WV Catfish for 2025

[WV Sawmiller]

   Well we had our first clear afternoon this week so my wife went with me to catch bait and run my lines. We caught plenty of little bream, took one catfish off the line and lost another at the boat (Complacency - should have used the net. I knew better.) We picked up one more catfish on the way back. The 2 weighed about 10 lbs. That is about 80 lbs of fish since Sunday afternoon. About 45 lbs of fillets to put up tomorrow. I'll take up my lines in the morning.

[WV Sawmiller]

   Sampson and I left the house about 6 am and went to the lake. I had the whole landing and lake to myself to start with. I was taking up the lines and I found several where they had gotten off and you could see the twisted up lines so I will look seriously about adding swivels to my lines. I also think I need to sharpen some of my older hooks and see if that helps on my next trip.

   I had one line shaking but as I got to it, it stopped and I pulled up an empty hook so he had escaped. Another had 2 side by side and when I went to dip up the first one he pulled off right the boat. It was a good 10 lb channel or blue cat. The biggest flathead weighed 7.5 lbs and I got to try out my my new tree pruner. It was securely wrapped and I could see it under water. I am not I could have gotten it in if I had not been able to lop the underwater limb off. The fish was securely hooked and was not going  to get off but would have died and been eaten by something before long if I had been able to cut it loose.

   The last line had about a 5 lb channel cat on it. I got it in the net and it pulled free of hook but I had him in the landing net so I got him in anyway.

My total catch today was 7 fish 2- flatheads, 5 channel. Total weight just over 42 lbs. Total yield was just over 23 lbs of fillets of about 55 percent yield compared to live weight. I used to use 60 percent as an estimate but I think this time of year the added weight of the roe reduces that return. If I saved and ate the roe line I do on bream or such early summer/late Spring might be more than Fall.

    I gave an old neighbor about 20 lbs of fillets from my first night's catch and will go bag and freeze last nights and process or give away today's catch tomorrow.

    I had to go to town this afternoon and got a new remote battery but have not tried it yet. I'll let you know what happens with that in another post.

[WV Sawmiller]

  I was just reading and watching Barbender's post on cleaning northern pike. I wish I had known that growing up as we have a lot of chain pickeral (What we called Jackfish) and many people did not like them because of all the small bones. Nobody filleted fish where I grew up. We did not even fillets catfish which are pretty easy to do IMHO.

    I know there are probably easier ways to fillet a catfish that do not involve skinning then but when I clean a catfish I cut a ring through the skin behind the gills and those bony points, hang it on a meat hook on my deer skinning rack then pull the hide off with catfish pinchers. The hide pulls down and leaves a V of skin on the belly. I throw the fish on the drainboard and pull that V belly skin off by pulling towards the front of the fish.

  If the fish is over about 4 lbs, and few I catch are not bigger than that, I cut through the skin on his head making a cut in line with spine then I pull that skin back to either side. I pull it down till his eyes are exposed. Then I cut those cheeks off each side and toss them in the waiting pan or bucket.. Next I rip the fish open and pull the head back and break the spine and pull the head off with the guts and wash out the insides good with a water hose.

    I take a thin flexible fillet knife and cut from the inside down started up near the backbone till I hit the ribs then side the knife along the inside of the ribs to cut the belly fillet off one side. I next cut and pull the little pectoral fins out then toss the deboned fillet in the pan/buck and repeat on the other side. The belly fillets off a flathead are much thicker and easier to recover than on a channel or blue cat. A big old belly fillet off a big flathead is a beautiful sight!

  Next I lay the fish down and start cutting through the meat at the tail. I slide the knife along the ribs and often insert and cut up or down along the ribs and backbone keeping the knife tight against the ribs. I do this on each side to recover the 2 side fillets. Side fillets are much easier to recover from a channel or blue cat and are much prettier than a flathead IMHO because the flathead is thicker and harder to lay flat. The flathead side fillet is thick and more round and ragged than the channel or blue.

    When I am done I have a thoroughly deboned skeleton I toss in the scrap bucket and 4 fillets (2 belly and 2 side) and 2 cheeks or nuggets.

    The meat from our flathead is much more tender and a beautiful pink color and I prefer it to a channel or blue but very few folks can tell the difference when cut into strips or fingers, covered in cornmeal mix and fried brown.

  My mom says her church has fish fries and save the backbone and cut into chunks and fry and slip the meat off between the ribs. I tried that with the last 4 lb bass I cooked but cooked them too brown and did not get any meat from them. They also cook the pectoral fin chunks and gnaw the little bit of meat off them. But they are Methodist and must not catch many fish. I was raised Baptist and prefer the boneless fillets. 

    There is honestly not enough meat left on the skeleton of a fish I've cleaned to justify the effort of saving them. I guess if you were a gourmet chef you'd throw them in the soup pot and boil the meat off for fish stock or such but those guys don't waste anything.

[doc henderson]

Those Methodists can't catch fish!  

[beenthere]

Howard
A video of your catfish technique would be great to see. The writeup was excellent. Any chance on a video ? 

[WV Sawmiller]

BT,

    Sorry but I am a dinosaur and don't do videos (or Facebook) and don't have a YouTube or other account to load one to anyway if I had one I guess the next time I go catfishing you will have to come down and I was do one fish while you watch then I can observe and supervise while you do the next 20-30 fish.  Don't worry, I will be sure to send a mess of fish home with you.

Doc,

   Nott only that Methodist fill the church in reverse order. Baptist churches fill up from the back to the front because they are ashamed and try to sneak in the back. If you get to a Baptist church late you will have to sit up front because all the good seats in the back are already taken. Methodists fill up from the front to the rear. I will not go into why lest I offend somebody new that I haven't pithed off lately.

   BTW - on Thanksgiving weekend in Alabama you may find an Alabama and An Auburn side of the churches.

@Old Greenhorn

   The battery fixed my remote/truck fob and I even put the battery in right the first try (Of course I had a 50/50 chance and even a blind hog finds an acorn once in a while). Thanks for the tip. I was sweating bullets about that one.

    I still don't understand why the chip does not work with a dead battery. (Yeah - I know "You can teach me but you can't learn it for me. )

[Old Greenhorn]

Well I am certainly glad it worked for you. As to why it wont work with a dead battery, I suppose it like that reading light next to your favorite chair that won't work unless it's plugged in.

[WV Sawmiller]

Well I am certainly glad it worked for you. As to why it wont work with a dead battery, I suppose it like that reading light next to your favorite chair that won't work unless it's plugged in.

Hah    Hah !!

    I still have to turn the key - it is not a push button type ignition so I don't know what function the battery serves. I understand why a wireless type door lock or alarm would not work without the battery but not the starter. If it was on my wife's Jeep with the push button and fob in the area I see why an active battery is needed but not with the older key style ignition.