Channel cats!

Just like clock work when the July temps get hot, the St. Croix River channel cats go on the bite. So I decided to get into some good cats the other day. Just when the forth line was cast and set out, the first line went – tap, tap, tap, fish on. Then the second went and the third. Three fine felines in no time, some times they bite like sheephead gone mad! Don’t forget about all the great fish the river offers, ya I love walleyes but when in Rome…

Keep catchin’
Turk

Do you ever eat them? There’s no reason they wouldn’t be as good as any catfish anywhere is there? One of these days I’m going some and fry them.

Suzuki,

They normally are good but my last batch was off, actually from fish to fish there was a taste difference. OR, I may have not cleaned them “all white” meaning all red meat gone and the top yellow tinted meat cut out? But I usually take great care, so I’m not sure. I also coat them in baking soda over night, which normally gets the off flavors out.

Flats though are the best tasting in my book, plus you get lots of meat! These additional cleaning steps aren’t really too tough to do, and it reminds me of the extra trimming needed when cleaning venison.

Keep catchin’
Turk

Eating flat? I have a feeling Briank is going to chime in here….

Sorry I’m late here ‘zuki!

Yup…I would sure hate to see a biggun eaten…just like I would hate to see a 10 pound (do they get that big? ) walleye or big muskie eaten.

It’s within the law to eat big flats…as is big eyes….the only differance between an eye and a flat is generally the flat is MUCH older than the eye. Why is that important you ask?

PCB’s, Mercury, dioxin and a host of other heavy metal and contaminates. I think Turk would agree that if you are going to keep the ugly flathead, keep it in the 5 to 7 lbs range..but again, it’s with in the law to keep a 50+ pound fish…that’s 30+ years old.

Yes 5 to ten pounders are the size I like. I think if you go to long with out eating the game you pursue, you loose touch with the roots of fishing. So grab your fork!

Sincerely,
HGR
hot grease release

August 5. 05 — got a chance to get on the river at the Kinnie early this morning. got some smallies carp and my partner got 2 cats over 10 pounds—- one hit a night crawler and the other a fathead. We were really targeting walleys but as you know on the river you get what ever you get. 2 small walleys then the boaters started around 11:30am so we left for another day——– the cats sure put up a nice fight and so did the carp and i think a buffalo fish— not a carp but looked very similar