maybe a hundred and then we also took maybe another hundred from Sundance and others that didn't want them. They all were about 6-7" and some of them were already full of eggs surprisingly.

Since they are so small, the best way I found was to simply fillet each one leaving the rib cage and skin on, takes about 10 seconds to run the knife behind the head and right down the spine, you don't need to gut them, but make sure you leave the dorsal fin attached to the spine. Then after washing the fillets quickly to get rid of any guts and stuff, I just roll them lightly in seasoned flour and deep fry them. Since they are so small, the rib bones, skin and scales just crisps up and there's no choking hazard. I learned this trick from some russian friends as a kid. For smaller ones it is also possible to run a knife down the middle of the spine and butterfly them but you need to remove the dorsal fin, head and guts. If you deep fry them properly (not in a batter), the spine will also be crispy and eatable.

Next time I do this, I'll try and take a video and photos showing the before and after. Took me maybe 2 hours and I got over 3kg of fillets.

Great update. Good to know the cleaning and eating technique. The "10 second method" I found usually rips the guts out as well.