Big Norm-Feets 88111 Magic Fish Scaler

My dad retired a couple years back, which means he's gotten a lot more fishing time in. Problem is, he fills up his freezer full of bass faster than he can be bothered to clean them. I ran into the magic fish scaler while looking for a filet board, and had my doubts from looking at the thing, but figured I'd take the plunge due to all the good reviews. After my dad saw the thing, he figured I'd been sold some snake oil as well. No way this rattling plastic toy could be better than a good ol' knife. Fast forward to today, when he decided it was finally time to clear out some freezer spacer and called me over to lighten the workload. We each donned our dish gloves and grabbed a bass, him with his knife and me with the magic scaler. Both of us were floored when I cleaned a whole side bare in the time it took him to make it an inch up the tail. It took 1 bass for him to ask when I was ordering another. I honestly have no idea how this thing works; it just does. Big scales, the small annoying scales, the tough-to-get scales near the fins - Norm's magic creation brushes them all off with ease. A quick rinse under some running water cleans the thing up, and while it doesn't catch every scale, it does keep them good and contained to the workspace; if I was using a knife, I'd be picking scales out of my hair. And the speed is just incredible. We had 8 15+ inch baddies naked as could be before the flies even had time to catch on to what we were doing. If you think you'll ever scale a fish in your lifetime, just buy this thing. Works like a charm, American made, and it's like 10 bucks. 5 stars. If Big Norm ever makes a magic gutting tool, my dad might just be at the lake every day.

My father loves this! He said it works like a dream!

This thing works great!

Awesome scaler! Bought one years ago at a bass pro shops. Saw these and bought them for my brother in laws for Christmas gifts. Sure beats a butter knife!

I have always resisted purchasing specialized tools in the kitchen so I just used the back of a knife for the longest time. After reading some good reviews and Amazon putting this item on sale, I decided to give it a try. First of all, it reduced the time it took for me to descale a whole salmon from 10-15 minutes down to about 5 min. Second, it reduced the amount of fly away scales so cleanup was faster and easier. Third, even though I had never cut myself and am very comfortable with kitchen knives, I realize that this is much safer than my old method of cleaning. The only downside is that it is a bit harder to clean the tool itself. Scales tend to get stuck between the nubs but a good rinse and a stiff brush did the job nicely.

This fish scaler gets scales off easily and thoroughly.

We usually use tablespoons to scale our bream but found this scaler at a box store. Pleasantly surprised how well it worked so we had to order more! Great tool and price was good too. Highly recommend if scaling fish!

I like to scale our perch but they are narrow fish with small scales. Tried spoons, other traditional "teethy" scalers but tend to rip the fish and wrench them out of your gloved hand. This tool literally scrubs the scales off. They do not fly all over and they do not gouge the fish. If you want to scale your fish - use this!