Last Updated on August 3, 2023 by Afsar

Embarking on a fishing expedition, whether as a novice angler or a seasoned professional, is an experience that can be elevated by having the perfect filleting knife in your arsenal. It is an essential tool that transcends the boundaries of fishing styles, ensuring that your catch is skillfully prepared and ready for cooking or storage. Recognizing the significance of this indispensable tool, we have taken it upon ourselves to curate a comprehensive guide to the best filleting knives for fishing.

A top-notch fillet knife not only enables you to precisely and accurately cut through your catch, but it also simplifies the processes of handling, storing, and ultimately presenting your prized fish on a plate. However, the utility of filleting knives extends beyond the realm of fishing, as they are highly sought after by cooks and chefs who value a high-quality fish filleting knife for seamless kitchen operations.

With a plethora of filleting knives on the market, selecting the ideal one can be a daunting task. Fret not, as we have meticulously researched and compiled a list of the finest filleting knives for fishing enthusiasts and culinary connoisseurs alike. To kick off our in-depth exploration, we present you with a concise chart featuring a selection of the top fish filleting knives available today.

Versatile and Efficient – Huntsman Outdoors 6 inch Fish Fillet Knife with Sheath

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

As an avid angler and culinary enthusiast, I was excited to try out the Huntsman Outdoors 6 inch Fish Fillet Knife with Sheath. After using it for a few weeks in various settings, I must say that I’m quite impressed with its performance. Here’s a detailed breakdown of the knife’s features:

1. Stainless Steel Blade (5/5): The blade is made of high-quality stainless steel, which makes it resistant to corrosion and maintains its sharpness for a long time. Its 6-inch length is perfect for filleting various types of fish, from small trout to larger salmon.
2. Non-Slip Handle (4/5): The ergonomic non-slip handle is comfortable to hold and provides a secure grip even when wet. However, I found it to be slightly bulky for those with smaller hands, which may require a bit more effort when filleting.
3. Sheath (4/5): The knife comes with a protective sheath, which is a great addition for safety and storage purposes. While it fits the knife snugly, it would have been better if the sheath had a drainage hole to prevent water accumulation.
4. Versatility (5/5): The Huntsman Outdoors Fish Fillet Knife is not only suitable for filleting but also excels in food preparation, skinning, and boning tasks. This versatility makes it a great addition to any kitchen or outdoor cooking setup.
5. Price (4/5): Considering the quality and performance of this knife, it offers good value for the price. However, there are a few cheaper alternatives in the market that may appeal to those on a tighter budget.

The Huntsman Outdoors 6-inch Fish Fillet Knife with Sheath is a versatile and efficient tool that meets the needs of anglers and cooks alike. Its durable stainless steel blade, non-slip handle, and protective sheath make it a reliable choice for filleting, food prep, skinning, and boning tasks. With a few minor improvements to the handle and sheath, it could be a perfect 5-star product.

Pros:

• The blade is made of stainless steel, which is durable and resistant to rust and corrosion.
• The knife comes with a protective sheath to keep the blade safe when not in use.
• The handle has a non-slip grip, which can make it easier to use the knife in wet conditions.
• The knife is designed specifically for filleting fish, so it may perform better than a general-purpose knife for this task.
• The knife has received generally positive reviews from customers on Amazon, with an overall rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars.

Cons:

• Handle is plastic

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Rapala Fish’n Fillet Knife

Best filleting knife: Rapala Fish’n Fillet Knife is made by famous filleting knife maker Marttiini. This fillet knife tops the list for its incredible material, design, and price. Fish’N Fillet is made of a full-tang Swedish stainless steel blade with a birch varnished handle. You will be getting a genuine leather sheath and a single-stage sharpener. Rapala Fish’N Fillet’s blade size is 7”. If you want other sizes, you need to check Rapala’s site. With the low price tag, this is one of the best fillet knives for fishing.

• Swedish stainless steel blade
• Birch varnished handle
• Genuine leather sheath
• Highly durable
• Single-stage sharpener
• Handle is short

Kershaw Fillet Knife With Sheath

Kershaw is a popular knife manufacturer for a while. Established in 1943, in Portland, Oregon, Kershaw has several types of knives for different activities. Kershaw fillet knife comes in two different sizes: 7 inches and 9 inches. A lot of fisherman uses this fillet knife for preparing their catches. The best part of this fillet knife is this comes at a very reasonable price. The blade is good, performs well, and comes with a free sheath. This should be a good reason to buy this fillet knife.

