How did people debone fish?

Before tweezers, pliers, and vice grips, how did people debone fish?

fingers and mouth!

Bones make the fish moist and delicious. I could never imagine deboning a fish backpacking. Fry 'em up and pick out the good parts. Spit out the bad parts you missed in step 2.

I (and my mother before me) always cooked the fish with bones in and deboned it with a fork when eating it. The bones separate easily from the cooked flesh! It sounds as though you are trying to do it the hard way!

The few times I've eaten fish at a restaurant, the waiter deboned the cooked fish at the table.