how do you debone a northern pike

Removing the bones from a northern pike isn’t hard. You do want to have a good quality fillet knife that is sharp though. Find a flat surface that you can lay the fish on. Cut it length wise along the belly. Then you will be able to easily remove the meat from inside of it. Some people like a large fillet just like that and others want to cut it into smaller chunks. It really depends on what you plan to do with the meat and the overall length of the northern pike. When you cut up the fillet you want to start at the center of it and cut outward. You don’t want to cut it all the way through though. You will find that there may be come pieces that are completely full of bones. I just toss those ones aside and they make great live bait.