Bluegill fry better, cook faster, and season better than catfish. I think a lot of fishermen know this but jus don't like the hassle of cutting up a bunch of small fish. I'm an exception, I don't really mind. I was just wondering if there was a way to take the skin off while leaving the fillets on, I wanted to try something new is all. I saw one guy gut and skin a buffalo while leaving the fillets on and that was the coolest looking rack of "buffalo" ribs I ever saw. I figured it'd be more practical however with a decent sized bluegill or crappie

The closest you will get to that is filleting them. Just my two cents.

I'll try to explain the process.
Cut down through skin from top back of head to bottom just behind front bottom fins.
Cut through skin on top of back where you started the side cuts,towards tail,on top center line.
Take skinners start at the cut junction on top and pull skin off both sides.
I've done lots as a kid as this was the way it was done if scaling and filleting was not an option.
We cooked them whole and skinless.
The only way our Dad would allow. We were never allowed to skin a live fish either.Had to stab them in the head between the eyes and wait till it was dead.
Dad considered it cruel to skin a live fish.
Good Luck

Ps same as skinning a catfish.

I stand corrected! Perfectly done!

I'm not sure why you would skin them?

You can scold them for a few seconds in hot water (hot tap water is usually hot enough), and the skin will peel off easier. Cut all the fins off first.

The biological purpose of skin is to protect your muscles from uv light and other things from penetrating your body. It's the first line of defense. If you really want to season something, it's best to take the skin off

This is how I do it --

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Bj5TK9KnLU4

tips --

Use just the tip of the knife to make your shallow skin cuts, using the back of your thumb that is holding he fish to control the blade tip as it starts the cut. Use a sharp knife of short blade length for better control. Hold down the top of the filet with your thumb when you start to pull off the skin. When you pull the fins out be sure to mind the direction of the pull. Same when pulling off the head. I clean all my bluegill like this. After some practice this becomes quick and easy. The only ones that get filleted are 1+ pounders, which for me is extremely rare.
Unfortunately.

drxring, that is a cool video. Thanks for posting it.

How about old school descaling ?

To each his own reelswift. Nothing wrong with old school scaling. My wife likes them scaled and fried whole, on the bones, says the bones give them more flavor. My preference is boneless fillets. I plan to cook some skinned sometime soon, still whole, to see if she likes them that way as well as with the skin on. I think it would be easier and faster to skin them than to scale them. But that's just me.

that's the way I was taught years ago haven't seen a better way yet