Don't self-intimidate yourself. It sounds more complicated than it is. Basically you are gut & gilling from the back instead of the belly. It's a little more time consuming, and a little more messy. But worth the effort, IMO.

I would start with a fresh water fish to learn the technique. Maybe a trout or small black bass. Yellow perch would be ideal.

By the time you're comfortable with the technique the puppy drum should be running, and it's an ideal method for cooking a small one of those. Ditto small channel bass. I would reserve stripers the size you've been catching them for a party. But a barely-legal one would work nicely for a family meal.

I know our catch limit during trophy season is one per person per day 18" and up, but later in the season we can have 2 between 18"-24" I believe. Still a bit intimidating. I'm going to search YouTube to see if I can come up with a video of someone demonstrating it.

I thought it was, in practical terms, a 16" limit. Some places you measure from lips to end of tail, in others from lips to fork. But, admittedly, I haven't kept up.

Even so, an 18 inch striper isn't all that big. And once you exclude the head, the edible portion is barely more than a foot, a nice size for 6 portions.

Hey! Are we the only anglers on the list? I'm surprised nobody else has jumped in.

I know, really! The filets we got out of those monsters were massive. Wish there wasn't a limit, but I guess that's what overfishing the bay for so many years will do

OK KYH! At your invitation I am jumping in.........LOVE to fish and eat my catch; no catch & release for me!!! I just have not been in a while and I miss it. But I must say my favorite means of fishing is with a cane pole and catching catfish and brim!!! Just pan fry the brim and deepfry the cat's and yep I clean 'em myself. Chef Boy once you get the hang of fileting it's a cinch:) You just need a good sharp knife.

KYH I love the recipes and ideas you have posted here though! LOVE stuffed fish, but my all time favorite is Grecian Style broiled fish. Not much of a chance to do salt water fishing here, but lots of fresh water fishing. I miss it:(

By the way Chef Boy I am unable to open the photo you posted maybe can you put it as a photo on your profile and then I can see it?
Thanks, CCCathy