BeenThereDoneThat.
Check out the dudes on Youtube cleaning catfish with those electric knives.

I now have a sure fire way to keep from catching those pesky critters. I'll buy a electric knife so I can fillet them with little difficulty and I won't catch another one.🎃

I just started keeping channels this past year.  Get all of the red/silver meat out.  Soak the fillets in water in the fridge and change water 3-4 times in 24 hours.  The meat is as white and tasty as just about any other.  They are a breeze to clean.  But feel like a waste with head and ribs being so large and little meat on them.  I've had them without that red/silver meat removed, and was disgusting.  I think this is the issue many have with fish in general.
 
I'll break out my kitchenaid electric knife, if I do a mess of pan fish, depending what they are.  I end up not getting nearly as much meat out of the rib cage area, as I do, if using a standard fillet knife.  Although takes about 1/3 the time.  With perch, I don't like wasting the rib cage meat, too good.  Crappie, I don't mind as much, as they have a nice section of meat behind the belly.  Their "Y" bone at the rib cage is a bit harder to cut through too, and usually end up with just a sliver there anyway.

Y bone at the rib Cage? Any pics to show?

Spoke with my local fish warden this morning at the post office.  He said the new regs. were 20 per person/ 9" long min. 
Later.... Chuckles

20 is plenty if you get em 10" and up, IMHO.

We use electric knives for everything, jus say'IN. Hopathisahelpa

Chauncy I bet Porktown means the false rib or pin bones that separate the loin from the belly meat. Not so much like what we have in Pike and Musky as a Y bone.

Yes, that section of bones is what I am referring to.

treesparrow
Chauncy I bet Porktown means the false rib or pin bones that separate the loin from the belly meat. Not so much like what we have in Pike and Musky as a Y bone.

I've probably cleaned thousands of crappies in my lifetime but I can't figure out what bones you guys are talking about. Would you give me a visual if you have time? Really curious as to what you call Y bones in crappies. PM me if you want too.

By Schul-Naturgeschichte 1891, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.../index.php?curid=33053
 
 The bones that are illustrated as #18. They are located behind the head and are sort of perpendicular from the ribs toward skin and running from each rib part way toward the tale. They are pesky little rascals and if it were not for them I personally would get more fillet off most fish. I have a method for Walleye to remove them and bigger perch, gill, and crappies however waste more  rib meat on smaller fish.
 On Pike this bone is not a straight spike it is the notorious Y bone. I can remove it but it is a chore. In Canada I have watched locals remove it kind of slick but they discard some fillet. I do not have the method down. I use the treesparrow reading glasses and slow dissection method.

Check out 2 minutes into this video.  This is a bluegill, but I am pretty sure crappie have, perch definitely do.  I think most fish have?  I know walleye, trout, bluefish, redfish, croaker, black drum, pompano, striped bass, ect. all have.  Definitely different than pike, which I have only filleted maybe 5 in my life, and mostly butchered.  Definitely using the wrong terminology in "Y" bone above.  With crappie, their rib bones go so close to the skin, I usually have a hard time to get a good rib section of meat without messing it up.  It is usually at the point where most fish's "pin bones" are, where I have difficulty on crappie.  I wasn't sure if their bones are thicker causing the issue, but I think it is more the ribs running so close to the skin.  
 
When I fillet just about any fish, I will do similar to this video.  Run a cut through the back along the spine about 1/4" in, just to cut the skin first.  Then work the knife along the back, until it hits the rib cage, then work the knife around the rib cage.  Right at the lateral line, there is a series of bones that I cut through, then follow along the rib cage to grab that meat.  Once I have the fillet off, I rub my finger along that line to find them, and make a cut on the top and bottom of those bones and take them out.  Just about every crappie fillet video that I have watched, guys don't save that meat.  It is paper thin, but when fried is like chicken skin, and probably horrible for you, but delicious...      
 
When cleaning a mess of fish, I break out my electric knife and just cut right down along the spine and through the rib cage.  Then cut around disregard the rib meat (which has these pin bones in), and takes 1/3 of the time. 
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Itbh_H-NtU0

Thanks Treesparrow!  Definitely #18.