how to clean a catfish

[icehook]

How do you clean a catfish. I cleand one the same way as a walleye and fried it up and it tasted so fishy you couldnt eat it i figure i did something wrong because i have had them in a resturant and they are good. Which are better flat or channel cats i have been catching mainly channels. So right now im just doing catch and release but would like to eat one every once and awhile any help would be nice.

[CatManLee]

I fillet my catfish the same way I do with Walleye. Just make sure you get all the dark meat cut out. The dark meat is what makes it taste "fatty", and can ruin the whole meal.

I think this is the biggest mistake people make, not getting all the dark meat removed.

I will usually cut out the latteral line and any dark meat as mentioned above, when done you should have a nice white colored fillet. Then I cut mine into smaller chunks or strips, (about 5 or 6 per fillet cut vertically) then deep fry my catfish covered in a 50/50 mix of corn meal and flour. mmmm,mmmm...I'm making myself hungry just typing this!

Follow these steps and I promise your fish will taste good.

Enjoy!!!!

[hanson]

I would also suggest frying them up as Catfish fingers or smaller chunks. If you try and cook the entire fillet, it won't cook evenly and thoroughly and will be very fishy tasting.

The other trick to cat is fast deep frying. You need really hot oil and only cook the fish for a couple minutes on each side if that. The quicker they fry, the lighter and flakier the meat will be.

CatManLee is also correct on fillet preparation, you MUST remove the yellow tinted meat from the dorsal fin area and the belly. The other area to cut out is the mudline which is the dark line of meat found where the lateral line is. You should be left with only nice white meat.

[Wiskers]

I also clean cats like Walleye. You have to start by snipping off the top fin and both side fins to make it easier for beginners. Then you start just behind the head plate and more to the back area. Go along the top of the ribs and work your way down above all the bones until you get past the ribs then it is all the same from there. You will not loose much meat and it goes real fast after you get the hang of it. One trick I do is I drill a hole in my cleaning board or table to put the side spike in, then they lay flat. No deboneing, you can clan seveal cats to one Eye.

Happy fishing.