# Has anyone on here tried to eat sailcats?



## FenderBender (Oct 2, 2007)

Just curious, I have been catching a lot of huge ones lately and have heard they are edible. Anybody tried them, or are they even worth the trouble?


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## Chris V (Oct 18, 2007)

I've eaten them on 2 occasions and both times I'll honestly say they weren't bad.......if you like catfish. They tasted just like a freshwater channel cat to me which isn't terrible but I don't really like them either.

I'd sum it up by saying they are good eating as long as you like catfish.


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## FenderBender (Oct 2, 2007)

Thanks for the reply, can anyone find the state or world record for these? Some of the ones I have caught are pushing 10 lbs


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## Chris V (Oct 18, 2007)

The record is only about 9lbs or so. I've caught and seen others catch many that would eclipse the current record easily. The biggest ones I've ever seen are in Tampa Bay. I caught one while shark fishing near the skyway bridge that would have pushed 14lbs or more on a whole deep fried KFC breast.


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## konz (Oct 1, 2007)

yeah they taste like fresh water cats and the record is only like 9lbs as said. I've caught some around 7lbs but none over 9 yet.


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## Capt.Eugene (Nov 28, 2008)

Used to eat them all the time when I used to Shrimp for a living they were free and we didn't like to waste anything.

Haven't eaten them since but I must say they were good.


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## WW2 (Sep 28, 2007)

There are a few things I have learned about eating fish. 

1. Almost all fish are edible and good to eat certain ways. 

2. People who say a fish is horrible to eat are also terrible cooks. 

3. Fish some people call excellent were once thought of as trash fish and some trash fish were once very sought after.

4. When a fisherman tells you a certain fish is bad there is a good chance he has never tasted the fish.(Tunapopper) 

The best way to find out is to keep one of whatever it is and then hunt down a recipe. If it tastes good then keep eating it. If it tastes bad see rule #2. 



FIXED!..lol


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## Chris V (Oct 18, 2007)

> *WW2 (9/24/2009)*There are a few things I have learned about eating fish.
> 
> 1. Almost all fish are edible and good to eat certain ways.
> 
> ...


Well said but you forgot one other thing:

When you ask someone how a fish tastes like a cuda, jack, ladyfish, etc. and they tell you "They're nasty trash fish", bear in mind that 98% of those who say this have never even eaten the fish in question.


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## angus_cow_doctor (Apr 13, 2009)

I have tried and been successful in eating sailcat....

They follow the same rules as freshwater catfish. Smaller ones taste better. Big ones can get really fishy if not cooked appropriately.

Hard to cook a 2-3 pound catfish wrong. Tasty when baked, fried, and grilled.

When they get 5-7 pounds, best to double cut the fillets so they are thinner. Also better to fry them instead of baking/grilling.

If you will cut "fish nuggets" off of the fillets (1/2 inch perpendicular cuts from the fillet) and fry them in peanut oil with cornmeal breading, you would never know it was big catfish. Secret is to get oil all the way down to the meat. By making the pieces thinner/smaller, you achieve this goal.

I used to catch catfish by the hundreds in birmingham. We ate them all, either ourselves or by donating the fillets to church mission trips.


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## CCC (Sep 3, 2008)

I just can't get past the slimy snot all over them to take time to clean and eat, even unemployed I am just not that desperate yet !


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## Dumb Axe (Aug 28, 2009)

They are ok if you want to eat them. I have even eaten hard heads and it was better than shark(I dont like shark)but not good enough to continue the practice. As mentioned above I also believe that the best way to see if a fish is good to eat is to keep one and try it. Just dont do what I did whenI moved here and someone said pinfish were yummy. I caught cleaned and cooked 37 of them and wow what a waste that was nobody liked them. Try one before going crazy.


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## welldoya (Oct 5, 2007)

"3. Fish some people call excellent were once thought of as trash fish and some trash fish were once very sought after. "

How true that is. I can remember going out on Capt. Anderson's party boats out of Panama City back in the 60s. If it wasn't a red snapper or a grouper, we threw it back. Forget triggerfish and amberjack.


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## freespool50 (Sep 29, 2007)

i've only caught one, and i fried it up. it reminded me of fried mullet a little, or as some have said, freshwater catfish. i remember its flavor being unique but definitely good enough to keep another if caught. 

i'll add another to ww2's comments, 


if a new fish is tried and you are psychologically averse to it before you eat it, i believe that will impact the opinion of how good it is. kind of like someone eating raw oysters for the first time. i dont know too many who hate the flavor, but i know many that cant "get past the feeling" of raw oysters, so it keeps people from eating them. same may be true of sailcats, some think of them as a hardhead and cant get past the slimyness as ccc posted.

my .01 (.02 after taxes)


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## angus_cow_doctor (Apr 13, 2009)

I clean catfish with electric knife, never had problem with slime. Helps to rinse them off before cleaning.

I will say I tried hardhead catfish before. They taste shrimpy to me. It was kind of weird. Probably won't eat them again if I have a choice.


