flathead for food

[ikeslayer]

Are flatties any good to eat. If so how do you make them. Any recipes willing to share would be appreciated. thanks ike

[maj330]

Never eaten flatheads that I caught but have eaten lots of US farm-raised catfish which are usually channel cats. I either bake the fillets with a spicey rub or lightly bread them and pan fry for fish and chips.

[Dennis Steele]

They taste absolutly terrible!!

Actually, I don't know.

They are considered by many, including myself, a "trophy" species, much like musky.

I do not allow my clients to keep any flathead caught in my boat.

That being said I have entertained the idea of trying a small one( under 4lbs). I would not eat a large one because of the level of contaminates they may contain. The MN Rive was not long ago considered the most poluted river in the nation and I am sure that those old cats are just plain nasty.

[hanson]

Ike-

You got my nerves on end earlier in the day when I read your post. I've settled down a little now and think I can type straight.

To make it short, what Dennis said.

This has been my first serious year flathead catfishing. I have personally not landed very many. It has not been from lack of effort though! I would say I'm going on 1 fish for every 5 outings right now. I'm not kidding either. There are a few folks on this board who can vouch for the effort I have put into this. Yes, they are very good catmen! Yes, I am fishing fairly reliable spots too!

My opinion, like Dennis's, is flathead catfish are trophy fish, just like a muskie. Even the small ones are trophies to me and I would not consider eating any of them because of that.

If you want to eat catfish, keep a few of the smaller channel cats (2-6lbs). They are absolutely delicious and I will keep them quite often. Channel cats are more abundant and a wee bit easier to catch than flathead cats.

If we start talking about channel cat recipes, I'll jump into the conversation with more detail.

I don't want to come across as a jerk, I just feel that strongly about catch & release of flathead catfish.

[Guest]

These guys have said it like it should be.. flatheads should be targeted as a trophy.. not a meal. I have kept a couple in my life(small fish) and they taste ok.. but they are no better than channel cats. In all honesty, it is a waste of a fish to keep a small flathead.. not much meat.. all head and guts.

Channel cats are way more abundant and will consistantly produce a meal when you want one.. I would stretch it down to keeping them uder 5 pounds for the best eating. The tend to get stringy when they get larger than that.. your rolling the dice with anything over 5. Channels from a natural setting taste way better than farm raised cats. The feed for fish in captivity is pretty nasty... and not to mention, toxic. If you look into eating restrictions on trout stocked in lakes.. there will be signs warning fo fish containing low levels of PCB's.. those chemicals are from the feed in captivity.

The eating restrictions have been eased somewhat just within the last couple years on some rivers in the state.. they do take better care these days.. when you start thinking about eating a mature flathead.. that fish was swimming when the waters werent so great.. not that they are wonderful now.

[fiskyknut]

PCB's in commercial fish feed eh, being fed to fish raised for human consumption on usda/usfda regulated fish farms. At what percentages? Okay you have got to tell me where you heard or read this 'cause I just don't buy it??? Shades of that fishinghurts peta rhetoric/propoganda I read of some time back.

Last summer I had a good sized pond dug on some property I own and checked into the viability of a aquaculture license vs. my wholesale minnow dealer license and any benfits and tax breaks that may lend me on account of aquaculture being an ag business. After researching and obtaining all kinds of info from mnseagrant, mndnr, mn dept of ag, mnpca, usfda, usepa, usda and other agencies I found out alot of things regarding aquaculture in this state/country, one being the regs regarding feed and storage of feed is quite strindgent in many ways for minnows let alone foodfishes. Feed can be and is periodically checked and subject to various tests for quality and contaminents, even containment of feed has lots of hoops for one to jump thru as well.

