Open Country TD-6065-13, Tumble Drumm Sportsman Automatic Fish Scaler, Stainless Steel

I have used it many times and have never had any problems. All I have to do is cut the heads off and take the guts out afterwards It only takes about 12 minutes to do a full batch of about 20 to 25 fish.

After limiting out on Perch for 2 days during an ice fishing trip and my love of skin-on fillets, I knew I needed something to make this easier. This is a game changer and made easy work of 100 9"-14" perch. I got a rhythm going where I was filleting a batch from the tumbler while a new batch was tumbling.Few things to note:1. It can fit 50 fish but don't - its more effective if you don't load it all way. Use your best judgement based on what kind of fish you have.2. When loading it up, try to put fish of the same size class in each batch. I did mine in batches of 10-12 fish (12 9", 10 10", 10, 11", etc). This will make scaling more uniform and consistent.3. It does leave a few sales behind but not many. Those that are still left on the fish are loose enough after tumbling that you can use the back of your knife to brush them off.4. Change the water regularly. If its easy, do it after every batch but I did it after every 2 batches since I wasn't near a water source.I do wish it had some kind of hose attachment and a drain, it would make the drain and refill process easier but I think I might add something myself later.

I’ve used a homemade tumbler scaler for years. It required one to turn the tumbler by a handle. It wasn’t hard but it took time. It was still better than scaling them by hand. It’s done its job and has went to tumbler heaven. One time not having it to clean the fish was enough for me to start looking for a replacement.This unit was about the only thing that I could find so I purchased one. I used it for the first time yesterday. I added 30 crappie to the tumbler and turned it on. Right away I knew that I would love having a motor on it. I left it on for 20 minutes while I gathered up everything for the remaining job. It worked great but 20 minutes was too long. The fish had some damage but nothing that caused an issue. I just need to check on them sooner next time.As of now I’m happy with this unit. My only unknown is whether it will hold up over time.Take care and be safe. Life is good.

This machine will scale fish very quickly and they are clean, free of slime and scales. During the summer season I process 40 or more white perch per day. Scaling the fish before I fillet them reduces the mess on my board thus reduces the time it takes to get the fish from the bucket to the freezer. A great product, I wish I had bought it years ago.

I really love this scaler since it help me to clean the fish faster. I read all other reviews before I placed the order. Just like the other reviews said, it is awesome. I don't need to spend so much time to descale the fish any more. But keep in mind though, you do need to sort the size of fish in order to make it working better.Highly recommended.Heidi on 5/28/14However, it didn't last too long before it broke. I purchased on 5/22 and only use it for three time. I maybe in back luck that received a defective one. I still like this item though. Just like what I commented above, I really saved lots time. I will reorder it anyway. Hopefully, I have better luck this time.Heidi on 6/23/14

Pros: Works well with small and medium sized fishCleans all the fish within 10-15 minutesCons: Big fish with scales will need more timeThe attachment at the end connector will wear out after 4-5 years and cannot be replaced. You may want to go to a machine shop and have it made for U.

i want my money back

We frequently catch brim, small bass and perch for "fish fries" with our friends. It was always such a chore scaling them. With this product we threw in about 15-20 brim/small bass at a time and they were successfully scaled within 10 minutes. I will say that when we through some in that had been on ice overnight, it took about twice as long. I recommend using it for fresh caught fish or at least letting them come back to normal temperature before scaling. I also wouldn't mind a plug at the bottom to drain the water. But as you noted I still gave it a five. Love it! Buy it!