Cleaning walleyes and saugers at Arnesen’s Rocky Point

Cleaning Walleyes and Saugers with Mark Arnesen

Cleaning walleyes quickly and efficiently is an art form. There are a variety of knives anglers use in cleaning walleyes. Electric vs manual, different brand names. There are various techniques anglers use in cleaning walleyes. In the video below, Mark Arnesen of Arnesen’s Rocky Point on the south shore of Lake of the Woods shows how he skillfully cleans walleyes and saugers.

Mark’s knife preference is a Chicago Cutlery knife. He prefers more of a stiff blade rather than the traditional flexible filet knife for more control. Interestingly enough, he wants his knife sharp, but not razor sharp. He actually tells stories of great fish cleaners who purposefully might dull a new knife to filet fish.

Mark and many of the Arnesen family members have literally been cleaning fish since they could walk. The Arnesen’s use to have a commercial fishing operation in which the entire family cleaned thousands of walleyes and saugers per year. Back in the 80’s, the business transformed into a resort and now is known as one of the premier fishing resorts in the Midwest.

Arnesen’s has quite a history. The Arnesen family has inhabited Rocky Point, Minnesota since the site was homesteaded in 1897 by Bernhard Arnesen.

The Arnesen’s fished continuously until 1984, when the state of Minnesota decided to manage Lake of the Woods as a sport fishery instead of a commercial fishery. After 87 years, commercial fishing at Arnesen’s Rocky Point ceased.

It was at this time the family’s focus shifted towards developing the resort. Agnes had already begun renting cabins and boats and operated a small store in the 1930s. She also had a post office, which is why you will find Arnesen on the Minnesota highway map. By 1984, the resort had half a dozen cabins, a small convenience store, campground and mobile home park.

Today, after more than one hundred years, the family now in its sixth generation continues to provide a quality fishing and resort experience on Lake of the Woods. The once decimated sturgeon population has been replenished and is abundant again. The resort aspect of Rocky Point has been expanded extensively to include our Rock Harbor Lodge, thirty rental units, a two hundred unit mobile home park, and what is probably one of the world’s largest ice fishing operations with a whole fleet of track vehicles.

Arnesen shows how to clean both walleyes and saugers and how to “zipper” a filet in the video below. He also shows how to clean a walleye and sauger for transport. The MN DNR needs to be able to tell the difference between a walleye and a sauger as the limits are different for each fish. Any sauger they cannot properly identify will be considered a walleye.

As always, it is up to each angler to understand limits and the legalities of properly transporting fish. The purpose of this video is really to show you an efficient method of cleaning fish and the entertainment value to see how fast Mark Arnesen is at doing so. He averages about 20 seconds per fish! Enjoy.

Click Here to view a list of Lake of the Woods lodging.