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By Stan Fagerstrom
Product Review Editor

October 4, 2010

Mark Tanski didn’t make his first fishing trip until the fall of 2008.

I expect the only reason he went then was because after marrying his wife, Terri, he found she loved to fish.  Today he’s “hooked” just like the rest of us.  And as I detailed in my previous column, he has   come up with some nifty tools that take the misery out of filleting our catch.

Mark, of Livonia, Michigan, is the founder of Quick Fillet products.  I told about the new style boards he designed for filleting fish in my previous column.  I didn’t have room in that original column to detail some of the other tools he has designed.

If you’re into fishing big time chances are you already have a fish cleaning board of one kind or another.  If you didn’t read about the new ones Mark has designed in my previous column, I hope you’ll do so.  Why?  Because these boards have some unique features you won’t find elsewhere.

But here’s something else you need to know.  You really don’t have to set your present board aside to take advantage of some of the items Mark has designed.  Tanski, you see, is also marketing another tool that enables you to utilize the same unique features of his new boards on the board you may already own.

Note the illustrations of the Quick Fillet Tool that accompany this column.  This tool can be attached to any cutting board, provided the board to which it’s to be attached has a thickness of from one half inch to two inches.

All you need do to use this device is simply slide it onto the end of your board and tighten it down.  The knolt---that’s a cross between a nail and a bolt with threads on one end and a sharp spike like point on the other---is simply screwed into the top portion of the tool.

Once you do that your old cutting board has the same basic features that Mark has built into those special boards of his that have already captured the attention of anglers all over the place.  You simply impale the head of the fish you want to fillet securely onto the knolt on the Quick Fillet Tool and go to work.

What you may find, as I did when I first experimented with this Quick Fillet Tool, is that it might not snug down as securely on your own fish cleaning board as you want.  There may be a little side-to-side movement.

I talked to Mark about this.  He says it’s not a problem.  “As soon as you have your fish attached,” he says, “you’ll find the tool stays right where you want it.  As you fillet your catch you are working from the top to the bottom and not from side to side.”

You can if you choose, and it’s what I’ve done with one of the wooden cutting boards I’ve had for a long time, just tighten the bolt end of the knolt so it bites securely into the top part of the board to tighten things up.

There’s yet another piece of equipment Mark has designed that can be used with the boards he markets or the one you already own that eliminate possible  movement of the fillet board itself.  This handy little item is called a Quick Fillet Gripper-Scraper.

The Gripper-Scraper is a 3½-inch x 5¼-inch piece of high density polyethylene plastic that has rubber gripper pads on each side.  This item serves a dual purpose.  Before you begin working on your fish, just slide it under the board you’re using.  You’ll find the waterproof gripper pads help hold the board in place as you fillet your catch.

Let’s face it, sometimes filleting fish leaves a bit of a mess no matter how efficient you are.  Once you’ve removed the fillets from the fish, just pull the Gripper-Scraper out from under the board and use it to scrape away whatever’s left on the surface.  The scraper provides a neat and fast way to clean things up.

I favor working with two of these Gripper-Scrapers.  I place one at the top of my cutting board and the other near the bottom.  They really help steady things during the filleting process.

In Part 1 about these brand new Quick Fillet products I mentioned the excellent product video demonstration to be found at the company’s website.  If you’ve not already done so, by all means go to www.quickfillet.com to see what I’m talking about.

When you get to that site, be sure to look for the heading labeled “Quick Fillet Demonstration Video.”  You’ll find everything I’ve been talking about where these products are concerned.  What’s more, you’ll see them in action.

If you’re just getting into fish filleting and desire to get a handle on some of the more technical aspects of what’s required, you’ll find what Tanski provides at his website of special interest.  Mark’s company currently offers 10 different Quick Fillet products.  He tells me he’ll be adding six additional items by spring of next year.  Again---keep an eye on his website for details.

There are a number of other things of major importance to keep in mind when it’s time to prepare your fish for the table.  I don’t care how fine a board or accompanying tools you have to work with---and Mark Tanski’s are the best I’ve seen---you’re up the creek if you don’t have proper, keen-edged knives to work with.