Fish cleaning station?

Most of the places I go to have pretty good fish cleaning stations, but one lake that I will probably be frequenting a lot more has nothing.

I'm wrapping up building some furniture pieces my wife wanted for the spare bedroom. I thought I might put together a fish cleaning station while the table saw is still out. I'm thinking something that would hang off the side and have one of those clipboard type clamps to hold the fish. I want to keep it simple. I thought I would ask ahead in case anyone else has already done something like this.

PS: Here is a photo of the bedroom furniture (Maple & Birch). One is a night stand and the other is intended to sit under a flat screen TV. Still need to do some drawers and doors.

GREAT JOINERY, Larry !!


be CAREFUL with that table saw !!!


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Johnny said:

GREAT JOINERY, Larry !!


be CAREFUL with that table saw !!!


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Thanks Johnny. I was thinking about you while building these. I was extra conscious to make sure I stayed out of the line of fire. I updated my 1970's table saw about 5 years ago. The new one (Jet Proshop) has a riving knife, which is a nice safety feature.

Found this for about $30. It is called Sea-Dog Coho Fish Cleaner. At that price it is not worth my time making one. Also saw an photo of a stainless version that folded flat. I couldn't find it for sale but expect it would be pretty pricey.

Still looking around for other ideas.

I had to look on YouTube to fully understand the concept of the gadget
as I have never cleaned fish in a boat . . . now I got it LOL.
with my brain injury and looking at your beautiful furniture build, then,
you talked about a fish cleaning station in the same paragraph sort of bumbled me.
I was picturing a nice varnished wood cabinet with a sink in the top on your back patio.
just goes to show you that photos are needed to fully get your idea across to others.
(it must be a regional thang).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C48H31ICHWo





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Johnny said:

I had to look on YouTube to fully understand the concept of the gadget
as I have never cleaned fish in a boat . . . now I got it LOL.
with my brain injury and looking at your beautiful furniture build, then,
you talked about a fish cleaning station in the same paragraph sort of bumbled me.
I was picturing a nice varnished wood cabinet with a sink in the top on your back patio.
just goes to show you that photos are needed to fully get your idea across to others.
(it must be a regional thang).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C48H31ICHWo





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You know, now that I re-read it, my original post is not exactly cohesive. :shock: Probably reflects the general "unconnectiveness" of my brain process. . :LOL2:

Anyway, I was looking for something that I can use on the boat at lakes that don't have fish cleaning stations. Thought I would cobble something together, but the tray with the hooks should do the job.

Nice work sir!

Well the idea of using a fish cleaning tray while on the water just may have a slight glitch. I thought this was a great idea. Hang a tray like the one below off the side where it is out of the way. Catch a fish. Get the line back out. Gut the fish in this tray. Dump the guts in over the side. Put the nice clean fresh trout on ice. No mess in the boat. Life is good. Except, the DFW people will consider this as chumming and in California chumming is not allowed in freshwater areas. Maybe if I don't have lines in the water it would be OK.

Oh well, I thought it was a good idea.

we use a fish cleaning table that mounts to the side of the boat.all the guts sluice out the ends of it.it mounts with a gimbal.why would anyone not clean it out in the middle of the lake ?nothing bugs me more than someone cleaning their fish at the boat ramp or worse yet,right in front of the camp.it stinks.

bcbouy said:

we use a fish cleaning table that mounts to the side of the boat.all the guts sluice out the ends of it.it mounts with a gimbal.why would anyone not clean it out in the middle of the lake ?nothing bugs me more than someone cleaning their fish at the boat ramp or worse yet,right in front of the camp.it stinks.

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California DFW reg's do not prohibit tossing fish guts/carcasses into the lake. Some local jurisdictions prohibit disposal of fish remains along shores or near the launch ramps. Even some coastal harbors prohibit dumping fish remains inside the harbor.

California DFW prohibits chumming in practically all freshwater areas. The concern was tossing guts over the side while trolling happily along would be considered chumming. There are good arguments that it would and that it wouldn't be chumming. Since I posted here, I've kind of flip/flopped and think it is probably OK. In fact, I tossed some fish guts over the side today in the middle of the lake. For certain, if no line in the water, then no problem.

Surely the DFW could give you an answer to that question?


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SeaFaring said:

Surely the DFW could give you an answer to that question?


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Click to expand...

Yep, they have a Q&A site that I should probably use to nail this down. Stay tuned.