• Two different sizes: 7 inches and 9 inches
• Highly durable sheath
• Handle designed to protect fingers
• Cheap price
• Sharpness gets dull over time

Mercer Culinary Millennia 8-inch Narrow Fillet Knife

With an ergonomic handle with santoprene, this fillet knife provides great comfort to the users. The size of this blade is 8-inch. The textured finger points makes it slip resistance, making it easier to hold while cutting fishes. A good filleting knife requires to have a high-quality stainless steel, and Mercer Culinary Millennia is made of high-quality Japanese steel. It is also fairly easy to sharpen the edge with less effort.

• 10-inches long
• Handle is ergonomically designed
• Santoprene added for comfort
• High-quality Japanese steel
• Very sharp
• Very large

Morakniv Fishing Comfort Fillet Knife

Not a big fan of long-sized blades? Then this is the best fillet knife for fishing for you. Morakniv fillet knife comes in two different sizes: 3.5 inches and 6.1 inches. This cheap yet highly functional fillet knife comes with a stainless steel blade. You can use the 6.1 inches blade for preparing almost all sizes fishes. The blade is made of Sandvik 12C27 stainless steel which is famous for its superb sharpness and high hardness. Not to mention, the blade is corrosion resistant too. What’s more, the high-friction handle offers a better grip on the users.

• Sandvik 12C27 stainless steel
• Extremely sharp
• 3.5 inch & 6.1 inch
• High-friction handle
• Corrosion resistance
• Some may not like the contrast color

Wusthof Gourmet 7-inch Fish Fillet Knife With Leather Sheath

By one of the most highly respected & popular knife makers in the world, Wüsthof, this is arguably one of the best fillet knives available for fishers. Highly lauded for the German high carbon no-stain steel X50CrMoV15, this fillet knife comes with a 7 inches blade. The overall size of this blade is 11 inches.

You will be getting a fantastic black leather sheath with the package for keeping the knife. B it a small or large fish, you are ready to play this knife with a joyful mind. Despite all these amazing features, this fillet knife comes at a very reasonable price.

• 7-inches long high carbon no-stain steel X50CrMoV15
• Leather Sheath included
• Great for fish filleting
• Lightweight
• Poor sheath

Buck Knives 220 Silver Creek Folding Fillet Fishing Knife

Love to use folding knives? Buck 220 silver is one of the best folding fillet knives for fishing. The size of the blade is 6.5” and made of 420J2 stainless steel. You can fold the blade to make it more secure and comfortable when not using. The rubberized anti-slip grip makes sure that you get to hold the fillet knife with ease. In a nutshell, this is a great fish filleting knife with a nice blade.

• Flexible 6.5 inches 420J2 stainless steel
• Rubberized Anti-slip grip to hold comfortably
• Corrosion resistance
• Convenient size
• Sharpening is tough

Victorinox Cutlery 7-inch Fillet Knife

Despite it’s seemingly simple appearance, Victorinox Cutlery 7-inches fillet knife is a highly loved a lot of fishers. The handle of this fillet knife is ergonomically designed for having a better grip. Besides slicing salmon or other fishes, you can use the the flexible edge for cutting raw meat. It’s highly durable and comes at a very decent price.

• High carbon stainless steel
• Handle designed to protect the finger
• Ergonomically designed handle
• Sharpening is easy
• Due to long sized blade, it bends while forcing strongly

Mister Twister Electronic Fillet Knife

Fillet KnifeMister Twister is the best electronic fish fillet knife with a reasonable price. A heavy-duty motor is used to power up this electronic fish filleting knife. The sharp and stainless-steel blade offers a fast and easy filleting process. So if you are going to prepare a hell load of fishes, an electronic fillet knife will be very beneficial. It will not only expedite the process but saves you energy too.

• Lightweight
• Highly durable
• Releasing the blade is easy
• Heavy-duty motor
• Very sharp
• Poor body-color

Rapala Heavy-Duty Electric Fillet Knife

Best fillet knife for saltwater fish: When it comes to fish filleting knives, Rapala’s electric fillet knife will always make a top spot on most people’s “best fillet knives” list. If you want to speed up the process and prepare a ton load of fish, this is a great fillet knife to do the job. As you can see in the picture, its 7.5” dishwasher-safe reciprocating blade is perfect for filleting. It is powered by a heavy-duty motor with 110-volt power. Rapala uses an advanced air-flow design in the electric fish fillet knife. It also comes with an easy-to-grab grip body. What’s more, it has a very cheap price compared to other electric fillet knives. Thus, it’s the best cheap electric fish fillet knife in our opinion.

