Can someone recommend an excellent fish scaler?

Can someone recommend an excellent fish scaler? Before anyone says anything - I don't want to use my kitchen knife.

Some criterion:
1) Can handle perch-sized to large salmon-sized fish.
2) Ergonomic
3) Easily scale multiple large-sized fish without leaving the user too exhausted/hand cramped/etc
4) "Contains" the scales fairly well w/o leaving the kitchen plastered.
5) Isn't an industrial/electric sort of device

Currently, I'm using a large metal spoon which contains scales fairly well and scrapes not only scales but "slime" which is often present in freshly-caught fish.

TIA.

Reasons:
1) Aside from enjoying breaking down whole fish purchased from markets,
2) I'm starting to catch steelhead*.



* Turns out it's either a coho or small king salmon (not a steelhead).

Wow. Stunning.

Don't have a device for you, we've been using a food-service soup spoon - it has a slightly wider, flatter tip than other spoons; I don't know if this will de-slime your fish, and it might be a bit ineficcient for you, as we haven't yet caught anything that size. We usually go out on the back porch and scale inside an open plastic garbage bag (which doesn't stop the little buggers from getting everywhere, but the majority go in the bag) I figure it adds calcium to the garden.

Turns out it's not a steelhead - it's either a coho or small king (salmon) say the guys on the fishing forum I frequent. I'm still having trouble ID-ing these things, but evidently the forked tail is a salmon giveaway vs square tails for steelhead & trout.

I'm telling you Mhays, you guys need to do some shore fishing fore the salmon, steelhead and brown trout stop running. I already thought I missed the salmon runs...

You can catch salmon from the shore? I assumed they required a boat - though we'd have to get the extra tag for the license, wouldn't we?

Jay, I think there were trout in the Kishawaukee River; we didn't have anything subtle enough to catch them with - I could see them (I assume it was trout from this behavior) darting away from the lures and live bait we were using, where the bluegills swam towards to investigate..

This looks like it could do the job well:

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templ ... stid=79612

BlownZ- that's actually the scaler I've been thinking about getting at Cabela's. On Youtube I've seen some other scalers used by fisherman as well, but it's interesting they only sell that one scaler at Cabela's. I wonder what professional chef's use - or do their fish come scaled? or do they just use the back of their knife?

Jay, I did a bit of googling myself (you weren't kidding about non-electric - who does that to a fish) and I found a similar one on a sushi site. Something like it is up on Ebay for $3, but there's $3 shipping. However, if sushi chefs use it, my guess is it works - though it might require a technique.

I wouldn't bother scaling the coho/king/steelhead you catch. Simply fillet them, remove the ribs, rise them well and cook them with the scales on. The meat can easily be removed from the skin/scales once cooked. I like mine smoked, and recently cured and smoked 26 fillets with the scales on.

JasonM wrote:smoked 26 fillets with the scales on.

Are you catching 'em from shore? Or trolling?

Trout and salmon, I would just filet and discard the skin. The scales are too small to worry about, and the skin on these isn't worth the trouble.

Every entry-level fishing kit includes a cheap sawtooth scaler which is just fine for panfish. I use these all the time, and they work way better and easier than a spoon or a knife. They do still spray the scales around.

I had or have a scaler that fit a drill chuck and it was very easy to use. No scale spray at all, they just pile up rather than fly around. Highly recommended for scale-free cleaning.

My grandpa taught me how to make my own. Find a flat piece of metal that is easy to handle and ~6" long (surely you have one around!) and attach a beer bottle cap to the end with a screw, screwing so that the head of the screw is inside the bottle cap. You'll probably have to pre-drill a hole in the metal handle unless its really thin. Dremel the pointy end of the screw off if you so desire. Wha-la, you have a fish scaler.

I use either a large metal spoon too or a large offset spatula. I try to scale outside if possible. If not then I set in a large metal bowl in the sink for easier cleanup. As a chef in a restaurant I've used the same. I don't like to use knives or those toothy scalers - I don't think they do as good a job. The fine dining restaurants I've worked in receive whole fish that need to be scaled. I'm sure there are others that only use processed fish.

BTW it's a universal truth that if you scale, not matter how careful you are, no matter how well you clean, you will still found scales stuck in the most surprising places.

Scaling and de-sliming are best done in two steps. Concentrate on scaling cleanly first and then de-slime with either an offset spat or a knife. For those who don't know that procedure it's just like the squeegeeing the fish.

Where did you catch that fish? The Kings and Cohos I caught off Alaska had gently concaved tails, not forked. The Cohos/Silvers are also very different because they really put up a fight - jumping out of the water, running out the line, etc. - while you're trying to reel them in.

JasonM and imsscott, I think Jay K wants to eat the skin, yes? I always do - sometimes only the skin - though I know a lot of fisherpeople don't.

Here's the first King I caught this summer off Sitka, Alaska, where I was working as the chef for a fishing boat and lodge. It weighed in around 25 pounds.

let me just add something that is probably obvious to most, but not to me the first time I scaled a fish. DO NOT SCALE YOUR FISH IN YOUR KITCHEN. go outside and do it (hopefully along with a garden hose). otherwise you will be finding scales stuck in radom places in your kitchen for months.

Louisa, that's a great-looking fish; I envy your Alaskan adventure. Alaska's a fishing destination I hope to work towards in the future. Currently, I'm catching them shore fishing Lake Michigan. Since they're out of the lake, I'm actually not interested in eating the skin. If I was catching 'em in Alaska or Pacific NW, that'd be a different story.

I ended up ordering the above-mentioned fish scaler from Cabela's - hope it works well.

Jay K wrote:

JasonM wrote:smoked 26 fillets with the scales on.

Are you catching 'em from shore? Or trolling?

We caught them trolling on a charter boat, brought homa a 5 man limit (25 fish)

Jay K - thanks. Yes, Alaska - and specifically Sitka in the Southeast - are just amazing - salmon, halibut, rockfish - but be prepared for extremely rough waters. Can I ask, if you're not eating the skin then why are you scaling? Thanks for ordering that scaler - I'm interested in how well it works.