I wasn't aware of the zipper technique but like roundy and Bill D. I don't press hard to the skin so that most of the red stays with the skin. I use the same method for catfish where instead of skinning I remove the filet with skin from the fish and then remove the filet following the same technique. I filet with a razor sharp rapala knife that my bride knows better than to mess with. smile

Whether that red strip needs to be removed depends on one's tastes and tolerances. I had a colleague of Asian descent who remarked about being hungry for fish. I gave him some fileted crappie but when I later asked him how they were he said they were bland and didn't even taste like fish. So I asked him what kind of fish he liked and he replied carp. Anyways the next spring when carp were piled up below a low water bridge I caught a few with my fly rod and dropped them off as whole fish on my way home. I never heard the end of how good they were and he did indeed appreciate the fish and my effort to catch them for him.

I know people who don't remove the red band on HSB and I think their tastes might prefer it that way.

Last edited by jpsdad; 10/16/19 07:22 PM.

It isn't what we don't know that gives us trouble, it's what we know that ain't so - Will Rogers