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• coolgunguy Posts: 6,637 Senior Member

  August 2018 #2

  I luvs me some catfish!
  
  
  

  "Bipartisan" usually means that a bigger than normal deception is happening.
  George Carlin

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• 10canyon53 Posts: 2,122 Senior Member

  August 2018 #3

  Nice!  My wife and I do deliberately target catfish, but I have never caught one on commercial catfish bait.  We do pretty well with shiners, live or dead, it doesn't seem to matter to the catfish.  That channel cat looks to be about the same size as the last one I caught....he tasted good!  I use saltwater rods when targeting catfish and in my experience you often don't know a channel cat is on the line until you start reeling in to check the bait.  Then it is just a dead weight until you get him to the surface....then the fight is on.  Blue cats on the other hand will hit like a freight train and fight you all the way.  Blue cats also tend to be more likely to go after live shiners rather than dead ones.  Channel cats aren't as picky. 
  

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• olesniper Posts: 3,767 Senior Member

  August 2018 #4

  Love catfish and catfishing.
  
  Old pic of me and a little channel cat.
  
  
  
  my nephew a a little blue he caught.
  
  
  

  Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
  I will fear no evil: For I carry a .308 and not a .270

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• NN Posts: 25,236 Senior Member

  August 2018 #5

  Dan that is a nice size, though.

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• NN Posts: 25,236 Senior Member

  August 2018 #6

  Did it tow the kayak?

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• jbp-ohio Posts: 10,936 Senior Member

  August 2018 #7

  cpj said:

  You tossed the best tasting catfish back. 

  Yep.
  
  The big shovelheads like live bluegills. Knew of an old timer who used 12''-18'' carp as live bait............

  "The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not." Thomas Jefferson

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• zorba Posts: 25,281 Senior Member

  August 2018 #8

  Mighty fine eatin' there, son.
  

  -Zorba, "The Veiled Male"
  
  

  "If you get it and didn't work for it, someone else worked for it and didn't get it..."

  )O(
  

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• DanChamberlain Posts: 3,395 Senior Member

  August 2018 #9

  I was bank fishing. Did catch a nice 33" blue one time in a kayak. That was a ride. My son in law said the flatheads are the "preferred" catfish. I didn't know that. 
  
  
  

  It's a source of great pride for me, that when my name is googled, one finds book titles and not mug shots. Daniel C. Chamberlain

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• jbp-ohio Posts: 10,936 Senior Member

  August 2018 edited August 2018 #10

  Trick my uncle did with catfish and turtles was to put them alive in clean water. He changed the water twice a day for two or three days. Said it got rid of the 'dirt' taste....
  
  We have an old (late 50's) picture somewhere with a 40(?) pound shovel in the bathtub...... Aunt was not amused.

  "The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not." Thomas Jefferson

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• tennmike Posts: 27,457 Senior Member

  August 2018 #11

  Flatheads and blues tend to like live stuff for dinner, and are the best tasting catfish. Channel cats are a lot less picky about what they eat. But they still taste pretty good!
  
  Targeting catfish when fishing is some fun. Liable to catch anything from one a few ounces to a big one that will drag the boat. If you ever catch one around 20+ pounds in the kayak, hang on! The ride will be interesting!
  

    “I refuse to answer that question on the grounds that I don't know the answer”
  ― Douglas Adams
  

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• 10canyon53 Posts: 2,122 Senior Member

  August 2018 #12

  My favorite spot is in 12-15 ft. of water where a stream empties into a river.  Have caught many catfish there including a 9 pounder and a 13 pounder.
  

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• mitdr774 Posts: 1,782 Senior Member

  August 2018 #13

  Hopefully in a few years there will be a bunch of bigger versions of this little one in my parents pond.    The wife caught this one.

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• jbp-ohio Posts: 10,936 Senior Member

  August 2018 #14

  Yella belllies are good to eat......