• 7.5 inches long blade
• Heavy duty motor
• Advanced air flow design
• Good grip
• Reciprocating blade
• Cheap price

Cons​

• Handle could be small

SOG BladeLight Fillet Knife

Love fishing on nights? Or doing the fish cutting on camping? How about having some LED light with the fillet knife. This is a very lightweight fillet knife made of Satin polished 8Cr13MoV 7.5 inches steel blade. It has been designed ergonomically for better efficiency. There are 6 LEDs in the fillet knife with IPX-7 water resistance to guard the light. Thus, the lights are shielded and protected. This light can for up to 2.3 hours. In a nutshell, this is one of the best fillet knives in the market.

Pros

• 7.5 inch steel fixed blade : 8Cr13MoV
• 6 LEDs in the handle
• IPX-7 Water resistant
• Best for cleaning your catch in low light
• Easy sharpening
• Ergonomic and lightweight design

Cons​

• Slightly expensive

Lithium Ion Cordless Fillet

Best cordless fillet: If you are tired of getting your fillet knife connected with a power source, you may consider this cordless fillet knife. No matter how big your filleting task is, this cordless fillet from the Rapala is there to help you fillet with ease. It can operate 80 continuous minutes of run time without stopping. This fillet knife uses a lithium-ion battery to offer a seamless performance without slowing down. After charging it for 2 hours, you can use it for straight 80 minutes without putting it down. The charging/discharging cycles are also used for a better and longer battery life. Rapala used an advanced airflow design to keep the device quiet and a high torque motor running fluently for a long time. The design of the knife is good with an easy-to-hold grip body. It ensures comfort and safety to the users. It includes a 110V AC battery charger with the package.

How To Choose The Best Fillet Knives For Fishing

​Blade Size

At first, you need to know which size is better for your activities. Do you love big blades or small blades? A big blade will help you to prepare a big fish, but it might cause trouble when you are handling a small fish. To prepare a small fish, you may need a small blade or a medium-sized blade. It totally depends on your preferences and skills. This is why you need to determine the size of the blade and move forward with the other factors.

Blade Material​

Fillet knives are useless if they start to corrode or break over time. A good fillet knife will be made of a stainless steel blade. It is highly recommended to purchase a fillet knife with stainless steel. It ensures that the blade won’t corrode or perform for a long time without any hassle.

Blade Flexibility

Another important thing to check is the flexibility of the knife. If the blade is thick, the flexibility will be low. On the other hand, the flexibility will be higher if the thickness is low. While a knife with less flexibility will be more useful when you are preparing a big fish, good flexibility will allow you to cut small fishes more efficiently and accurately. So it depends on your type of fishing.

Handle

Handle is the thing that you will use while holding the knife. There was a time when handles were made of wood. Nowadays, handles are made of rubber, plastic and other material. A handle made of wood can break easily, or caught fire quickly. Wooden handles are also tough to use because they slips too easily.

Unless specially designed, the grip system is poor with these handles.On the other hand, a handle made of plastic, rubber or other composite material can prevent such occurrences. They offer a better grip with high functionality. This is why most modern fillet knives have a handle made of plastic and rubber.

A lot of fishers complain that they have had accidents while cutting fishes. To prevent accidents and protect your finger, you should choose a fillet knife with raised guard on the handle.​

Electric or Manual

If you need to prepare a lot of fish, you may love using an electric fish filleting knife. These knives can help you expedite the process. When choosing an electric fillet knife, you need to check the speed, power & weight of the knife.​

Sharpening​

​Using the same knife over and over will lower the sharpness of the blade. You will have to resharpen the knife for better performance. A good fillet knife will have sharpness for a long time, but it is also required to sharpen it in the long run. If the blade is not good, you will have a hard time resharpening it. So before buying a fillet knife, check if it has a good resharpening feature.

​Price

Most​ fillet knives are pretty cheap for what they are offering. Though there are super cheap options, we like to have a fillet knife with the proper blade and handle. Unless you are looking for a superior electric fillet knife, most fillet knives come at a very reasonable price.

What is the best fillet knife?

In my humble opinion, Rapala’s Fish’n fillet knife is the best fillet knife on the market. Made of Swedish stainless steel blade and birch varnished handle, this highly durable 7 inches long blade is able to curve through the big fishes.

Final Verdict

I hope this article helps you to buy the best fish filleting knives. Most of the mentioned knives have the ability to make the fish filleting process easier and quicker. I am a huge fan of the Rapala fish filleting knife. If you are not ready to read a lot, and just want to buy one asap, Rapala Fish’n Fillet is one of the best filleting knives for fishing.​