Remove heat, dorsal, pectoral and anal fins. With the fish on its back, cut to the bone from the rear of the opening to the tail on both sides of the backbone.

With the fish on it's back and the head end towards you, insert one tine of the fork under the ribs near the backbone and lift up the fork. This will separate the rib from the meat. Now repeat this process on the opposite side. Continue this process with the ribs until you run out of ribs. Use the fork to separate the ribs as close to the backbone as possible.

You should now be able to lift up on the rib cage and put the tines of the fork between the backbone and the meat along the back of the fish. Lift the ribs up and push the fork down as you move towards the tail. When you get to the tail, cut the backbone off and leave the tail intact.

There are also ribs in trout and salmon that radiate out horizontally from the backbone. These are generally much smaller than the ribs you separated with the fork and tend to stay in the meat as you remove the rest of the skeleton. Lay the fish out on your work surface and feel along the flesh with your fingers for these small bones.

NOTE: If your hands smell fishy, wash them with soap and salt.