  "The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not." Thomas Jefferson

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• Linefinder Posts: 7,856 Senior Member

  August 2018 #15

  Dan,
  I targeted catfish a lot in Louisiana. What most of the country calls flathead is called Opelousas in Louisiana, and they were the cat of choice for most catfishermen. Personally, I preferred channel cat, but never threw back an Op, either.
  
       My sis & BIL stocked their pond with channel cat, and there's no telling how many days I spent fishing that pond. I found the best size for eating was 2 lbs or less. By the time I left Louisiana, their cats were running 8-12 lbs. Lot of fun to catch, but for eating I'd prefer a can of tuna.
  
  Mike 
  
  
  

  "Walking away seems to be a lost art form."
  N454casull
  

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• DanChamberlain Posts: 3,395 Senior Member

  August 2018 #16

  What is a "Bullhead?" Are they in the same family?
  
  

  It's a source of great pride for me, that when my name is googled, one finds book titles and not mug shots. Daniel C. Chamberlain

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• zorba Posts: 25,281 Senior Member

  August 2018 #17

  Bullheads are considered trash fish in California - dunno about anywhere else.
  

  -Zorba, "The Veiled Male"
  
  

  "If you get it and didn't work for it, someone else worked for it and didn't get it..."

  )O(
  

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• tennmike Posts: 27,457 Senior Member

  August 2018 #18

  Dan, I caught a lot of black and yellow bullhead catfish in the Conasauga River in TN. The river is COLD clear water, and those catfish were good eating. They didn't get big; a 2 pounder or over was a bragging size catfish.
  

    “I refuse to answer that question on the grounds that I don't know the answer”
  ― Douglas Adams
  

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• jbp-ohio Posts: 10,936 Senior Member

  August 2018 #19

  Bullhead are good if they come from clean water, or you clean them out with fresh water. There are yellow, black, and brown bullhead. All I have ever caught was yellow (yella bellies or butter cats).
  
  Where I used to catch them is a small river below a lake. Once the ODNR started stocking saugeye in the lake they started going out the spillway. As I started catching saugeye in the river the bullhead started to disappear. Within 4-5years I never caught another bullhead there.
  
  
  

  "The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not." Thomas Jefferson

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• Linefinder Posts: 7,856 Senior Member

  August 2018 #20

  DanChamberlain said:

  What is a "Bullhead?" Are they in the same family?
  
  

  Just saw what TennMike posted. In Louisiana they were called mud cats. Unlike Tennessee, the waters in Louisiana were never cold or clear. And these cats tasted, for the most part, like blood and mud. I ate a bunch as a kid, but practically never as an adult.
  
  Mike

  "Walking away seems to be a lost art form."
  N454casull
  

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• DanChamberlain Posts: 3,395 Senior Member

  August 2018 #21

  Went out again last night just to see if the previous night was a fluke. Only had one, but it was maybe a pound or two heavier than the channel posted at the start of this thread. No pics this time. Had a devil of a time removing the hook and wanted to get it back in the water before it croaked. I'm liking this catfishing thing. 
  
  

  It's a source of great pride for me, that when my name is googled, one finds book titles and not mug shots. Daniel C. Chamberlain

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• 10canyon53 Posts: 2,122 Senior Member

  August 2018 #22

  You needn't have worried about it croaking, catfish are tough.  When I catch them I just put them on a stringer until I am ready to head in and then pull them out of the water.  After a 20 min. boat ride back to the boat ramp, getting the boat back on the trailer and driving home it is often an hour to an hour and a half before my son starts cleaning them back at the house.  He usually still has to kill them before cleaning them even after being out of the water that long.  It is important to remember to bring the stringer into the boat before heading for the boat ramp though.     I forgot to do that once.  Remembered 5 min. later, stopped the boat and pulled an empty stringer in.  We even have a non-native invasive species here in Florida known as the "walking catfish".  They have been known to move overland from one body of water to another in search of better conditions.
  

  
  

  Here is a tip:  use circle hooks.  Much more likely to hook the fish in the corner of the mouth even if it swallows the bait.  Makes it much easier to remove the hook.  And watch the spines catfish have, they can be bad news!
  

