How to clean a cat~

Sorry, I stole this from a way old post.

Ok..a bit more serious…

~Pete’s Channel Cat Cleaning Method~

Clean your channel cat like a walleye taking off the skin too.

Clean off the red meat that’s between the skin and flesh.

Clean out the lateral line.

Place fillets in water and refrigerate over night.

Now the fat will turn yellow and can be trimmed off.

Fry as you would a walleye. Mix in walleye. Unless the pieces are different sizes there is no way of knowing the difference.

Hey Mr. Brian! I just noticed for the first time that you advertise guiding for channels. Do you get much call for that? It is quite possible I have missed it; but I’ve never seen any channel reports from you. I catch them quite frequently by accident and they are pretty fun and good eating. Just curious. Thanks sir!

dd

Between the end of July and Sept…sometimes into Sept.

Many many times while fishing for shovels we’ll get into some good channels.

Whyworkgofishing popped a 19 pounder a while back. He still drools a little when he talks about it.

That’s a big channel! Is that on pool 3, 4, or the Croix that you are going for them?

dd

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Ok..a bit more serious…

~Pete’s Channel Cat Cleaning Method~

Clean your channel cat like a walleye taking off the skin too.

Clean off the red meat that’s between the skin and flesh.

Clean out the lateral line.

Place fillets in water and refrigerate over night.

Now the fat will turn yellow and can be trimmed off.

Fry as you would a walleye. Mix in walleye. Unless the pieces are different sizes there is no way of knowing the difference.

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Thank you kindly.

Al

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That’s a big channel! Is that on pool 3, 4, or the Croix that you are going for them?

dd

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Yep.

Seriously, if you’re out a lot, you’ll pop big fish in any of the 3, plus pool 2 and pool 1. The recently posted 32×21 in the channel photos thread came out of pool 1, actually, not far below St. Anthony Falls. You just gotta fish a lot to catch them… or get really really lucky!

Hey BK,

It’s interesting, because I’d NEVER clean a catfish like that. I clean them like I grew up cleaning bullheads:

1) Cut thru the skin all the way around the fish just behind the head. Try to keep the cut as shallow as possible.

2) Grab the edge of the skin toward the tail along the cut with a pair of pliers, vice grips, or catfish skinning pliers.

3) Peel the skin off the fish like you’re taking a very tight-fitting sock off your grandma’s swollen feet.

4) Depending on the size of the fish, use a knife, shears, side cutter or hacksaw to cut thru the spine just behind the head, then pull the head away from the body and the guts will come with it. You can usually pull the intestines loose and then trim the vent off the back end of the belly, but if not just take your knife or scissors and cut the vent loose.

5) Fillet the remainder, noting that the ribs don’t extend very far back, so you really have very little work to do here.

6) You can slice off the bloodmeat now or when you go to cook it… but either way, slice away the bloodmeat, cut out the lateral line.

7) Soak overnight in water and have some NUMMY food!

We fish channels mostly on 4.

Like Jared said…there’s more than one way to skin a cat!

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Whyworkgofishing popped a 19 pounder a while back. He still drools a little when he talks about it.

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you told me you wouldnt tell anyone that im still drooling its a great time should give it a try

That’s on p. o. ed cat. Looks funny as heck though. Thanks for sharing.

Is it me, or does that cat have some sweet cleavage?

The FG’s friend has a couple of those cats. Man they are goofy. Don’t even meow like a normal cat or screech like a normal one going into the hot oil. I had to add the last part to avoid being accused from hijacking.

Bury in ground up to neck and hit with lawn mower

Jared, try BK’s way. I skinned them for years until an old timer showed me how to fillet them just like any other fish. I will never go back. Much easier and the fish taste better.

I have done, northstar, I just don’t like it.

Filleting gets you more of the bloodmeat off the sides of the fillets right away, but I usually use a fillet knife to remove that just before cooking.

What the hell, though, I’ll try it again one of these days. Thanks for the push.

I am curious, though, how old a guy’s gotta be for an old timer to consider him an old timer.

JUST TEASING!

53

LOL!

Sounds like none of you know how to clean one. The first and most important step is to bleed them for 15 minutes. You can do that by cutting off the tail or by cutting the gills. I personally like to fillet them and is is so easy even a beginner can do it. You place your knife on their side from the dorsal fin to the anus and cut down to the back bone and out the along the back bone to the tail. If they are big enough you can also cut a nice belly fillet out of them too. They are good skinned too once you skin them like Jared suggests take a cleaver or butcher knife and steak them leaving the bones in and that takes the flavor up a notch. Corn breading is the way to go IMHO.

Apparently you missed my earlier post Kev ….

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80% of the fish I eat in the summer are cats….

Smaller fiddlers(2 1/2 3 lbs),I make sure to bleed them first,don’t skin’em down to the meat,and soak a few hrs in salt water before freezing(some swear by a milk soak)the meat is just as firm and white as any other fish….

A light breading and a couple of hushpuppies = happiness

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That’s my story and I’m sticking to it

BTW Cap’in B….It’s 56

Here’s how I do it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBgeWxGMx-U

I don’t have an electric knife. I never talked myself into needing one. If you float the knife up a bit off of the skin, you have less trimming to do.

I never leave them more than 3/8″ thick. Even then I often score them a bit.

If you don’t trim them before you freeze them, the flavors all blend together and it gets skunky all through.

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Ok..a bit more serious…

~Pete’s Channel Cat Cleaning Method~

Clean your channel cat like a walleye taking off the skin too.

Clean off the red meat that’s between the skin and flesh.

Clean out the lateral line.

Place fillets in water and refrigerate over night.

Now the fat will turn yellow and can be trimmed off.

Fry as you would a walleye. Mix in walleye. Unless the pieces are different sizes there is no way of knowing the difference.

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Not Quite like filleting a walleye for shore lunch is it.

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Not Quite like filleting a walleye for shore lunch is it.

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No, but the fight they have makes up for it.

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Not Quite like filleting a walleye for shore lunch is it.

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No, but the fight they have makes up for it. ]

We will have to have a go at it again

I haven’t been lifted of my heels yet…. unless you count the time the good wife put her boot up m… well lets forget that one!

You missed it by two nights. Who would have guessed.

I just finish telling him about Stuart being brought down to his knees and within 15 minutes he was on the balls of his feet. Worked out pretty good.

And that doesn’t happen too often…but once in a while!

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Not Quite like filleting a walleye for shore lunch is it.

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No, it’s a little more involved, but even my wife has said that catching a cat is like catching a VW bug by the rear bumper and catching a walleye is like reeling in a shoe. Cats are just a bit more of a rush than walleye… like the difference between skydiving and falling asleep on the couch after supper.

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Not Quite like filleting a walleye for shore lunch is it.

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No, it’s a little more involved, but even my wife has said that catching a cat is like catching a VW bug by the rear bumper and catching a walleye is like reeling in a shoe. Cats are just a bit more of a rush than walleye… like the difference between skydiving and falling asleep on the couch after supper.

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Ever had Catfish cheeks?

He’s got us there Jared. Can’t think of anything much better than a few cheeks off of a 8 to 10 pound walleye.

It’s amazing to me how they say they will grow back.

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He’s got us there Jared. Can’t think of anything much better than a few cheeks off of a 8 to 10 pound walleye.

It’s amazing to me how they say they will grow back.

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Channel cats love them too!

I know my tomato plants grow best with a few 8#+ walleye’s cheeks for fertilizer. The only problem is, I have to throw out the tomatoes then because they taste funny.