Ike as to eating flatheads....I was stationed at Ft Bragg NC for a spell back in the eighties and got to sample some excellent Catfishing on the Cape fear and PeeDee rivers as well as lakes Marion and Moultrie in SC and a few others. Well our crew would bring back Cats to the barracks for a major fish fry on occasion. Depending on where we fished we could have Channels, Flatties, blues and Whites. I'm telling you the flats went quickest and these were some catfish eatin' southern boys of all colors and creeds. Catfish are way popular down there for sport as well as foodfish and I found it rather surprising how much folks from the south liked those Flatheads considering the 'local' name for them is Mudcat! I prefered White Catfish over the rest of the cat types but usually just ate the 'bream' and 'specks', Sunfish and Crappie to us Yankees.

I am certain some folks would differ with the opinion that the farm raised Channels don't taste better than those from a 'natural setting' as the taste of catfish can vary from one body of water to another bigtime.

Perhaps a flathead is a 'trophy' up here due to scarcity of waters they inhabit and/or scarcity of large ones up in MN in general but down there they're everywhere and were even commercially fished and sold in markets.

Save the big Flatties but if Ike enjoys fish and eats a couple smaller ones every now and then I doubt he is gonna decimate the population. I'm not saying keep them all or keep those big ones but a meal of fish is a good thing now and then.

fiskyknut

[vern]

FisherDave, do you really think a "farm raised" channel cat has more chemicals in it than a MN River cat? Or one from the Mississippi, Red, Crow etc.? Not trying to start a debate, I'm just curious to hear some more details. I keep a few small channels now & then but I usually just buy a couple fillets at Byerly's or Lunds. It's hard to beat $2.99 a pound when you don't have to do any real cleaning. I'll have to try the taste test sometime though. Oh yeah, & don't eat the flatheads! It takes a long time up here for flats to reach monster size compared to those southern states. We need to protect these big fish. - Vern

[hanson]

Quote:

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Save the big Flatties but if Ike enjoys fish and eats a couple smaller ones every now and then I doubt he is gonna decimate the population. I'm not saying keep them all or keep those big ones but a meal of fish is a good thing now and then.

---

Your probably right there Fisky. My problem is if I'm going out to catch a meal of fish, there is no way I'm targeting flatties. Ain't going to happen. I would go hungry!

Channels on the other hand I could limit out on most every time I head out. The bonus is I could do this in the daylight too and release a handful while at it.

Once you fish downtown Minneapolis and get a good whiff of the mighty Miss. there, I don't know why you would eat anything caught downstream of that location.

[fiskyknut]

I know what you mean with it Chris. Ike lives in Marion, where that is I have no clue. Downstream from the twin cities? No clue. As to what he is targeing fishwise, again no clue. Which watershed he fishes no clue. Ike goes out to try and catch a few Channels or something worthy of the fryer, Ike can't get an eatin' size Channel cat no matter how hard he tries. He does manage to catch 8 puny Bullheads not worthy of the fryer, 7 Sheepshead and a bunch of Goldeyes none of which worthy of the fryer. He does however luckout and catches a 22 inch Flathead catfish, hmmm that'd be pretty tastey looking then in that case to Ike maybe.

I was just answering his question regarding palatability which seemed was kind of lost somewhere. I was also curious as to 'that guys' source of info in regards to PCB laden commercial fish feed. Had my curiosity not been struck by that post I most likely would not have posted at all.

I'm all about catch and release and yes even I get to let a big fish of one kind and a few others go now and then, some of these may even be considered 'trophy' fish too. I let back a whole lot of eating size fish of one kind or another too, but sometimes one must 'catch and release into the grease' now and then too eh!

Don't wanna cause a comotion, fuss or anything like that just fielded Ike's question.

So Hanson are you all set for next weekend then? Sounds like Walleyejon will indeed be accompanying us Saturday in pursuit of the mighty Lake Sturgeon coursing the depths of the Rainy river. He's not sure about meeting out on the Red though so it looks like just you and I and those dinky Channel cats again that day.

On a lighter note.....Sheeees some of you Cat folks are getting as bad as those pansy flyrod trout guys when it comes to the C&R!!! J/K! Wait a minute I resemble that remark.

Way too many hours of data entry tonite man.

Regards....fiskyknut, Jack of all fishes....Master of some!

[hanson]

Sure am ready Fisky. I can't wait! Its gonna be an awesome weekend.

