fishsniffer.com - Cleaning a catfish????

FISHIN_ROD

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Cleaning a catfish????
May 16^th, 2007 at 10:15pm

What is the best way to clean a cat fish? when I was a kid, was the last time I kept a catfish. My dad use to pull the skin off of them with pliers. Is this the way to clean a catfish or can I just clean them like a bass or stripper?

I plan on fishing Melones within the next couple weeks, from my boat. any advice on where to fish would be a help. I plan on trying Angels Creek.

Any info would be great.
thank you,
rodney

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&&21' TROPHY 2002 W/A WITH A MERCURY O/B.

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DeltaDog Gold Member Offline The man is richest, whose pleasures are cheapest. Posts: 996 Lodi Gender:	Re: Cleaning a catfish???? Reply #1 - May 16^th, 2007 at 10:42pm Just fillet them out and then filet off the skin as you would any other fish. I am planning on focusing my efforts around the Glory Hole area. I believe thats where the lake record was caught...off the bank...with a vienna sausage!! 36 lbs I think..... Dog
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FISHIN_ROD Senior Member Offline SEMPER FI Posts: 364 CALAVERAS Gender:	Re: Cleaning a catfish???? Reply #2 - May 16^th, 2007 at 10:50pm Thank you for the info! This next week my friend and I are going to try for some cats? The cats I use to eat as a kid where channel cats I believe, but are all the cats in Melones good to eat? Are the smaller cats better to eat? Do the larger ones taste fine?
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fusionstar

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Re: Cleaning a catfish????
Reply #3 - May 17^th, 2007 at 12:35am

FISHIN_ROD wrote on May 16^th, 2007 at 10:15pm:

Is this the way to clean a catfish or can I just clean them like a bass or stripper

You clean a stripper with a dollar bill! Grin

If your lazy like i am, just gut the fish, cut off the head, scold the skin with hot water and scrape off the top dark layer of skin. cut it up, dip it in batter, and fry it up. the bones are no problem because they are pretty big. I find the skin taste really good compared to the meat, like chicken skin is unhealthy but so good.

I don't keep old catfish, to much metal contaminates, I usually keep 5lb'ers max to eat, the rest I just hand off to my buddy and his family because they don't care. a couple 5lber's is enough to pig out with some buddies.

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&&&&Caught so far&&Large M. Bass 17lb 0oz &&Small M. Bass 6lb 12oz&&Striped Bass 36lb 1oz&&Carp 35lb 0oz &&Catfish 22lb 6oz&&Blue Gill 1lb 9oz&&Sturgeon 69"&&Rods/Reels 1 - Shimano Convergence + Shimano Sedona combo&&Plastic Bag 1 - Safeway 1 - Raleys&&A perfectly round rock on a shad jig. <-- true story

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Wolf74 Gold Member Offline Drunken fishing, how legends are made. Posts: 1275 Elk Grove Gender:	Re: Cleaning a catfish???? Reply #4 - May 17^th, 2007 at 4:30am Is skinning a catfish necessary? Every time I cook catfish I usualy cut them in chunks and make a fish fry skin and all. I never really had a problem with the way the skin tasted.
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FISHIN_ROD Senior Member Offline SEMPER FI Posts: 364 CALAVERAS Gender:	Re: Cleaning a catfish???? Reply #5 - May 17^th, 2007 at 2:04pm I am not a skin eater. I think I will try and filet them.
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EastBayAngler

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Re: Cleaning a catfish????
Reply #6 - May 17^th, 2007 at 5:25pm

DeltaDog wrote on May 16^th, 2007 at 10:42pm:

Just fillet them out and then filet off the skin as you would any other fish. I am planning on focusing my efforts around the Glory Hole area. I believe thats where the lake record was caught...off the bank...with a vienna sausage!! 36 lbs I think.....
Dog

I would have to agree with DD...The whole nail to the board thing and ripping skin off with pliers is way too hard...Just fillet it off the backbone...And turn it over and fillet it off the skin! Buttermilk and cornmeal and POW...Hushkitties Grin

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Doc Rhen

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Re: Cleaning a catfish????
Reply #7 - May 24^th, 2007 at 12:09am

The Slickest method I have seen involves an electric knife and a custom spring fish holder. The guy I was watching had a badly deformed hand from an accident making the fish holder a requirement for him. He would just run the electric knife along the backbone leaving the ribcage with the fillet. He would turn the knife and trim out the ribcage second and then run the skin third. Small twist of the wrist and repeat the process on the other side. He was doing a little more than a fish a minute that way.

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"Do or Do Not, there is no try." -Yoda

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basstracker85

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Re: Cleaning a catfish????
Reply #8 - Jun 8^th, 2007 at 7:18pm

my way is to bend the head up a lil and you will get two bulges behind the head. thingy it with your knife and grab the skin with some pliers. when you pull back try to keep both sides even and it will all come off easy. then twist the head off and you should pull most the guts out with it. after that cut him open and get all the lil remainders...fastest method i got

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i fish for all fish but...a bass is a bass

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zwh Junior Member Offline Posts: 67 Modesto, Ca. Gender:	Re: Cleaning a catfish???? Reply #9 - Jun 8^th, 2007 at 10:16pm How does a catfish taste? I've never had it. Most people seem to cringe at the thought of eating catfish but it's gotta be worth a try...
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campboss

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Re: Cleaning a catfish????
Reply #10 - Jun 9^th, 2007 at 12:57am

zwh wrote on Jun 8^th, 2007 at 10:16pm:

How does a catfish taste? I've never had it. Most people seem to cringe at the thought of eating catfish but it's gotta be worth a try...

I think it depends on the size of the fish and where they where caught. The smaller fish under 5 pounds are what I prefer to keep when we decide to have a catfish fry and anything over 5 pounds gets there picture taken and released to fight another day. Also make sure you clean it very well you don't want any fat or dark looking meat. And I don't recomend leaving the skin on unless you really like that fishy taste.
As far as where you catch them, some bodies of water produce better tasteing fish than others. And that's just my opinion.
I prefer to cut them up in nuggets and deep fry them in a seasoned BEER batter. YUMMY

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. Global Moderator Offline Posts: 6085 Gender:	Re: Cleaning a catfish???? Reply #11 - Jun 10^th, 2007 at 6:44am I also use an electric knife to get threw the bones when filleting then I take the skin off with a regular fillet knife. When Im at the lake I do it all with a regular one but it is harder. I think it is easier to fillet them then to do the other way and it looks nicer on the plate.
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BaitMaster YaBB Newbies Offline I love the Fish Sniffer! Posts: 18	Re: Cleaning a catfish???? Reply #12 - Jun 10^th, 2007 at 6:34pm I just filleted out a couple cats last night, with the intent of eating them today...mmmmm. What is the best way to store fish in the fridge?
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