# Channel Cats



## LibertyCall (Oct 3, 2007)

My seven year old fishing partner is doubting me more every time I tell him we can eat the sail cats but not the channel cats. He is not going to take my word for it. So what's the scoop, how much different from a fresh water cat is the taste, and do I clean/prep/fry it any different from its freshwater brothers?


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## Emerald Ghost (Mar 11, 2008)

I have eaten many freshwater catfish:

Channel cats

Yellow or butter cats

red or mud cats

Blue cats



Freshwater catfish are excellent table fare. Sandy bottom lakes or bodies of water produce the best tasting fish, while catfish taken out of lakes with muddy bottoms aren't very good.


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## Cuz (Oct 1, 2007)

Sounds like you are refering to Gaftop(sail cat)catfish vs. hardhead cats in saltwater. Yes Gaftop are good with white meat just not a lot of meat on them. Hard heads are good only for cobe fishing as live bait.


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## RiverGulfFshr (Oct 2, 2007)

Channel Cats are freshwater species and are very good fried, grilled or baked. Sailfin cats are also quite good. But as has already been said, the hardhead catfish(one that is mostly caught in saltwater) are hardy even good as bait.


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## John B. (Oct 2, 2007)

<SPAN id=_ctl1_ctlTopic_ctlPanelBar_ctlTopicsRepeater__ctl8_lblFullMessage>only recipe i've heard of. 

step 1: fillet fish

step 2: dip fish in cornmeal

step 3: fry fish in vegetable oil in a small skillet

step 4: when fish is golden brown, throw that shit out and eat the skillet.


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## mdrobe2 (Oct 12, 2007)

VS200 speaks the truth...


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## SharkSlayer (Oct 3, 2007)

I was told that an adult hardhead has no predators. So, those bait stealing, stinging bastards could potentially live forever eating the trout and red offspring and the $6 a bag gulps! that everybody loves. So here is the question; what does everyone do with the ones they catch while fishing for your favorite target species? Do you "dispose" of them and let them sink? Or cut them loose, knock the slime off your line and get back at it?


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## John B. (Oct 2, 2007)

throw one infront of a 100lb cobia and you'll figure out if they have any natural predators!


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## true-king (Oct 2, 2007)

> *VS200B (6/27/2008)*<SPAN id=_ctl1_ctlTopic_ctlPanelBar_ctlTopicsRepeater__ctl8_lblFullMessage>only recipe i've heard of.
> 
> step 1: fillet fish
> 
> ...


Best recipe I can think of...


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## LibertyCall (Oct 3, 2007)

Well, I finally gave in and skinned one out and mama threw it in the fry daddy. It was at least as good as most of what you'd buy at a catfish restaurant. Meat wasn't mushy at all, and was no more gamey than the sailcat we ate alongside it. The fish was a little one, about 14-16 inches.



Breading was just corn meal, egg, and flour...wasn't buried in spices. Grease was HOT...about 400 degrees.



Doug


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## John B. (Oct 2, 2007)

god bless your brave soul!


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## FishingMedic (Sep 27, 2007)

That and some pinfish split down the middle and fried...yum yum:banghead:banghead


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## Mariner (Nov 16, 2007)

*Tried 'um all. Been eating channel cats all my life. In fact, that's generally what you get at the supermarket in the form of farm raised catfish fillets. Don't care for the mud cats, they have a dirt taste to some of them, especially bigger ones or those from dirty waters. Water quallity make a world of difference in taste. Sail cats or gaff tops are about as good as any. Smaller onesare better. Always heard that Hard head cats are inedible, butbeing the mavrick that I am, I had to try some, and found they aren't too bad either but they are a son of a bitch to skin. I'm told you can loosen the skin by dropping them in boiling water for a couple of minutes preceeding skinning.*


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## monsterflat (Mar 29, 2008)

Best recipe for any saltwater cats:



Filet



Fry



Bypass mouth and place directly in toilet.



That's essentially what happens when you eat them anyway...


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