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## TURTLE (May 22, 2008)

> *WW2 (9/24/2009)*There are a few things I have learned about eating fish.
> 
> 1. Almost all fish are edible and good to eat certain ways.
> 
> ...


*I agree, I've eaten sail cats alot when I caught them while shark fishing and the whole family enjoyed them.Fried of course, I don't like any catfish thats not fried unless it's catfish lafiet, I'm not sure how to spell that but it's acreiole dish and it's good with anything in it.*


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## Death From Above (Sep 28, 2007)

I've ate them and they are ok (like freshwater cat). Has anybody on here ever actually tried to eat a ladyfish (skipjack)?


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## WW2 (Sep 28, 2007)

There is one dish that everyone should keep in mind when catching fish that may not be the best off of the grill or broiled. Fish soup...some friends and I used to take all of the kings we would catch on a trip(used to almost limit every trip) and make king balls and fish soup. We made a manhattan style chowder or a new england style. It was always excellent. Also, never underestimate the power of smoke. If you don't like a fish straight try smoking it. Smoke it then use the fish in a dip or the soup. There are a million ways to cook fish. Also, talk to the asians on the piers. Even if you don't want to use hardtails like they do you can often apply thier recipes to other types of fish and it will be amazing.

You can be a snooty tuna only fish consumer or you can be part of the crew that enjoys the challenge of cooking the various types. I look at it this way. Catching the fish is only half the battle. I don't figure that I have conquered a fish until I can catch it regularly and cook it so that it tastes good.


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## Charlie2 (Oct 2, 2007)

You have to keep them fresh(on ice) like you do with any other fish.



Get an ice pick, sharp knife and a good pair of pliers and you can clean and skin cats without getting things slimy.



Catfish is better fried. I have eten it as a soup/stew but frying is the way to go.



Use my method for skinning/cleaning hardheads which makes the job easier. 



They're small but tasty. C2


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## Jason (Oct 2, 2007)

Sailcats are predatory fish, meaning they eat alot of live fish and not crap off the bottom like their other catfish cousins. They have a white meat that fries up good. They have a weird bone structure (their ribs go purty far back)which means you dont get big filets off a big cat. When in doubt just try it!!! Remember mullet use to be considered a "trash fish"...:letsdrink


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## konz (Oct 1, 2007)

Still is in parts of the country. My dad wont eat it to this day (he's from New Orleans) and still calls them gutter fish. I however will not turn down fresh fried mullet.......then again there is much fresh fried anything that I would turn down.....hmmm


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## angus_cow_doctor (Apr 13, 2009)

How about fresh fried buzzard?


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## whipper snapper (Sep 30, 2007)

> *angus_cow_doctor (9/24/2009)*How about fresh fried buzzard?


greasy!


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## reelthrill (Oct 3, 2007)

> *Death From Above (9/24/2009)*I've ate them and they are ok (like freshwater cat). Has anybody on here ever actually tried to eat a ladyfish (skipjack)?


Lady fish is the main ingredient in Mcdonalds's fish sandwiches!


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## whipper snapper (Sep 30, 2007)

> *CCC (9/24/2009)*I just can't get past the slimy snot all over them to take time to clean and eat, even unemployed I am just not that desperate yet !


i here if you lick that slime off of him, you will trip for 2-3 days! cheap high for the unemployed.


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## CCC (Sep 3, 2008)

Damn whipper, thanks for the look out, if anyone sees a middle aged bald headed unemployed guy in the pass tomorrow with redfish on his boat licking sail cats that would be me, stop by and introduce yourself, I may think you are Janice Joplin, Jimmy Hendrix, or some other trippin rock star but don't mind me ! :letsdrink


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## King Crab (Dec 28, 2008)

Yall must have a way of making them taste good. :sick They taste like remoras. No good. Fresh water cats are 100 times better.


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## badazzchef (Oct 1, 2007)

We have cooked just about every fish you can catch...Some of you have been there for the experiments....What you have all failed to mention is care of fish from hook to table...Many fish need to be bled or gutted to be edible...Many fish are no good with skin on.

Hardheads are horrible. They are very mushy and also very fishy...Anyone wanna challenge my cooking on these species have at it.

Sailcats are great and do in fact taste just like channel cat...good ole muddy river channel cat...not farm pond fish

Pinfish are good to me but I love pigfih when I catch them they are from the grunt family

Remoras have not been tried by me yet so edit that previous statement by me

Ladyfish...we caught a stud one on the pier last week 4lbs! Anyway when I cut some of him out for bait I noticed a much whiter less bloody piece of fish...I soaked it in ACIDULATED water...(lemon juice and water) Buttermilk has similar effect but if you are going to grill it you need the buttermilk gone or it will burn. Anyway seared a piece up and it was....(read below)

Shark...without a doubt a very underrated fish to me...this fish M<UST be gutted almost immediately...Ultralight and I have gutted them while still very much alive and kickin...anyway they are awesome to me! Any species but bull and bl;acktip are tops

Hmm Me and Deeplines love Ruby lips...taste like crappie to me

Some guys like bonita....it to me is one of the most repulsive fish I have ever tasted...Ive had it raw and it tasted just like a penny....very irony and coppery...yuck... I am sure if you smoked it it would be ok

Jack Crevalle- HORRID HORRID HORRID! We caught a few and when we fileted them it was like cutting a bonita....ver very bloody...

