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Killing cat fish

victorlvlbvictorlvlb Member Posts: 5,004
edited January 2010 in The Fishing Hole!
How do you kill your catfish? If I catch a fish and am going to eat I kill it, asp.

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    shoff14shoff14 Member Posts: 11,994 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Catfish are easy to keep alive. So i usually keep them alive until i cut them up.

    To kill them and fillet them. Take some vise grips, clap on the lower jaw. Hold it on its belly and give it a good thump on the top of the head with a heavy device (ie: hammer, ect). Should be dead now or at least stunned. Skin and fillet, you can use the vise grips to hold on to the slimy thing.
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    awindsawinds Member Posts: 1,139 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Killing cat fish ??
    No........ it's kill cat, then
    go fishing......troll for alligators.[}:)]
    Can you tell I don't like cats ??
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    kimikimi Member Posts: 44,723 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    To kill a catfish swiftly stick a sharp knife into its head (brain), and then cut forward. The catfish will die immediately if done properly. Use a knife with a strong blade, do not try to do this with a filet knife that has a flexible blade:

    http://www.instructables.com/id/ELLLR5IU04EP287ZKI/
    What's next?
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    captkirk3@dslextreme.comcaptkirk3@dslextreme.com Member Posts: 3,804
    edited November -1
    I used to Fish for Big Flatheads in the Verde River...35 Pounders were quite common...I found them to be Muddy in Flavor until an Old Man I knew happened by the Fishin' Hole where H e saw that I wa about to screwup the butchering project I was facing...He took my U.S. Army shovel and banged the Cat on the Head...then Took a Hatchet and cut off the Cats tail...The Blood squirted out of the Back Bone where the Tail used to be...The blood quit about in 6 or 7 squirts and the Cat was Dead as a Doornail...Got the Critter Skinned and fillets cut and headed for Home....No Muddy Flavor!!! I cleaned all My Cat Fish like that after I was Taught the Secret.....and just in case anyone is interested The Cleaning Trick works on Sharks to....Best....
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    Hunter MagHunter Mag Member Posts: 6,611 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Why? The meat stays fresh longer if the fish is alive.
    I don't even gut or skin them,I just fillet them still alive then put the fillet skin side down and fillet the skin off too. It's very fast.
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    crowbeanercrowbeaner Member Posts: 40 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    We catch channel cats up here, and cutting the tail off works; by the time I clean them they are pretty much done in. Don't fool yourself; a 15 lb. channel will put the horns to you if he can! Soak them in cold salt water overnight and cook them the next day; the salt water will draw out the oil and makes them much more palatable. I stun them with a solid whack from an inch hardwood dowel before I start.
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    CubsloverCubslover Member Posts: 18,601 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Two tricks to getting the muddy flavor out:

    Put them in a fresh livewell(or bucket with fresh water), alive, for a couple hours. They will clean their bodies out. Keep fresh water coming in.

    Tie them on a stringer that will not go down to the bottom, keep them about 3-4' off the bottom. Same thing, they'll clean themselves out.

    As for killing them: I never have. Skinned them live. I figure they'll be dead shortly after I cut their head off.

    I guess a pellet to the top of the head would kill em. We do that to the Bowfin we catch. Their heads are thick and bony. Kills em immediately.
    Half of the lives they tell about me aren't true.
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    gmayesgmayes Member Posts: 415 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I usually wait till I get home to clean my catfish. They live a long time out of the water.
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    KrisWKrisW Member Posts: 633 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    About the only ones we kill are over 5 lbs. We hang those up and cut the tail off and let them bleed out. The smaller ones we just fillet alive. We soak the fillets in water. Never use any salt tho.
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    victorlvlbvictorlvlb Member Posts: 5,004
    edited November -1
    The most humane way is driving a nail thru their heads, i guess. The tree huggers would have a ball with this thread.Like i said if i'm going to eat a fish i kill it asp. Thanks for all the posts.
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    kimikimi Member Posts: 44,723 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Keep them alive in the water as noted above, and then when you are ready to kill them the most humane way known, go for the brain as noted in a previous post. I use a hunting knife, and place the point of it in the center of the skull not far from the back of the head, and once it is in the right place, I hold the handle with the left hand and strike the top of it with the heel of the right hand. Once the knife is driven into the skull, I make a short cut forward. With a little practice the cat will die as soon as the blade is driven into the brain. I learned this technique as a very young boy, and I've never killed them anyother way since then.
    What's next?
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    BOBBYWINSBOBBYWINS Member Posts: 7,810
    edited November -1
    Here's another vote for the knife in the brain.

