Needing to get a portable fish cleaning table. They all look pretty cheap made online. Suggestions on any good ones?

im looking for one too. i agree the ones online look cheap

Looks like "portable" by nature is going to equate to light weight (cheap) Also looks like most all the tables of various brands seem to be all the same table. If you may want a more permanent solution, I have seen some pretty usable stuff at many second hand, resale store, goodwill so on that would make great re purposed fish cleaning stations. Just a thought.
https://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&fie...;tag=mozilla-20

I just use one of those Lifetime folding tables, like the 3' x 5' size maybe? I also carry some 5 gallon buckets and put waste in a couple of them, and ice and water in another to throw the fillets in. I keep it in the back of the truck since I never know where I will feel like cleaning fish. I may clean them at the lake, the farm, or the house, just however the mood hits me. The kid cleaning the fish is optional, they are easy enough to make though.

Yeah they all look the same everywhere. I'll just order one off amazon.

I used to just clean at the ramp with 12v fillet knife. Used fender on boat. Since I've found out it's unlawful to do that I haven't kept fish in years. Didn't wanna deal with left over fish parts but I wanna keep some fish.

How is it unlawful?

Can't clean fish at public ramps.

Tailgate of pick up, scrap of plywood.

Here is what I take with me for fish cleaning on the road:

https://www.amazon.com/Lifetime-80161-Co...=Lifetime+80161

Its height adjustable, so I can either stand up or sit down. I use a couple of plastic dishwashing tubs..one for filets and one for waste.

Why not? I know of guides that clean fish on the tailgates of their trucks at the parking lot at ramps. If there is a law, can you show the statute?

I think cleaning at the ramp is up to the controlling authority of the particular lake. As long as people clean up after themselves they will probably allow it. When the complaints start rolling in, it will stop.

the trash can at the boat ramp in august always reminded me of a few old girlfriends.

i might get banned for that,, sorry

That is most likely true. The guides I know haul the carcasses off when they leave.

They stop all cleaning fish at the fishing docks on Belton

I have been ticketed for not cleaning at final destination. Boocat those dumpsters can get pretty bad.

I tried one of those gray BassPro tables and it sucks. Has rounded edges and a trough all around it. Makes it impossible to run an electric knife laying down flat since you can't work right up to the edge.
Any folding table with a square edged piece of wood or plastic cutting board surface laid on top is way mo better.

You got a ticket for not taking fish home to clean? I call BS! Why would TP&W have fish cleaning facilities if you couldn't clean fish there.

That would be a rule, not a law.

This one is taller than most sold. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B010EM9S2Y/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I think he meant he got ticketed for transporting fillets on the boat from another dock or location to the ramp where he loaded his boat.

Listerine and a bottle brush...just sayin.

I seen several people use an ironing board they bought used for $5.

That's like the one I used that came from Basspro. Did not work well with the rounded edges and trough.

A Black and Decker Workmate works well.

I got the ticket at Bryan Lake in the 1990's, I cleaned the fish before I went back to the boat ramp. Even if I had cleaned them at the boat ramp the game warden told me that that was still not my final destination. If there are cleaning facilities at a particular lake I am sure that it would be legal to clean them there. I was not mad at the game warden, just kind of an expensive lesson to learn.

I can see that. But the game warden was wrong about cleaning fish once the boat is docked or loaded on the trailer. I have seen guides cleaning clients fish off the back of their trucks at Fayette and there are no cleaning facilities there.

Quite a few boat ramps do not want the fish cleaned there because of the waste issue. Too many fishermen have walked to the ramp and thrown their scraps in the water. This does make for a very unpleasant scene and odor for nearby campers, day guests, and responsible fishermen. As usual, the ones that trash out an area make it tough on the rest of us. Take your guts with you or dump them out there in the lake.

They can ticket you for litering....Dumping fish heads and carcasses in the water at the ramp is about as inconsiderate as it gets.

You can buy a new B&D Workmate that folds up for $30 at Amazon. Add a piece of plywood with a 3/4 X 3/4 strip down the middle for clamping in the workmate and you have the perfect portable fish cleaning table. You can get fancy and add a lip on the left and right ends and a strip on the front to hold a polycarbonate cutting board.

This is what I used before I built my fish cleaning station/sink/smoker shack off the back of my house. Most ironing boards are infinitely height adjustable, so you can stand or sit and filet, or are on uneven ground. Just throw a plastic cutting board on top and go to work.

From the TWPD website:


In order to verify length and species, a fish caught may not have the head or tail removed and may not be filleted until an angler finally lands the catch on the mainland, a peninsula, or barrier island not including jetties or piers and does not transport the catch by boat. For broadbill swordfish and king mackerel, the head or tail may be removed but the remainder of the carcass must remain intact and may not be filleted. For sharks, only the head may be removed. The remainder of the carcass (including the tail) must remain intact and may not be filleted.

Nothing illegal about cleaning them anywhere once you have hit land. You cannot take them back on the boat to another location once they are cleaned. If you got ticketed you should have looked at the law and contested it in court.

Ironing board with a ratchet strap to a tree or post. Makes for real sturdy, adjustable platform
and keeps from having it flip about the time a big bowl full of ice water and filets
starts getting heavy.(Yup,don't ask it can happen!) Cutting a hole in top surface, that fits the bottom of the bowl nicely, keeps it from dancing around or off of the table top too.(again, it can happen). Folds up nice and flat for transport.

My brother bought a stainless steel table from a used restaurant supply company and a heavy duty cutting board. I wanted something taller so I built one using pvc pipe with a plywood top and a big cutting board mounted on the top. For weight I put pvc cross bars near the bottom that hold the ice chest with the fish. Just lift the lid grab a fish and get busy. Fun to design and build and works great.

Bobby not doubting you at all but as usual TPWD contradicts themselves at times. At Bob Hall and Horace Caldwell piers they have fish cleaning stations with water on the piers. They may be for cutting bait but there is no signage stating so. I have cleaned fish on them and had a GW ask me what I caught them on and visit with me while I was cleaning them lol.

Have a look on Amazon.com.