Skate Filets and Cheeks Skates, considered the bane of many bait fishermen and but a tasty choice if you know how to handle them and cook them. Skate with a wing span of 18in or more will yeild about the same meat as an equally sized fluke. Immediately upon harvest the skate should be dispatched humanly, the wings removed and iced. These little gems are from the cheeks and are gathered by cutting around the mouth and freeing from the jaw. Fileting the wings is similiar to center parting a fluke. Start from the thicker cut side of the wing and lay your knife flat against the rib like bones (actually cartilage) and free the filet. Flip it over and run the knife against the skin like you do with any other filet. (The "ribs " can deep fried and used as a plating decoration or even salted and eaten like a chip ) Take your filets and cheeks and let soak overnite in milk. Recipe to follow. #brooklynfishingclub #hookingandcooking #saltlife #seafood #foodporn #love