cleaning big catfish

[slabmaster]

i think the best and fastest way to clean a blue or a flathead over 10 lbs is to polk a hole in there bottom lip with a fillet knife. i then take a good stout rope and tie a loop in the end of it ." any rope will do as long as its strong enough to support the weight of the fish and the force exerted to pull the skin from the flesh." hang the fish from a limb, clothes line pole . tractor bucket or maybe even an a frame you have setting around"the possabilities are vast here" hang the fish at a height that is comfortable. i have found if the gill plate is about eye level i dont have to stoop or reach to clean the beast.aafter hanging the fish i like to cut the tail offand bleed them out. this methode works best if the fish is still alive . the bleeding will be more complete. after removeing the tail i wait 5 minutes or so before i begin to skin the fish.useing a very sharp knife cut the skin just below the gills oround the circumfrence of the fish . next with the fish turned so the dorsal fin is directly in front of me i maake to verticle slices from the top of the head down the sides of th dorsal fin. the fish is now ready to skin.useing your fish skinners simpl remove skin starting aat the head and working toward the tail. with the skin removed turn the fishes belly toward youslice him open and remove the intrails. at this point you can go two ways.one is to just fillet the fish while its hanging" word of caution DONT DROP THE FILLET IF YOUR DOGS AARE HELPING CLEAN THE FISH" you could end up killing fido with a fillet knife in a fit of rage. the other way you can go if you want to steake the fish is to have your partner hold the head while you twist the carcass to break the fishes spine. sometimes this is tough depending on the size of the fish. i prefer this second method when im going to smoke a flathead . at this point in the cleaning process i usually wash the fish and place it in an ice chest with icy salt water in it to soak out the last bits of blood. one last thing that i have not mentioned is that i sometimes like to wear my rain suit or a slicker when im cleaning big fish especially if i have several to clean at once that way you dont ruin your clothes with fish blood . this is the way i do it and i can do it a lot faster than i can type it. hope this helps someone who didnt know

[Sinker]

Good description. Hanging IS better than on a table, cause gravity does a lot of the werk for ya. Havin chickens runnin around loose is ok too, cause they clean up all the mess an help keep down the flies. It's a good deal all around really, cause the chickens will nearly clean a carcass, and are still available in case ya got somebody around that don't like fish!
Onlt thing I do different is I never soak fish in salt water. To me it seems like they get tough on the exposed areas. We put'em in cold water in a sealed container and refrigerate as soon as possible.

[slabmaster]

humm . i'll try to leave the salt out next time just to see . thanks for reply. oh by the way i got me sum of them yard birds to. every body talks about guinnes , but my chickens are tick killin machines. but thats another thread

[yeehaw]

sounds good, i've never heard of that but i'll have to try it if i decide to keep a big one, usuall i'll just take a pic and let it go. But i have kept a few.

[jtrew]

The only time I'll skin a catfish is if I'm keeping some dinks to cook whole. Regardless of size, I lay the fish on the table, fillet both sides, then fillet the skin off. But, I use a slightly different filleting method that someone turned me onto. Instead of making a cut straight across, right behind the gills, I make a cut from just behind the dorsal fin to just behind the anus. This misses both the rib cage and the stomach cavity. Yes, on the larger fish there is enough meat along the top of the ribcage and the backbone to bother with, but that's easily removed and provide about two bites on each side if it's a 10# fish.

[Wolfman]

1. Pick up cat by lipping.
2. Cuss cat and tell it to quit chewing and flopping, then demand it release your thumb.
3. Lay cat belly down on flat surface.
4. Smack cat between the eyes and slightly behind with a large hammer stunning it.
5. Hang cat by large hook or heavy wire through lower lip.
6. Skin cat. Bleeding is optional.
7. Cook cat.
8. Eat cat...lol

I still skin my cats. Slice down the back on each side of the fin and around behind the gills. Peel it off with the nippers. On cats big enough i even skin the head and peel two steaks off it.
Soak in saltwater(pickeling salt) overnight if i don't cook it immediately. I rarely bleed them as they bleed out quite well while skinning and gutting then the saltwater removes any residual blood.

I could go for some nice fresh catfish steaks, ear corn with butter, asparagus smothered in butter, hush puppies, fried potates with onions with green onions on the side. And of course a nice cold glass of buttermilk to finsh it off.
Some sugared strawberries for desert. Yum yum...lol

[showmebob]

OK, all this talk about cleaning cats over 10 lbs. How bout the minnow size ones I catch (2 -3lbs). I have been filleting them and using Townsend fish skinning pliers on them . The pliers have a roller on them that does a great job. Ever seen em? They work for all fish. How bout on a large cat just slicing the fillets into strips and then rolling the Townsends over them? Let me know in case I ever catch any cats worth takin a pic of.

[donkey]

Dont reckon I ever seen a "Townsend".

Cept maybe a Pete Townsend. lol

I dont think they sell em at Wally World.

[Whiskers]

I've never used the Townsends but they look like a pretty neat contraption.

Townsends Skinners

[Hoot]

THAT THERE THING LOOKS LIKE A FUNKIE CHEESE CUTTER, DOES IT REALLY WORK LIKE THE ADD SAYS?

[Hoot]

I PREFER THE SKINNING PLIERS, I LIKE TO SLING THE SKIN ACROSS THE YARD.

[donkey]

Ma had sumthin that looked like that. She used it in her noodle makin. Even had the crank on the side.

I bet she had one an didnt know what it was. Thawt it was a noodle cutter.

[Whiskers]

Here is another sd for them and not a bad price.
Townsends Skinner

[Sinker]

What does this bunch have any use fer skinnin pliers? No more fish than this outfit has caught, any of us could eat'em whole! RAW!

[Whiskers]

lol! You may be right.I think I'm on track to make this my worst year of fishing yet,no more than I've been. Those flatties oughtta be gettin hungry by now.Are they done on the nest now over your way?