“From what I hear these things are so bony they’re a pain to clean.”
I believe they leave the bones in the fried portions like Joe’s photos show but cut through them every 1/8th inch or so
to make the fillets edible. IIRC the same bone-cutting method was shown on an old “Iron Chef” episode with carp or eel.
I’ve used that bone cutting technique on northern pike. Pike aren’t bottom feeders but they are very bony. IMHO one of the tastiest of lake fish once you get past the bones.