    BW(Who usually just skins'em alive anyway.)
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    COLTCOLT Member Posts: 12,637 ******
    edited November -1
    ...if I can make myself catch 'em...slow fishing at the ranch lake for the blues & channels...but BIG!

    ...IF I bothered to kill 'em, I'd stab them w/the Buck in the head...but it's a catfish, have to admit I don't worry about how they "feel"..hell, your all going to EAT them...and your worried about "feeling their pain"???[:D]

    ...I have a re-chargable electric knife and I clean them on the dock and kick them back into the lake, they die I'm sure...[;)]

    Lure_3.gif

    ani-texas-flag.gif
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    kimikimi Member Posts: 44,723 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    My note having to do with the word "humane" was in response to victorlvb's second post. Killing catfish by driving a nail or another object into the brain serves a number of purposes aside from putting creatures out of their misery. One is that nary a wiggle will interfere with the cleaning of it. Another would be that one would never be "stuck". The list of plusses are endless. [:)] Of course some folks like this sort of stuff too:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTUPHExilFk
    What's next?
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    Hunter MagHunter Mag Member Posts: 6,611 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Dam Kimi I thought my method wasn't the best but that's really bad. [xx(]
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    kimikimi Member Posts: 44,723 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    [:D]
    What's next?
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    XLpitmanXLpitman Member Posts: 1,029 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I've always kept them alive just prior to cleaning them. A quick pop to the head with hammer does the trick.
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    mousemouse Member Posts: 3,624
    edited November -1
    Hold them by the lip with a pair of plyers, and bop them on the head
    with a hammer.
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    jonkjonk Member Posts: 10,121
    edited November -1
    Dunno. I'm pretty sure you could gut, skin, and fillet a cat and it would still swim away. [:D]
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    strafe247strafe247 Member Posts: 1 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Killing a cat is easy. My Dad always said that you could kill one with a broom straw and you just about can! All cats have a "soft spot" in the center of their heads where no skull protects them. Insert a slender filet knife and tilt back and forth, it will kill them stone dead...no muss, no fuss, no bother..unless you're the cat![;)]Strafe247
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    bigoutsidebigoutside Member Posts: 19,443
    edited November -1
    tourist trout are best done in with a knife to the brain.
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    Easton Archer 66Easton Archer 66 Member Posts: 40 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by awinds
    Killing cat fish ??
    No........ it's kill cat, then
    go fishing......troll for alligators.[}:)]
    Can you tell I don't like cats ??
    [:D]I gotta agree with your post on killing the kats. A .22 cal Beeman R1 works wonders out to about 35-40 yards with the right pellet. I suspect they would work well for catching snapping turtles if cut up properly; then you would finally have a good use for the lil critters. They do really make good bait for coyotes also. I forgot about that! Drop me a note awinds for the real story on that, it's hilarious but not really appropriate on this site[:(][V]!! My count is over 1250 so far, but I am only 60.
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    woodguruwoodguru Member Posts: 2,850
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by captkirk3@dslextreme.com
    I used to Fish for Big Flatheads in the Verde River...35 Pounders were quite common...I found them to be Muddy in Flavor until an Old Man I knew happened by the Fishin' Hole where H e saw that I wa about to screwup the butchering project I was facing...He took my U.S. Army shovel and banged the Cat on the Head...then Took a Hatchet and cut off the Cats tail...The Blood squirted out of the Back Bone where the Tail used to be...The blood quit about in 6 or 7 squirts and the Cat was Dead as a Doornail...Got the Critter Skinned and fillets cut and headed for Home....No Muddy Flavor!!! I cleaned all My Cat Fish like that after I was Taught the Secret.....and just in case anyone is interested The Cleaning Trick works on Sharks to....Best....

    Are you the capt kirk from Florida? My wife and I hired a guide by that name and we caught Redfish, Sea Trout, and Snook. We were staying at the Radisson and there was a chef at the restaurant that cleaned and cooked all three kinds of fish six different ways, two ways for each fish. We told him he could have the rest of the fish he didn't cook. That guy brought a platter that was huge heaped with different things like risotto and hush puppies. The whole restaurant wanted to know what that dish we had was and could they have it, which they couldn't We left the chef a C note for the meal, it was as good as anything we've ever had.
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    woodguruwoodguru Member Posts: 2,850
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by kimi
    My note having to do with the word "humane" was in response to victorlvb's second post. Killing catfish by driving a nail or another object into the brain serves a number of purposes aside from putting creatures out of their misery. One is that nary a wiggle will interfere with the cleaning of it. Another would be that one would never be "stuck". The list of plusses are endless. [:)] Of course some folks like this sort of stuff too:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTUPHExilFk

    Critics say the fish is put through extreme pain, "NO poop SHERLOCK" Damn. That statement had me laughing my * off.
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    woodguruwoodguru Member Posts: 2,850
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by woodguru
    quote:Originally posted by kimi
    My note having to do with the word "humane" was in response to victorlvb's second post. Killing catfish by driving a nail or another object into the brain serves a number of purposes aside from putting creatures out of their misery. One is that nary a wiggle will interfere with the cleaning of it. Another would be that one would never be "stuck". The list of plusses are endless. [:)] Of course some folks like this sort of stuff too:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTUPHExilFk

    Critics say the fish is put through extreme pain, "NO poop SHERLOCK" Damn. That statement had me laughing my * off.


    Now I'm laughing my * off about my post being changed to "no poop sherlock" I've been up too long, goodnight
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    fishkiller41fishkiller41 Member Posts: 50,608
    edited November -1
    I don't do any fresh water fishing but the salt water fish i catch to eat get gutted and laid on top of ice ASAP. Their are a lot of good edible fish here that folks will eat, that i would never think of eating. Bluefish,mackrel,sailcats,mullet,and a lot more. I only keep/kill snapper,porgies,Cobia,Dorado,Grouper,and the like.The rest go free.Gutting and getting the blood out and the meat cold is key to tasty fish, the same must apply to fresh water species as well.
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    joshmb1982joshmb1982 Member Posts: 8,929
    edited November -1
    i just drive my knive through thier head. usually twice just for good measure. though a big cat around here is about 2-2.5 lbs. why filet them? ive always just gutted em skined em and cooked em whole either in a frying pan or wrapped in foil with a slab of butter in their belly on the grill. ill have to try the cutting the tail off part.
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    minitruck83minitruck83 Member Posts: 5,369
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by joshmb1982
    i just drive my knive through thier head. usually twice just for good measure. though a big cat around here is about 2-2.5 lbs. why filet them? ive always just gutted em skined em and cooked em whole either in a frying pan or wrapped in foil with a slab of butter in their belly on the grill. ill have to try the cutting the tail off part.


    josh, with those little fellers, try dunking them in boiling water. What's left of the skin will wipe off.



    Allen
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    lunkerbusterlunkerbuster Member Posts: 1,006 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    knock em in the head
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    He DogHe Dog Member Posts: 50,964 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by woodguru
    quote:Originally posted by captkirk3@dslextreme.com
    I used to Fish for Big Flatheads in the Verde River...35 Pounders were quite common...I found them to be Muddy in Flavor until an Old Man I knew happened by the Fishin' Hole where H e saw that I wa about to screwup the butchering project I was facing...He took my U.S. Army shovel and banged the Cat on the Head...then Took a Hatchet and cut off the Cats tail...The Blood squirted out of the Back Bone where the Tail used to be...The blood quit about in 6 or 7 squirts and the Cat was Dead as a Doornail...Got the Critter Skinned and fillets cut and headed for Home....No Muddy Flavor!!! I cleaned all My Cat Fish like that after I was Taught the Secret.....and just in case anyone is interested The Cleaning Trick works on Sharks to....Best....

    Are you the capt kirk from Florida? My wife and I hired a guide by that name and we caught Redfish, Sea Trout, and Snook. We were staying at the Radisson and there was a chef at the restaurant that cleaned and cooked all three kinds of fish six different ways, two ways for each fish. We told him he could have the rest of the fish he didn't cook. That guy brought a platter that was huge heaped with different things like risotto and hush puppies. The whole restaurant wanted to know what that dish we had was and could they have it, which they couldn't We left the chef a C note for the meal, it was as good as anything we've ever had.


    Nope, he is the Real Capt. Kirk from LA.
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    the nitro manthe nitro man Member Posts: 5 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    i'm glad i'm not the only person that kills it before i cut on it. i shoot them in the head with my 22lr. i get onto my buddies for shinning & cutting them up while their alive.
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    joshmb1982joshmb1982 Member Posts: 8,929
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by the nitro man
    i'm glad i'm not the only person that kills it before i cut on it. i shoot them in the head with my 22lr. i get onto my buddies for shinning & cutting them up while their alive.


    22 is a bit overkill for be but i get your point. fish still have nerves, still bleed. why make them feel any more pain then needed? plus they wiggle around like hell when there still alive.
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