It’s easier than you think.

Cleaning pike y bone. It is true that there is a trick to cleaning northern pike to properly remove the “y” bones, but once you learn how, it is easy and well worth the effort. Pike have a set of y bones that causes anglers to avoid cleaning and cooking them. Place the northern filet skin down.

Keeping pike alive and dispatching with a “billy” just before cleaning results in a better product. To find the y bones in a northern pike. 4 ways to locate northern pike.

Start with a fillet, skin on and ribs out. Some waste is evident along the y bones, but is a minimal amount. Once found, run the tip of a very sharp knife down the center line.

First things first, begin by slicing off the tail piece of the pike. How to clean a pike in five easy steps step 1. As you can see, they are easy to identify and work around.

The y bones are positioned along the back of the fish as shown above. North country fishing guide billy rosner details a quick and easy way to clean northern pike, eliminating those pesky y bones for tasty, boneless fillets. Just above the dotted line, cut straight down and along the line just until the tip of the knife blade begins to click on the stems.

How to clean a pike step. It's important to note that pike bones angle upwards to the back of the fish. The short arm of the y bones may be visible as little white dots, and you can feel their tips by running your finger along.