AND THE LADYFISH? It was terrible....very very mushy....and grainy? Like eating sandy fish


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## stargazer (Oct 6, 2007)

> *Death From Above (9/24/2009)*I've ate them and they are ok (like freshwater cat). Has anybody on here ever actually tried to eat a ladyfish (skipjack)?


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## Stressless (Oct 2, 2007)

> *CCC (9/24/2009)*I just can't get past the slimy snot all over them to take time to clean and eat, even unemployed I am just not that desperate yet !




No... you're not hungry enough - a word to the those that say they are 'poor' but still can toss calories away.



:mmmbeer

Stressless


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## Sea Monkey (Dec 26, 2008)

The OLE Slime on the line.

I used to catch Sailcats all the time while fishing for Bullreds. I never did keep one and try it out. I do know that I have never caught one and not have slime on my line. Shoot, there were times I would get a bite and reel in to check my bait, you got it, only slime on the line. I heard somewhere that people use the slime as a hulucinagentic. Yea it was college students, so I don't know if it is true or not I never have tried the slime myself. Maybe thats what is wrong with some of these boat operators, they may have a cooler full of Sailcats.


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## HaterAide (Nov 9, 2007)

> *reelthrill (9/24/2009)*
> 
> 
> > *Death From Above (9/24/2009)*I've ate them and they are ok (like freshwater cat). Has anybody on here ever actually tried to eat a ladyfish (skipjack)?
> ...






Not true.


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## FenderBender (Oct 2, 2007)

> *Sea Monkey (9/24/2009)*The OLE Slime on the line.
> 
> I used to catch Sailcats all the time while fishing for Bullreds. I never did keep one and try it out. I do know that I have never caught one and not have slime on my line. Shoot, there were times I would get a bite and reel in to check my bait, you got it, only slime on the line. I heard somewhere that people use the slime as a hulucinagentic. Yea it was college students, so I don't know if it is true or not I never have tried the slime myself. Maybe thats what is wrong with some of these boat operators, they may have a cooler full of Sailcats.




The slime is the craziest thing!! Everytime, like an 8 inch slime trail above your hook! I never have understood exactly whats going on with that. And I've tried ladyfish, we made fishcakes out of them and all you could taste was seasoning  it wasn't bad, but I'm not in a hurry to eat them again when there are 40 other better species to eat


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## TROUT03 (Aug 6, 2009)

> *FenderBender (9/24/2009)*Just curious, I have been catching a lot of huge ones lately and have heard they are edible. Anybody tried them, or are they even worth the trouble?




i've eatin them before they ain't bad you just need to fry them.


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## BOHUNTER1 (Feb 18, 2008)

we were grillin some Redfish slabs once and we had 3 13 inch Black drum we kept for some reason... well we slabbed them off and If Im lyin Im Dyin.... you couldnt tell the difference between the redfish and the drum grilled to perfection...

So the next time your tossing those small ones back ..... "they taste like chicken!"

Grill pre-heated to 200*

Slabs with scales still on

Dressed with some Tony Sasheries cajun seasonings, butter and S&P

Scales down, gonna take about 25- 30 minutes range depends on the person. it will fall off the skin its as fine of a fish as you want!


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## biminitwist (Dec 5, 2008)

<SPAN id=_ctl1_ctlTopic_ctlPanelBar_ctlTopicsRepeater__ctl22_lblFullMessage><DIV class=Quote>*angus_cow_doctor (9/24/2009)* <HR class=hr noShade SIZE=1>How about fresh fried buzzard?</DIV>

greasy! 




Oh, about like owl...


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## jeff456 (Sep 28, 2007)

I have eaten Sailcat and I think they are good fried. I found a beer batter reciepe for Bluefish and used that and it was really good. Light and flakey fish when fried. I have also tried it baked when I did not want the mess of frying and it was firm and rubbery. I may have overcooked it that time. I made up my mind if I ever cook it again it has to be batter fried in order for me to like it. It seems like they were pretty smelly when filleting them, about like mullet, if I remember right. They are worth eating, you just have to find the way you like them cooked.

Jeff


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## Heller High Water Mate (Apr 14, 2008)

> *HaterAide (9/24/2009)*
> 
> 
> > *reelthrill (9/24/2009)*
> ...


:boo :doh I don't know have you ever had McD's fish sandwich...I think he's on to something!


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## Chris V (Oct 18, 2007)

I think I'd rather die than eat a McDonalds fish sandwich.


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## User6882 (Feb 4, 2009)

id starve before eating fast food fish sammaches


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