This topic definitely has 2 sides to it. I can't speak to how they taste, never eaten one. Don't plan on it either. Them southerners do like their catfish though, even the BIG flatties get eaten. Most of those guys noodlin' them flatties aren't letting them go, they go right into the boat. Many of the other states have no harvest restrictions on them either- seasons open year round with no limits.

How to cook cat? Nothing better than deep fried. Hot oil, a good batter, and a few minutes later you are in business. Mmmmm...

[Hotspotter]

I would offer maybe an alternative suggestion to the incidence of contaminants (like PCBs) in lakes stocked with trout.

Perhaps we're talking more about methlmercury and acid rain in this case? I say this, because these types of pollution are more typical of trout-stocked lakes in MN; most of which are concentrated in the northern 1/3 of the state.

These lakes are deep, oligotrophic bodies of water, surrounded by a more acidic environment. The water is typically slightly more acidic, has lower alkalinity, and thus lower buffering capacity. Acid rain is a bigger problem in this part of the state because of inability of the lakes in the region to withstand the effects of it, not necessarily because they receive more.

The slightly acidic rain allows greater movement of methylmercury, aluminum, and other metals that occur naturally and un-naturally in the environment. Baitfish absorb and ingest these contaminants and end up effectively bioaccumulating in larger predatory fish.

There is also research suggesting that PCBs become more mobile in an acidic system, causing many of the same problems that methylmercury does.

I would suggest that much of the PCB, mercury, and other contaminant levels in fish found in typical MN trout-stocked lakes, are more a function of geology and water quality characteristics for lakes found in this part of the state.

Sorry for the long-winded response....i really dig this stuff.

Joel

[Guest]

Im not saying farm raised fish are more toxic than minnesota, mississippi, amazon, nile, or any other river in the world.

I simply made the statement that the feed used in rearing ponds does contain levels of PCB's.

The next time I am at a local lake that holds trout (Christmas or Square for me) I will take a picture of the signs for all of you folk.. the signs tell it as it is.. *Trout in these waters contain low levels of PCB's* .. its not from the lake, its from the feed at the hatcheries, and rearing ponds.

We are what we eat.. that goes for the food we eat also.

I'm sure *Rose Grow* would be an excellent tomato fertilizer.. but I am not sure I would want eat the tomato's.

I am not here to debate, nor cause one... this has already gone way off topic.. why doesnt this surprise me.

Eat the flathead. The really big ones taste wonderful. In all reality, it will probably be no more toxic than smoking a cigarette. After eating the fish you will see you wont glow in the dark... from there, take a trip up to the Red and have some of them big channels.. i'm sure they would be good smoked.

The Feed they use in rearing ponds contain PCB's.. its that simple.. how much settles into the fish for how long.. I have no idea. I am sure it varies greatly on how long the fish is in captivity. s for cats in fish ponds.. they use the feed there also.

The chemicals I get into my body every day from preservatives would probably make me unsuitable for eating too.. who cares anymore.

[fiskyknut]

This topic was about eating fish so I don't see how its gone way off topic. If it was steered off topic which post did the steering! Had you actually 'simply made the statement' that fishfeed may have some levels of pcb's rather than oh so informedly saying it was 'toxic' I would not have disagreed. I suppose it could be argued that any level of anything deemed a contaminent could be broadstroked with the toxic label, peta does this all the time. PCB's are found from the bottom of the food chain and on up, so it stands to reason that it would be found at some level in any fishmeal or krillmeal based products of any type to some extent. Labeling the fish feed toxic fuels the peta cause and does a great disservice to the aquaculture industry in general.

Please also release those big Channels from the Red, some of us may have the opinion that these too are a 'trophy' fish. Besides that the small ones are better eating and don't have the same possibilty of contaminent build up over time that the bigger, older fish do.

[Guest]

Fisky.. I was obviously being sarchastic on the cats from the Red. I assume that most everything is release from everyone already. Large channels do not taste good and are very stringy.. I didnt have anyone to tell me that when I was younger so a few got kept(from other waters).. I lived and learned.

