A knife of a lifetime

As a professional angler, one of the questions I get asked most often is what kind of filleting knife would I recommend. Well, I was lucky enough some fifteen years ago to get a Cutco filleting knife as a present. I had donated a day of my time to take a young angler with cancer fishing. His family was so grateful that they gave me the Fisherman’s Solution. With the extendable stainless steel blade; pivoting sheath that doubles as a gripper; built-in, notched line cutter and sharpening stone, this knife has been the answer to my filleting needs for a wide variety of species of fish since that time. Fisherman’s Solution has a 6″ – 9″ adjustable blade with a release on the handle to adjust the length according to the size of fish you are cleaning. My release broke about two years ago, and the blade wouldn’t stay in place. Now with Cutco you have a lifetime warranty called their “Forever Guarantee” which means you can ship your product back to them and it will be fixed. Better yet, I ran into Justin Gregoire at the Mid Canada Boat Show at the beginning of March. He was manning the Cutco booth as the regional sales representative for this outstanding product. Justin took down my name and phone number when I explained the problem with the knife, offering to come by a week later to replace the handle. One week later Justin is on my doorstep and the knife is now good as new. If you are interested in this product plus a look at all the Cutco knives contact Justin at justingregoire@hotmail.com or visit the website at www.mycutcorep.ca/justingregoire. How good is this knife? While fishing Lake Winnipeg this past week, I lent it to friend Pete Hiebert to clean the walleye we had caught that day. When he started to clean the first walleye, he cut right through the backbone the knife was so sharp. “Wow Don” he exclaimed, “I have never cleaned a fish with a knife this sharp” Pete now has one on order. This knife is also used by many of the commercial fisherman on Lake Winnipeg that clean fish for a living. I like the knife because it has some flex to it. This makes it perfect for cleaning fish like walleye and pike, especially when you take the ribs out and y bones on pike. How much is the knife? It cost $99 but money well spent for a lifetime of use. I also learned many years ago from an expert how to properly sharpen knives with the Lansky Sharpening system. For a filleting knife a 20 degree sharpening angle is best. Visit them online at http://www.lanskysharpeners.com to find out more about this outstanding product and view the video on how to properly use them. You will never have a dull knife in the kitchen again.