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• Jay Posts: 4,629 Senior Member

  August 2018 #23

  Gotta agree with JB about leaving them in clean water for a while before cleaning them.  At the ex FIL's ranch, the ex and I would go down to the river and catch catfish and take them back to the house.  Behind the house, he had fish cleaning station.  Had a 50 gallon metal tank with an aerator and a heavy metal grate to keep them from jumping out and he had a sink and cleaning counter set up.  We'd leave them in there for several days and wait until we had a good bunch of them ready, then her mom would go out there and clean them.  That woman could clean a catfish in no time.  The fish down there was some of the best I've ever had.  Not muddy or dirty tasting at all...
  
  Also agree that catfish are tough.  We've caught some before and put them straight on ice and hours later when we get them out to clean them, they're still alive.  Very slow, but alive.

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• breamfisher Posts: 14,103 Senior Member

  August 2018 #24

  Bullheads may or may not be in the catfish family.  There's some non-catfish that folks call "bullheads" that aren't catfish - some killifish, sculpins, and a type of minoow.  Regarding the catfish, they can be good or bad, but I now that most commercial fishermen around here would not sell a yellow bullhead. They'd rather keep them for themselves to eat.  Call them "butter cats." 
  
  Bullheads are smaller, as others have said, and have an almost flat tail. 
  
  
  

  Meh.

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• DanChamberlain Posts: 3,395 Senior Member

  August 2018 #25

  How do you kill them. The neighbors didn't like me using the .45 the other night...
  
  

  It's a source of great pride for me, that when my name is googled, one finds book titles and not mug shots. Daniel C. Chamberlain

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• jbp-ohio Posts: 10,936 Senior Member

  August 2018 #26

  
  

  "The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not." Thomas Jefferson

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• 10canyon53 Posts: 2,122 Senior Member

  August 2018 #27

  DanChamberlain said:

  How do you kill them. The neighbors didn't like me using the .45 the other night...
  
  

  My son starts with a knifepoint through the brain and then cuts the head off.
  

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• tennmike Posts: 27,457 Senior Member

  August 2018 edited August 2018 #28

  The ball end of a 16 oz. ball p.e.e.n.  hammer seems to put them to sleep pretty good. Might have to hit the big ones more than once in the noggin, though.
  
  (Snicker, snicker! the word p.e.e.n without the periods got auto censored! )
  

    “I refuse to answer that question on the grounds that I don't know the answer”
  ― Douglas Adams
  

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• rberglof Posts: 2,998 Senior Member

  August 2018 #29

  10canyon53 said:

  DanChamberlain said:

  How do you kill them. The neighbors didn't like me using the .45 the other night...
  
  

  My son starts with a knifepoint through the brain and then cuts the head off.
  

  That is the way I kill them but I fillet everything I catch.
  

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• DanChamberlain Posts: 3,395 Senior Member

  August 2018 #30

  I fillet the big one. Didn't skin it first. That's why I'm not a catfisherman. I rinsed it off and rubbed it clean really well cos the skin feels a little slimey, but skinning something you are about to fillet seems a waste. Watched a youtube on it a year or so ago and the guy skinned them, then filleted the meat. Seemed like a waste...

  It's a source of great pride for me, that when my name is googled, one finds book titles and not mug shots. Daniel C. Chamberlain

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• Jay Posts: 4,629 Senior Member

  August 2018 edited August 2018 #31

  I don't remember how my ex's mom did it.  I just know she could take a 5 pound fish and have it cleaned and done in just a couple of minutes.  She'd clean several good size catfish in 5 minutes or so.  I do seem to recall she skinned and gutted it, cut the head off and cut it into big chunks.  I think she peeled the skin off the whole body from the head to the tail, then just cut the tail off and tossed it.  They'd season the catfish chunks, cover it with cornmeal and fry it.  We'd eat it with beans, lemon wedges and hot pepper vinegar on the side.  Aside from them not seasoning the beans very much, which I could fix on my own, it was some of the best stuff I've ever had.

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