Rather than having to clean up a fish-cleaning station after a day of fishing, I clean all my fish on my boat, as I'm going to have to wash it down anyway. A cleaning station that's the right height saves your back and helps make short work of a large catch. I have a 19-foot boat, which has relatively low gunwales. I have a cutting board that was designed to fit into a gunwale-mounted rod holder, but because of my short gunwales, I found it awkward and uncomfortable to clean fish on it. To remedy this problem, I stuck the butt piece of an old two-piece offshore spinning rod inside the shaft of my cutting board. I placed it in the rod holder, and it was nearly the perfect height for me to stand up and clean my fish. I cut it down a little bit and used epoxy to secure the board to the rod. The rod fits right in the holder, and the gimbal butt keeps it from spinning while I fillet my fish.
Chris Nastasi
Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey
