Catfish question…

Call me stupid…call me naive…When all you cat fisherman are catching these things, do you eat em’? Sounds like an odd question but does it depend on the species of catfish or the water they come from? How about the size? I only keep 15″-20″ walleye to eat. Everything else lives for another day. How about catfish for you guys…

I buy the “catfish nuggets” at the store and fry em’ up and think they are awesome so If I ever get into catfish fishing I’d like to know your thoughts on keeping them for the frypan…

Hey RR. Lots of guys eat them, others don’t, just like any other species.

If you do decide to keep them, I would suggest sticking with the smaller fish, probably 4lbs or under, but others may eat bigger ones. Pretty much like any other freshwater species, you don’t want to eat the giants.

I’ll just call you “missing some awesome tasting fish”.

So far I haven’t had flathead, but the catfish guys that have had it say it’s the best catfish to eat. There’s a reason they’re named “the candy bar”. The bigger the better they say.

I’ve been checking fish consumption advisories and reports from the Dnr for the Mississippi River. There are restrictions for flats over 20″ (not very big). Might want to check them out before taking a 30 pounder home.

Channel Cats on the other hand, if cleaned properly are fantastic. The only MN fish I would take to eat over a channel would be a sunfish with skin on.

From WI Advisory:
Women up to age 45 (child bearing age) and children (under age 15) may safely eat:

1 Meal Per Month:buffalos, carp, channel catfish, flathead catfish larger than 20″, pike, walleye, white bass, all other species and sizes

Do Not Eat :muskies

All men (15 and older) and older women (45 and older) may safely eat:
1 Meal Per Month buffalos, carp, channel catfish, flathead catfish larger than 20″, muskies, white bass

The above advice is due to the following pollutants: mercury, pcb, pfos

Not to change the subject, but what I find interesting is that many people won’t think twice about eating White Bass and turn up their nose at catfish because the feel they hold more pollutants.

White bass may be the worst of all fish in the river for contamination.
Figure I better put the “other” fish advisory in here as well.

All men (15 and older) and older women (45 and older) may safely eat:
Unrestricted:bullheads, inland trout, yellow perch

1 Meal Per Week: bluegill, crappies, pike, walleye, all other species and sizes

I don’t call myself a catfisherman but I spend a few days each summer fishing for them when the eyes/bass get slow. I personally hate the taste of them. It pretty much all depends on where they come from though. There is a small public lake here that has reproducing cats, they taste awesome. I’d bet you couldnt tell them apart from walleye (hard to believe). I can eat them all day long. If I try and eat a channel from the Miss here I throw up a little in my mouth. They have an aftertaste of dead shad which tastes terrible. But fix the same size fish the same way out of the lake and it will be delicious.

I have had flathead out of the river and it is MUCH better. Probably because they do not eat dead shad all fall/winter/spring like the channels do. It really does taste sweet. Some people say to not keep them because they are a “sport fish”, that’s cool. But it is up to you to decide what to keep.

My suggestion is no channel bigger than about 3-4lbs. Those 12-18″ fish are the best. No flathead over about 15lbs, bigger than that and they are a sport fish IMO. Anything under about 5lbs is not worth it meat wise, they have thin bodies with not much meat around here. Again, just my opinion… you can keep whatever you desire.

Ps:

The above is from Pool 4 of the Mississippi River.

I just cooked up two 8lb channel from north of Coon rapids Dam, and they were awesome. My wife is a VERY picky fish eater and she said that I could cookem up anytime. Salt & pepper, soak in butter milk for couple hours fry them in shore lunch with some lemon juice and BAM!!!!

I have eaten both. Flathead being much much better in my opinion. Ribeye of the river.:-) have only eaten two flatties around twelve pounds due to excessive bleeding. Gill hooked with a 10/0.

Quote:

---

White bass may be the worst of all fish in the river for contamination.

---

Why is that?

Obviously, it’s because of their diet, but what in their diet makes them so much different from all the other fish in the river?

My family roots are from the farm country of Nebraska and the first fish I caught as a kid was catfish. They tasted great! we ate bullheads as well, nice white meat. My Grandpa would skin them with a pliers if I remember right.

You guys are making me hungry!

If the meat looks yellow it tastes horrible. Pretty much every catfish in lake Mendota is inedible. Now a nice lean river cat is great table faire. If you do eat cats I highly suggest bleeding them while they are alive by either cutting off their tail or slicing their gills. You will also want to remove the mudline which runs along the lateral line of the fish. Flathead catfish are by far the better tasting of the two. I’d stick to fish under 10lbs if you keep a flathead. A nice cornbread style fish coating is the best in my humble opinion.

Way back in prehistoric time,before catfish were considered a sport fish,the big (30-40+)flats were freshwater lobster….
The belly meat was the “cat’s meow”

Now it’s fiddlers -2 to 4lbs channels –
Nothing finer

I agree with Kevin on this. Lake catfish taste like mud…in my humble opinion too. I’d much rather eat a river cat any day. Spring cats are best also. Something about that cold water. And smaller ones do seem to taste better. My favorites are less than 5 pounds. And I like the cornmeal based breading as well.

Good luck catching some and keep a few for dinner. You might be surprised.

L8R…Ken

Pan size is PERFECT!

If it can fit in the sink..it’s a keeper.

What I’ve found out a guy can do to make the bigger channels taste better is a couple things. Lets say its a 15 lb. channel. A fish that size will be have a fillet on both sides about 1 1/2 thick and it may taste a little strong. What I do is slice lengthwize so its now two fillets of 3/4″ thick, and do that on both sides of the fish. Then I simply soak them in saltwater for a couple days and it takes most of the strong fish taste out of the fillet, a good trick in late summer. Any thickness fillet that come from under a 10 pound fish and under, especially spring catfish after their systems have wintered over is especially good. If you do catch a bigger channel or flathead try slicing the thickness in half and soak it in saltwater, it cuts the oil in the flesh and does taste better but it is hard to beat any catfish under 5 pounds, especially the 2 pounders and under.

Quote:

---

What I’ve found out a guy can do to make the bigger channels taste better is a couple things. Lets say its a 15 lb. channel. A fish that size will be have a fillet on both sides about 1 1/2 thick and it may taste a little strong. What I do is slice lengthwize so its now two fillets of 3/4″ thick, and do that on both sides of the fish. Then I simply soak them in saltwater for a couple days and it takes most of the strong fish taste out of the fillet, a good trick in late summer. Any thickness fillet that come from under a 10 pound fish and under, especially spring catfish after their systems have wintered over is especially good. If you do catch a bigger channel or flathead try slicing the thickness in half and soak it in saltwater, it cuts the oil in the flesh and does taste better but it is hard to beat any catfish under 5 pounds, especially the 2 pounders and under.

---

If you have to go to lengths to remove the flavors from fish, you’re eating the wrong fish.

Quote:

---

If you have to go to lengths to remove the flavors from fish, you’re eating the wrong fish.

---

You got that right! LOL

I feel the same way, its pretty darn easy in Iowa to go get a mess of bluegill, crappie, or even walleye sometimes. I don’t HAVE to eat catfish. If I have to spend 30 minutes cutting it up and then let it soak for 2 days to make it edible, its not worth it.

Don’t eat muskies? Not true. Muskies are delicious. Smoked musky on a cracker is a delicacy and muskie fish patties satisfy children and make then better behaved. Also lowers cholesterol and helps women maintain their figure.

Quote:

---

Don’t eat muskies? Not true. Muskies are delicious. Smoked musky on a cracker is a delicacy and muskie fish patties satisfy children and make then better behaved. Also lowers cholesterol and helps women maintain their figure.

---

Josh, I think we were commenting on the WI Fish Consumption Advisory stating that the contaminate levels in muskies were so high that they don’t recommend eating them at all (IN WI).

I do find that odd since they say it’s ok to eat a flathead over 20 inches once per month. I’m not talking about taste, benefits…just the fish consumption advisory. When I have time, it’s going to be interesting to see how MN ranks ski’s and cats.

That’s just the way I cure it Kevin, I’ve eaten a lot of fresh just caught catfish, I just soak them in salt water to cut some of the oils. I had catfish tonight and man was it good. I didn’t soak these, the bigger ones are a little stronger and that’s why I soak them for a couple days. Each to his own.

Flathead, down here some of the bigger ones have a strip of yellowish meat twards the top of the fillet near the dorsal fin. I don’t throw them back I just soak them in saltwater to suit my taste buds, why cut it out and throw it away when salt will make it taste good.

Got that right. Utilize as much as the fish as you can and respect the resource.

Right Pug, when you can make a 15 pound channel taste like a 2 pounder your doing something right, no offense to anyone. Try this,,,cut the yellowish meat off the fillet and soak just that in salt water for a couple to a few days and see the difference it makes, no need to use milk like some people do, to suit their tastebuds.

Rooster, usually catfish nuggets are the belly meat from pond raised catfish. Pond raised catfish don’t even compare to wild river and creek catfish. You can eat the belly meat from channels but it doesn’t taste as good as fillets but still tastes good anyway. Wait until you cook up a mess of river channels that are around the 5 pound mark and smaller, make your own tartar sauce with miracle whip or mayo, coarsely chopped onions and put in some sweet pickle or bread and butter pickle relish, a little celery salt and mustard seeds, and you’ll be in heaven.