fish are pretty simple. ngl, I rarely prep my own fish and I have never cleaned a whole fish before. this is mainly because I don't want to eat anything out of my local watershed due too heavy salt and fertilizer usage in my part of the country. that said, the most common method for cleaning fish that I see is to cut the head off right behind the gill flaps. You can also cut the fins off, but it's not super necessary in most instances. next, slice open the fish from the ventral side by running your knife from where you cut the head off to to tail. Just be careful not to rupture any organs lest you contaminate the meat. next, take a good sharp knife and shave the meat off the bones as best you can (this is assuming it's a bonier fish. some species are pretty difficult to do this on because they have smaller bones). Much like with a chicken breast, this should produce two filets with one being on each side of the fishes spine. Lastly, the easier thing to do is probably too pan sear it with the scales/skin still on. If you keep the scales on, cook the fish with the scales facing down. at this point, you can season it however u like (I usually just douse my filets in lemon juice or olive oil, salt, and pepper). cook it and your done. alternatively, you can bake it and that often works well too.