I know flats are also a quality food fish.. at the same time, I dont think we have any waters in Minnesota that would stand up long to any regular harvest, nor is there a river that I would have recommended eating anything out of 10 years ago. Big flatheads of today were alive 10 years ago.

[fiskyknut]

Well off topic as it may be I simply said I don't think Ike keeping a small one to eat occasionally would do that much harm to him or the population baically when I was addressing his question. Or words to that effect. I don't imagine Ike is gonna be pursuing a regular harvest and whether he is or not I mentioned to him what I know of things as to food quality, worthy of bending an ear or not. I am not a fisheries biologist for the state in that area, and do not know much of the population dynamics of these fish, outside of what I read here and there. I will leave that any further to folks that have a real grasp on things as it is a whole other topic. If you wanna go off topic as to what you think of the population dynamics, your opinion of big fish vs little vs. farm raised fish, what people did or did'nt tell you when you were young or whatever else fine. I realize others may have an opinion!

I have eaten fish from rivers all my life and I'm okay a 43.

So when you gonna make it up to do some fishing? That offer is still open. Though I may not agree with your opinion of this and that at times we could probably hang on the river bank okay! 2 rules, all the big ones go back and no talking about our views on the government. lol!

Peace man, fiskyknut

[Guest]

*Dave* <-- never keeps large fish.. hardly ever keep any fish.. only if the desire for a meal is there.. then I will keep a small one or 2.. or translated in other ways.. Do I really feel like cleaning fish when I get home?

A trip *up* wouldnt be impossible sometime over the next few weeks.. Duck hunting is coming in a hurry.. from what I heard from last year.. there are pretty good numbers in the area... about half of my fishing partners are going to the *cats on the red* thing(I think its called).. I dont think it would be hard to coax someone back *up* to do some fishing on other stretches of the river... and blast a few birds.

[DARK30]

Just Do It.....

[Willy]

Agreed.

Cool picture!

[ikeslayer]

WOW!!!!

[wambat]

SAVE A FLATHEAD!!!!!

EAT A IKE!!!!!

[Aquaman01]

Your angling license is no different than anyone else's. Limits are limits and the legality of what we keep is between us and the DNR. Smallmouth bass, Largemouth bass, Flathead cats and Muskie do not taste like Loon, Bald Eagle or Trumpeter swan. They are a legal catch and a legal keep.

Everyone has their own set of guidelines for what they catch and keep. I've met guys who will fill every deer tag in their hunting party and then cry foul when someone eats a bass.

Bigger fish have more contaminents from both city run-off, farm run-off, mercury-rain and industrial pollution. Fish from the commercial-channel will have more because the dredging continually stirs up old sediment from the days of old. Set your own guidelines. If ya want a catfish recipe - try About dot com or a southern cooking HSOforum - not a Sportfisher's forum. Yer just opening yerself up for a flaming.

Want my criteria? I eat channels under 5lb, sunnies and crappies bigger than my hand, walleye between 13 and 21 inches, pike between 20 & 24 inches, any legal bass under 2 lbs., crawdads, and sucker if I have a meat grinder on hand.

I do not eat muskie, flathead or pike over 24" Just my personal standards.

Oh yeah, and I only eat Loon on the 3rd full moon of every 2nd month.

[Carlcof]

Im a little surprised at hansons lack of success in his seemingly genuine effort to catch flathead catfish. i have only targeted flatheads several times and i have never found them to be as elusive as he describes them to be. I guess i would consider a perch "trophy" if I only caught one for every five times i went out for them. in my opinion theres quite a few flatheads out there. Anybody know anything about the average # of chanel vs. flatheads in MN?

[DTro]

I'm a little surprised that someones first post questions another members success.

Oh yeah, welcome to FM

[hanson]

dtro-

How many kitties did we put in the boat that night during Cat League a month or so ago?

[DTro]

I'd like to forget about that night Including the damage I did to my prop shaft

On a side note, I don't understand people's frusteration with musky fishing. I go out all the time and catch numbers of fish. Quite frankly I consider them a nuisance fish.