Cordless fillet knife

Time to replace my corded fillet knife. What is everybody using? Leaning towards Rapala lithium

I had a Rapala Lithium and it was a fine knife. I bought a bubba last year and I like it much better.

Musky, curious what you like better. I have the Rapala currently.

I got an Cabela’s branded cordless knife for Christmas, it worked great for LOTW fish cleaning. Only cleaned at most 14 fish at a time, battery was not an issue at all, and I know that some of the better knives work much better when cleaning a lot more fish at one time, but this knife with the 3 blade choices worked much better than expected.

I have used Rapala cordless, and several corded fillet knives.

John Rasmussen wrote:

Musky, curious what you like better. I have the Rapala currently.

I like the Bubba better. Seems better built. I had NO issues with the rapala however. The bubba just feels sturdier and is quieter too. I gave the Rapala to a friend of my son’s.

I have the older rapala cordless lithium, and bought a bubba, rapala worked fine but bubba seems almost as fast as a corded one

I have the rapala lithium and really like it. Curious for guy’s with the bubba how is the blade for crappies/other panfish? More or less forgiving then the rapala?

gunsmith89 wrote:

I have the rapala lithium and really like it. Curious for guy’s with the bubba how is the blade for crappies/other panfish? More or less forgiving then the rapala?

If you buy the kit I think there are 4 blades in there. THere is one that is very skinny and I would think it would work very well for panfish, though I have not used it for that. I have used the regular one and it works very well.

Haven’t used the Bubba. Picked up a Rapala R12 on sale at Scheels this winter. It works really well and seems to be a lot faster than the older Rapala lithiums.

I got the Bubba for Christmas. Love it!

Random Note:

I saw a true first this Winter. When we were at URL I watched a guy using a Milwaukee 18V hackzall with a very long fine metal blade that he could really bend. The thing was shockingly neat. When I asked him about it he said the metal blade with the finest teeth worked great and the only drawback was the weight. He said his work basically supplied him with dozens of blades whenever, so he always used a “new” one to clean fish and then would use it for work later. He did have a buddy skinning the fillets with a hand knife next to him.

There was a company selling fillet blades for reciprocating saws. I thought about trying one out but never took the plunge. https://filletzall.com/

Has bubba made improvements recently? We had several knives going last year and the bubba was about the slowest. I wasn’t happy with any of the cordless knives, the corded ones cut a lot better especially on bigger fish with heavier bones.

I’m a fan of the Bubba. I love the extra battery and blades.

Bubba for sure. My hand couldn’t take the heat of the rapala. Two batteries, four sets of blades. Very nice case. Well worth the money. I just knifed 60 sunfish and crappies, worked very well.

I have a Rapala that the battery went bad. If a replacement is half the price of the knife. Think I’ll try Bubba. They seem to put a little more into their products.

Bubba here too.
Bubba

The new Rapala R12 is far superior in my opinion to the old Rapala Lithium Ion. It’s faster and more powerful.
I haven’t used the Bubba cordless.

OK everyone thanks for all with you input. Decided on the Bubba got it on Amazon. Didn’t get the pro they had the best price. Going to Alaska in July for reds. That will be the real test. Thanks everyone

Bubba, get the kit with four blades and a spare battery. The small thin blades are amazing for crappie and bluegill. I’ve used the thick large blades on 5-12lb wipers. Works great on those big boned fish. And ergonomically better than all the rest for me.

Random Bump.

I got the chance to put both a Rapala R12 HD and the Bubba top cordless knife to walleyes this week. They are both pretty impressive.

The R12HD was the clear winner for me with the ceramic blades and long lasting battery. I cleaned 6 16-18” eyes with each knife. After 6 fish from start to finish the R12HD still showed 4/4 bars on the battery meter.

I see they have the Rapala R12HD on sale at Reeds for $119 right now.

^if that includes the 2 batteries, 2 sets of ceramic coated blades, and case…that’s a good deal

It dose and I have one ordered. Best price that I have seen !!

If you already have an electric knife you like, I have been using this for a while now. Hang it on your belt and and you can clean fish anywhere. Plus, you can use it for other things besides a knife. For me already having the batteries it was a much better choice. It was $99 for the bare tool at home depot when I got it

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James Almquist wrote:

I see they have the Rapala R12HD on sale at Reeds for $119 right now.

When did Reeds start charging to ship items over $100.00?

Denny O wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>James Almquist wrote:</div>
I see they have the Rapala R12HD on sale at Reeds for $119 right now.

When did Reeds start charging to ship items over $100.00?

Not sure when they started but I did not have a choice on shippers as well. I think it was $13 something to ship but the price made it still a decent deal.

I own the Bubba and like it. Others have said the handle is too big and I agree. But I watched my nephew fillet a bunch of crappies with his American Angler and it was impressive! He said it runs smoother than the Bubba. I actually bought the same blades he had and put them in my Bubba. I had to remove the black guards on the hilt of the blades. Works for me.

Onthewater wrote:

If you already have an electric knife you like, I have been using this for a while now. Hang it on your belt and and you can clean fish anywhere. Plus, you can use it for other things besides a knife. For me already having the batteries it was a much better choice. It was $99 for the bare tool at home depot when I got it

ONthewater Just curious, Do you notice any power loss or slow down from your knife using this? This seems like a good idea!

I’ll sell you a lightly used bubba lithium for $90.
Bought a second when on a trip because I forgot mine at home.