How to clean a catfish?

[Fishin Beast]

My little brother caught 2 channel catfish on the st croix, even though they were only a pound each I was just wondering what the main way was to clean catfish?

[rushing]

Little soap n water and some elbow grease. I have never done it myself but I think you just clean 'em like any other fish then skin 'em and fillet 'em.

[I Da Man]

I watched Dennis clean a few small ones last winter.

Clean them just like a walleye...but instead of starting right behind the gills...start right behind the rib cage...then peel the skin off...again...just like an eye.

From what I hear, the best eaters are 3 to 5 pounds.

Please practice Catch Photo and Release on larger fish...not only to let them go so they can grow...but for PCB reasons too.

If you clean them like Rushing suggested...make sure they are clean behind the ears.

[Guest]

The easiest way to clean them is to use a razor blade and make a cut around the body b the front fins(just through skin). Ten make a shallow cut down the back from head to tail, and then down the belly from head to tail(just breaking skin). Take a skinning pliers, or good pair of pliers and grab the skin at the front and peel back on both sides.

Once the skin is off just fillet the meat off the body which is very easy with the skin off.

I have found its best if you cut the fillets into *fish sticks* about 1" wide so they fully cook quickly. Catfish have very dense meat and can be difficult to cook in large pieces.

4 or 5 pound is as large as I will keep a channel cat. The larger fish can get pretty *stringy*. They are best around 2-3 pounds.

[Dennis Steele]

Yup! I just filet them like a walleye starting behind the rib cage. You do loose a little meat from the upper(top) of the rib cage, but it can often be a bit yellow (fatty).

I then take the skin off by putting light pressure on the blade. Just a little less than you would any other fish. This helps guide the knife between the fatty flesh along the skin and the good white meat.

I then cut strips like ThatGuy making sure to get the "mud line out.

After that I trim any dark, red or yellow meat so that you end up with nothing but clean white meat.

You will be surprised at how good they taste. Cat is on the top of my list for fish, followed by sunnies then walleye.