Yes, you can skin fish on the pegs or on the backside, which is flat. Keep your knife flat, and continue to pull the skin on the bottom of the fillet towards you as the knife stays against the Fillet Away Fish Mat, separating the meat from the skin. Here are a few videos for reference.
There are many additional uses for the Fillet Away Fish Mats beyond filleting fish. They are great for processing your game after a hunt, or preparing food and meat in the kitchen. Because they are non-slip, they make a great surface for cutting watermelon, or using a french fry cutter that you need to stay in place. We have had customers use them in the garage when turning wrenches. They draped them over the front and the mats held their tools in place. They can be used to keep your coolers in place while on the boat by sitting the cooler on top of a mat. They even make a great drip pan for bacon after it comes out of the oven! We post many of these fun uses on our social media pages, so be sure to go like and follow to catch all the neat ideas that our customers come up with.
There are many surfaces to fillet fish on. Before the Fillet Away Fish Mat, anglers used clamp-style fillet boards, newspaper, indoor/outdoor carpet remnants, towels, cardboard, plywood or cutting boards. With all of these options, you might ask yourself why is the Fillet Away Fish Mat different?
The Fillet Away Fish Mat is made from a patented TPV material (Thermoplastic Vulcanisate), and is a closed-cell polymer. In plain English, this means that the mats are injection-molded from a patented blend of materials that are impermeable to water, air, vapor, and oils. This means that the Fillet Away Fish Mats cannot be impacted by fish oil, mildew, rot, or bacteria - making them stink and bacteria free. They will NOT have that fishy smell that is left on other fillet boards and options. The pegs on the top of the Fillet Away Fish Mat keep the slime, blood, and fish guts away from the meat. When using things like towels, cardboard, newspaper, and carpet, those materials are transferring bacteria, fibers, and other gross materials to your fillets. They also become expensive to replace often, smell terrible, and hold bacteria that is then transferred to your meat.
Both the top and bottom of a Fillet Away Fish Mat are non-slip, so the bottom of the mat will grip to the surface you’re filleting on, and the pegs and top of the mat will grip to your fish and game. You can fillet on any surface from a fillet station, cooler, truck tailgate, rock on the side of the river, river rocks, sand, or even grass.
The Fillet Away Fish Mats are really quick and easy to clean too. Learn more about cleaning the mats below under the question “Is the Fillet Away Fish Mat really as easy to clean as you claim?”
We have had quite a few full-time guides that use their Fillet Away Fish Mats every single day to process fish for their clients. They have filleted upwards of a 1000 fish or more on a single Fillet Away Fish Mat. They will last you a long time! They may get some nicks and lost pegs, but that doesn’t affect the functionality of your Fillet Away Fish Mat
Yes! You can fillet fish much larger than the Fillet Away Fish Mat, and a single mat will still hold fish in place. We’ve had guides with halibut so large you cannot even see the mat, but they still hold them in place. If you’re filleting fish, and prefer to have something under the entire fish, then you can place multiple mats down. They will function as one larger mat, as they are non-slip on the backside of the Fillet Away Fish Mat as well. See the video and images below for reference.
Yes, the material is able to be cut through with a lot of pressure or some really strong scissors. We created it this way, so that people can cut down mats to make custom fillet stations. It is possible that you will nick the Fillet Away Fish Mat, and you may cut the top off a couple of the pegs over time. We recommend staking the fish off the end of the mat. Yes, you will end up with some small cuts in your Fillet Away Fish Mat, but that will not affect the integrity of the filleting surface. We have had some guides in the PNW that have filleted upwards of 1000 fish on a single Fillet Away Fish Mat before replacing it. Because it’s a closed cell polymer, it still will not hold bacteria or smell even if you get a small cut or nick in your mat.
We are aware of the demand for a larger Fillet Away Fish Mat, and want to take a moment to break down why this new, larger mat has not been introduced. Fillet Away Fish Mats are created by materials that are originally in pellet form. These materials are melted and injection-molded at a very high PSI. The 14”x19” Fillet Away Fish Mats have one injection site. In order to make a larger Fillet Away Fish Mat, the entire system would have to be recreated and new molds made for multiple injection sites, as the material can only flow and be pushed so far into a mold before the pressure is too great. Although this is doable, it would be extremely expensive, and therefore not cost effective for our customers.
Because the back of the Fillet Away Fish Mats are non-slip, you can place multiple mats side by side, and they will function as one larger mat, without slipping.
Another deterrence to creating a larger mat is how difficult it would be to clean off. Although not legal in all states, many states encourage anglers to toss their fish remains and debris back into the water. Due to the larger size, it would be more difficult to smack or dunk the larger mats in the water to remove the slime, guts, and scales, and also more difficult to spray down with a garden hose. The current size is perfect for easy cleaning, and stows away easily at the current size.
We offer $7.99 flat rate shipping on any order regardless of the mat quantities ordered. The actual shipping cost to us for just for a single mat that is rolled and placed snug in a small box costs over $8 if your basically not in a neighboring state.
We are a small business located in Post Falls, ID but we are currently shipping to Canada, Mexico, and with in the USA. We don't sell through our website to Canada and Mexico but you can purchase through here:
