How do you kill the darn things - How to prepare catfish?

[rednecksportsman511]

Whenever I bring a catfish home to fillet him, I can't seem to kill the things. Ive tried poppin 'em in the head with a hammer, that didn't work. Last time it was still breathing when we cut into it. They've been out of the water fer at least ten minutes before we cut 'em up. What's the easiest way to kill 'em?? :confused:

[RiverratSC]

There is no easy way.

[Catchinbiguns]

Usually after a long day of Cattin I'm worn out, so I'll put my catch on Ice until the next day. They're dead by then.

[dinkbuster1]

i use a hammer also, works just fine for me but make sure you leave 'em be for about 10 miutes after you beat thier brains out. their nervous system is still working and they tend to move a lot.

[vlparrish]

Rednecksportsman, I prefer to clean mine while they are alive. I know this sounds inhumane and difficult to do, but if you clean them while their heart is still beating it lets the blood pump out of the meat and makes for whiter filets. It also ensures that your fish are fresh. Just my two cents worth. Vern

[birdnest]

I was reading this post, hoping to find a good answer. Last couple times, my experience has been similar. I have been told nailing them to a heavy board with a big nail through the head will hold them in place while skinning them and also help kill 'em. I haven't tried it yet. I got the board, but since it got cold, I haven't had much luck catching any. I'm mostly bank fishing so getting out after the big winter flatheads can be a challenge. Last time I brought in and filleted a few, I'm pretty sure that one sucker was still kicken when I tossed his skinless carcass back into the lake for the turtles. At least one of seemed to try to swim away. It kinda seemed a bit freaky. I'm hoping it was just my imagination.
Anyway, I guess I'll just check later and hope for a clear cut answer (all puns intended).
Tightlines,
Birdnest

[Rainman4u2]

Rednecksportsman, I prefer to clean mine while they are alive. I know this sounds inhumane and difficult to do, but if you clean them while their heart is still beating it lets the blood pump out of the meat and makes for whiter filets. It also ensures that your fish are fresh. Just my two cents worth. Vern

My sentiments exactly

Ray

[Bobpaul]

Hold them down and cut off the tail or a deep slice on each side of the tail will bleed out most any fish. then clean them. Now that's fresh.

[rednecksportsman511]

thanks yall, sounds like some good info. i went out this afternoon, but didn't cach any. a couple bites, second bite took the bait. :mad:

[Cattoo]

youve got to hit them in the right spot on the head. there is a little indention on the back part of the head right where the spine starts. a couple well placed whacks there and they are goners. as for cleaning them alive, i just cant do that. i can remember as a kid seeing where someone had cleaned some live and threw them in the water near a boat ramp. it was one of the most disturbing things i have ever seen. that image haunted me for a long time. they say fish dont feel pain like we do but i still dont want to do it.you never know. i sure wouldnt want to go out like that. i have to be humane about it.

[H2O Mellon]

I go to Kroger's & buy them. They are already dead...... & filleted! :) Saves me from doing the work. As much $ as I have invested in tackle & time I can't bring myself to keeping ANY cats. But thats just me.

[flathunter]

If you are gonna keep your catch, our favorite sport fish deserves a humane end..Personally I will never ever kill any catfish.

[dinkbuster1]

i couldnt clean a fish alive either. heck i even give my cut bait a stab in the head before i cut them up!

[pendog66]

cant stand to kill a catfish. It just makes me mad when they swallow the hook and i know they will die.

[H2O Mellon]

SWALLOWED HOOKS.... The Answer: Gama 8/0 Octopus Circles

[pendog66]

yeah Bryan i have started using circle hooks except for on my baitrunner

[catfishcentral]

Their is a couple of different ways to prepare to fillet your fish. The easiest way is to put them in a ice chest as you catch them. They just go to sleep, very humane. I perfer another way and thats to find the vertical soft spot in the center of their head. Take your knife and stick it in. This goes directly to their brain and will kill them quick and painless. Then cut their tails off and let them bleed out. This makes a huge difference in the tatse of your fish and easier to fillet without all that blood.

[Dano]

Rednecksportsman, I prefer to clean mine while they are alive. I know this sounds inhumane and difficult to do, but if you clean them while their heart is still beating it lets the blood pump out of the meat and makes for whiter filets. It also ensures that your fish are fresh. Just my two cents worth. Vern

Yelp, that's the way I do it. Good thing, they die when you clean them.

[Rat]

Try hanging them by thier tail and slide your knife up their gill slit. Cut thier gills and they bleed out pretty quick.
As far as killing them, that will take care of it in a hot minute.
Rat

[Desperado]

I clean mine while they are alive or died while on ice. Hearing some of these catfisherman talk about not being able to kill a catfish to eat...You guys attending peta meetings?....LOL

[TDawgNOk]

We normally throw our catfish on ICE for a few minutes to slow down their matabolism, and then start filleting them while still alive.

[Dano]

I have re read post on this thread and it kind of puzzles me. I been hunting
fishing/cleaning fish all my life, friends doing same. I never seen or heard of anyone trying to kill the fish before cleaning it. They have died on their own, before cleaning time. Dead or alive I fillet em if I dont CPR em. Driving a nail through head or smashing their head with a hammer. That is new to me and I wouldn't do that myself. before I made my cleaning table with hooks to hang fish on, I had a hook in a tree. Hook em under lip, skin em out, fillet em or just fillet em with skin on and flip over fillet skin off meat. I will sometimes throw em on ice first.
Many times we have caught fish, walked up hill, clean em and had em for supper right there on the spot. Part of the fun to me.
I know we have a lot of CPR guys on here and I'm not trying to start a debate on it , I'm just saying what I do. I CPR if its a huge fish. They dont taste as good too me, got fat, chemicals etc. I CPR if I dont feel like cleaning em. I CPR anything I catch out of the river due to pollution. My lake we can catch 25 cats a day and 5 flats. I fish for channels mostly.
TPWD says no fishing shortage where I'm at and no warning on eating the fish from my lake. Part of the fun is cleaning and eating my catch. Fish fry at the camp after a good fishing trip. If I had a warning on eating fish, or a shortage in fish population in my area etc. I would CPR all of them. I'm glad Texas takes a little better care of our fish population than other states but pollution is starting to take over on some lakes. I voice about that as much as I can. I sure wish Texas would do something about polluting our waters. I dont want my fishing hole polluted like I have read about other states fishing
holes. That is the main reason I dont fish the river anymore. I like to fish and I like to eat what I catch sometimes.
I wonder how many who believe in CPR on every fish, do they hunt deer, birds etc. and if so do they just take a pic of what they could have killed or do they kill it and eat it. I sure hope its not killed and wasted. I grew up hunting and fishing. We always eat our kill or catch but never wasted it. If we didn't want it, we didn't hunt for it and kill it, being a fish we didn't want, we CPR it.

[flathunter]

If I could cpr the deer I hunt I would gladly do it..Old ways die hard, it's time for catfish conservation...Or there will be no catfishing for future generations, and those that keep everything they catch will be partly to blame.I wont argue this point either, and am sorry this thread went the wrong way.

[Desperado]

I agree with you Dano.

[wpsatisfide]

If im keeping the fish im not worried about it being alive or dead. After a few hours in the cooler they dont move around enough to bother my electric knife. This is the same way I clean any and all fish i catch.

[Swampy]

Don't worry about killing them before you clean them,they are best if cleaned alive anyway.JMO

[catter5000]

I have an old clothes line pole out back that I put 6 heavy wires on.I hang the cats on the wires and cut off their tails to let them bleed out.This seems to keep the meat a little better tasting,just a personal preference.I also salt the filets down for a couple days.Again a personal preference.

[photocat]

on the few i do keep and fillet for eating i try to do it once they are still alive so that they can bleed out... allows me to get more meat off the fish or so i've been told... though if you know you will eat it as soon as you catch it, its best to bleed it right then and there then put it on ice.. quickest way i know how is take the fillet knife and jam it through the heart which is usually right behind where the gills come together on the bottom of the fish.

That movement (esp of the gills and sometimes tail) Is just nerves and the fish really isn't alive usually. I've dealt w/ that on bluegills too that i've cut up for use as bait...

[james]

what i usely do first before i start cleaning them is to take a ice pick and ram it into there head tell they jerk and go stiff there is a hole ontop of there skull if you rub ur over there head you can fill it just ram the ice pick in hard and go back and forth works better than useing a hammer

[Cattoo]

all that stuff about letting a fish bleed out is a bunch of crap as far as i am concerned. Kill them, fillet them and let the fillets soak in water over night. It has the same effect. As for them dying when you clean them, that's a bunch of crap too. I have seen with my own eyes, fish that have been cleaned alive and tossed in the water and them still be trying to swim around. That's just wrong... What's the problem with showing a little compassion and respect for this great FISH..

[H2O Mellon]

To Keep or Not To Keep is a personal preference.

In regards to Fishing vs Hunting, it is very simple to me,personally.

I HUNT deer expecting to kill it & harvest it.

I FISH for cats hoping to land one, take a pic, then release it. The three steps are equally important to me: A.) The Catch, B.) The Picture, C.) The Release.

If I had to kill each cat I caught I would not fish. I enjoy hunting deer, but know before hand that I expect to kill it. I do however, get a huge thrill out of seeing live deer just as much as killing one. When I ran game camera & our website promoting our game cams, to me it was more exciting than hunting the deer.

[Dano]

"If I had to kill each cat I caught I would not fish."
Me too. But I will eat one now and then. :)

[H2O Mellon]

Another thing for me, is that until recently Ohio had some horrible laws.... well they didnt have ANY, which is what made them horrible. Now if I was fishing in a state that took care of the fish, etc... I'd prob clean some channels. I do agree overpopulation can potentially be just as bad as the opposite, just look @ the deer population.

[flathunter]

I have had some bad experinces, I guess that is why I am so much of a catch and release fisheman..I have seen people keep stringers and stringers full of 10 inch channel cats from local spillways..I have had good flathead holes ruined by people putting in trotlines, and fishing the holes untill nothing is left, I have seen people take big flatheads to baitshops to get there pictures taken, then throw the fish away..I can understand people keeping some fish to eat, heck the waters I fish are so polluted I would not eat anything from them...Everybody has there own feelings, and I respect those views from those that keep there catch.

[T-Bone]

Ice'em down as you catch'em. When ya got enough they are ready for the ride home and stay freash. Clean'em and eat'em.

[dinkbuster1]

hammers, ice picks, ballbats, knives, nails, bricks, asphyxiation, boy we are a brutal bunch arent we?:evil-big:

[TDawgNOk]

don't forget the chainsaws!!!

Oh wait, those are just electric fillet knives

[james]

When i clean the bigger ones i always hang them and cut around their tail with my knife and let them bleed for about 30 mins. usely dont go over 15 pounds less im planeing on a big fish fry and im not haveing much luck. other wise the big ones need to always be CPR

[zappaf19]

I also nail there head to a board and start cleaning. They say a fishes brain to to small to feel pain. I sure hope so!
Bill

[SangamonCatKiller]

Whenever I bring a catfish home to fillet him, I can't seem to kill the things. Ive tried poppin 'em in the head with a hammer, that didn't work. Last time it was still breathing when we cut into it. They've been out of the water fer at least ten minutes before we cut 'em up. What's the easiest way to kill 'em?? :confused:

Now why would you want to do that? Just kidding, really they are a tough, tough species of fish. I have always seen there heads cut off before the other processing begins. If you are talking about bigger catfish I wouldn't know cuz I don't know anyone who keeps catfish over 10 lbs.

[tncatfishing]

They go from the water to the cooler to the car to the house to the fillet board, if they are still kicking then so be it, not trying to be cruel but that is how I do it. Most are not alive when I fillet them.

[KanHeadhunter]

What I do with the fish still on the stringer is cut 1 side the fish's gills and leave him in the water. While he is swimming around he is bleeding himself out. It makes cleaning the fish a lot easy, no blood no flies.

[rednecksportsman511]

dang yall, i didnt mean to start something :blush-big: . i was just tryin to find an easy and humane way to kill 'em so they dont flop around while ur cleanin 'em. but i guess ill put my two cents in anyways. :grin-big:

i think it's up to the fisherman whether or not he should keep his catch. he should know a responsible amount of fish to take-dont take more than you're gonna eat! as to the whole compassion/catchin and eatin issue-nothins wrong with showin compassion fo the animal, its God's beautiful creation. but also, theres nothin wrong with killing an animal for eating, thats what God put them here for. if you kill it, u should eat it. and when u kill it, do so as humanely as possible, respect the animal thats about to have its sides cut off and skinned :grin-big:

[RiverOtter]

I agree with vlparrish. It is better to clean them why they are still alive. It does sound inhumane, but he is right, the fillets are much whiter.

[CATCANDO]

You guys might think I am crazy but I learned to Catfish from my grandfather who has been fishing on the river his whole life. One of his long time fishing buddies who I have never met because he is now dead could kill a channel with a straw from a broom. This is no joke there is a place right behind the eye where you insert the straw and you hit a place in the brain that just shuts them off. My Grandfather has never been able to master this like his friend but he swears up and down to me that it is true.

[1stpalindrone]

I've also heard about this phenomenon with the straw/twig, but I can't do anything but blind 'em.

I've never "bled out" my cats, and love the taste. Don't know how much better it could taste, bled.

Mine go into an ice chest (keepers/eaters) and when I've got my fill we go to the house. The easiest way I've found is a 2x12 board as long as you desire with the biggest nail u can get driven through the top center. With the board flipped over and nail point sticking up 5-6" you can take your cats and lay them flat (belly down) with the nail going through the center of thier head. Takes a little practice but after a while u can just flop em down on the nail, make your cuts around head/gills and peel the skin right off the tail. Then you can get in with your fillet knife and finess cut your fat fillets... Keeps the livelier ones still.... :cool:

jus my 5 cents.
Lucas

[SilverCross]

Yep, I use to use the 2x12 board with the nail also when I use to bring some home for my cousin who couldn't fish anymore. He's gone now and I just don't mess with them any more. I always figure, I have this amount of time to fish or to fish and clean. Hmmmmmmmm, fish sounds the best to me, so I just CPR all of them. I agree on just buying them from the grocery, doesn't cut into my fishing time....lol

[Ulizth]

I always give them a good whack with my 6 D cell maglight before skinning. I believe this does a good job and any movements are residual from the nervous system. I also seems easier for me to clean them fresh when they are flexable. Just my opinion though.:)

[loop]

Best way I have found to be humane in cleaning a catfish is.Insert a knife into the soft area on the top of the head this goes directly to the brain just a few seconds an they are dead.
Loop

[roh1961]

You guys might think I am crazy but I learned to Catfish from my grandfather who has been fishing on the river his whole life. One of his long time fishing buddies who I have never met because he is now dead could kill a channel with a straw from a broom. This is no joke there is a place right behind the eye where you insert the straw and you hit a place in the brain that just shuts them off. My Grandfather has never been able to master this like his friend but he swears up and down to me that it is true.
There is a tiny split in the center of the skull that runs lengthwise at a place slightly higher than their eyes. It is not very long and is located in varying distances from the mouth according to species. You can sometimes find it by pressing with your finger. I take the tip of my knife, just to penetrate the hide and insert a broomstraw, small stiff twig, or stiff blade of grass in towards the spine at a slight downward angle and when you hit the central nervous system the cat will straighten out and quiver for a few seconds. When you hit it with the twig, leave it there until the quivering subsides. Very quick and humane IMHO

[Tarpon]

I use a way that my granpaw showed me. I believe its called "pitting". On the top of the cats skull there is a little hole/ indention. I take a thin piece of copper wire and stick it down the hole. This goes into the spinal cord and paralyzes them. They can't move or feel anything, they're nerves are completely dead but the fish is still alive. This way, they bleed out, you have fresh fillets and the fish feels nothing.

[JimF]

There is a tiny split in the center of the skull that runs lengthwise at a place slightly higher than their eyes. It is not very long and is located in varying distances from the mouth according to species. You can sometimes find it by pressing with your finger. I take the tip of my knife, just to penetrate the hide and insert a broomstraw, small stiff twig, or stiff blade of grass in towards the spine at a slight downward angle and when you hit the central nervous system the cat will straighten out and quiver for a few seconds. When you hit it with the twig, leave it there until the quivering subsides. Very quick and humane IMHO I do the same ting but I uae a coat hanger that I cut off and sharpen. It works on everthing from bullhead to big blues & flathead.

[roundhill]

i use a big knife right at the back of the head use the back of the knife give a big whack they will go stife then filet wash roll in good batter fry and call me

[wpsatisfide]

:0a25: to the BOC Jim

[beaneye46]

this reminds me of people who refuse to eat deer cause theyre pretty animals but theylle chow down on beef and chicken.

[roh1961]

this reminds me of people who refuse to eat deer cause theyre pretty animals but theylle chow down on beef and chicken.

Most of the time I skin or fillet the smaller catfish alive. I only straw kill if my catch has forced me to keep a larger eater to make it easier and safer to do.

[tkishkape]

Any size cat that's had a 15 minute nap on a bed of ice will lay very still for the knife.

I release all catfish over 10 pounds to the river after a picture...

All of the cats with injured gills or happen to be larger than 12 inches and less than 10 pounds are fileted and released into hot oil. (I supply ready-to-cook fish for elderly and needy families in my community as well as my own family.)

The filets are rinsed in cold water to remove blood, then cut up into "fish sticks", rolled in a cajun cornmeal mixture and placed in 1 quart freezer bags, ready for cooking.

[riverbud55]

I have a pc of sharpend 3/32"spring steel about the size of a coat hanger about 8" long, drilled a hole in the end of a 6' long pc of dowell for a handle. find the soft spot with a knife, small cut take the tool ram down and strait for it tale in an out and up down few times, story done. this work on channels but not on the flatheads need to find a good way to do them in

[tkishkape]

Simply put it in the livewell during a catfish tournament...