There are many YouTube videos showing how to remove the Y-bones of northern pike. In fact, I wrote about one for this website in the past; click here to check it out.

What I especially like about the 4.5-minute YouTube video below is Trevor Montgomery from Tazin Lake Lodge isn’t using a dedicated fish cleaning station to accomplish the task. Instead, he’s cleaning a decent-size pike on a boat seat, using nothing but his fillet knife and a board to keep blood and slime off the seat itself.

As the saying goes, this isn’t Trevor’s first rodeo — he’s obviously cleaned hundreds of pike in the past. He makes quick work of the job, and saves every morsel of meat for shore lunch.

One comment before you watch the video: If you want to copy his cleaning method — and I encourage you to do so — you’ll need a sharp and strong fillet knife with a long blade, at least 9 inches to handle larger pike. There are many good options on the market. For an example, check out the Buck 146 Hookset 9-inch fillet knife.