Smoked Catfish

Dukslayr

5 year old buck +
I used to do a ton of cat fishing. We have some outstanding blue and flathead cat fishing here in Missouri. Between the farm, work and two young boys I don’t get to fish nearly as much as I used to. A couple buddies and I got to set some limb lines and bank poles over the Memorial Day weekend and had a blast slaying the cats. We do a lot of fish fries for big groups, what are great, but I forgot how good we’ll trimmed smoked catfish filets are. Properly cleaning and trimming is always the key to any fish, but particularly important with catfish. If you haven’t tried smoked catfish before I highly recommend it. Use the seasonings of your choice, maybe a slice or two if citrus if that’s your thing, and smoke at 225-250 until flakey (45min to 1.5 hours depending on thickness). I toss a little slice of homemade compound butter on them midway through smoking.
 

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That looks great!

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I tried catfish in a restaurant in New Orleans about ten years ago. I vowed to never eat that slop hog ever again.

I was at a buddy's place over his fishing opener this spring (and these guys are catfish fanatics) and we caught some catfish. The whole time they were cleaning them, I was just cringing thinking I was going to have to pretend to like it when it came time to eat. But then I watched as they carefully cut out the red part along the backside center of the filet and pitched the last couple inches of the tail. They cubed it up, dipped and breaded with best practices, and deep fried it.

It was phenomenal! Totally changed my outlook on catfish. These were clean water channel cats. Totally wrecked my 3-year plan.
 
Today, I'd take a clean water channel cat over most any other fish. Don't know if I'd muscle out salmon and perch, but catfish have earned my respect.
 
I tried catfish in a restaurant in New Orleans about ten years ago. I vowed to never eat that slop hog ever again.

I was at a buddy's place over his fishing opener this spring (and these guys are catfish fanatics) and we caught some catfish. The whole time they were cleaning them, I was just cringing thinking I was going to have to pretend to like it when it came time to eat. But then I watched as they carefully cut out the red part along the backside center of the filet and pitched the last couple inches of the tail. They cubed it up, dipped and breaded with best practices, and deep fried it.

It was phenomenal! Totally changed my outlook on catfish. These were clean water channel cats. Totally wrecked my 3-year plan.
That's exactly how we prep and cook them! I will bleed a big one also. I like catfish better than bass or crappie when done correctly.

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That's exactly how we prep and cook them! I will bleed a big one also. I like catfish better than bass or crappie when done correctly.
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You eat the flatheads too?
 
That's exactly how we prep and cook them! I will bleed a big one also. I like catfish better than bass or crappie when done correctly.
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You eat the flatheads too?
Oh ya! I like mild fish and flats are very clean tasting. Love to eat a big flathead. But they have to be bleed out and no red meat.

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We catch channel cats 3-5 pounds out of a deep clean reservoir here and throw them right in the cooler on ice. Soon as we get home we skin and filet them, next day I cube them up in big chunks dust with bisquick/salt/Tony’s/corn meal and deep fry in peanut oil. It's almost as good as walleye!

Had a friend smoke up a big freezer bag full for us a few years ago, to me it tasted just about like smoked salmon.
 
Absolutely love catfish. Wish I could get them better. But if I don't have any, and the craving strikes, I'll settle for buying them at hyvee or eating a blackened one from Cracker Barrel. I barter a few MN walleye fillets with my cousin for his Ozark blue cats each year. I love bullheads too.
 
Absolutely love catfish. Wish I could get them better. But if I don't have any, and the craving strikes, I'll settle for buying them at hyvee or eating a blackened one from Cracker Barrel. I barter a few MN walleye fillets with my cousin for his Ozark blue cats each year. I love bullheads too.
We have bullheads in our pond. Taste good but some people are turned off from the yellow flesh.

My boy and a friend caught three flats yesterday... a 17, 18, and 45 pounder. They spent them morning catching crappie and bass with me, left and caught the smaller two flats early afternoon, hauled hay till dark, then fished until 1am to catch the 45. It's good to be a kid!

I don't tell people they are eating catfish unless they ask. Been called a liar more than once!

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Today, I'd take a clean water channel cat over most any other fish. Don't know if I'd muscle out salmon and perch, but catfish have earned my respect.
Yes sir. Most people that hate catfish had some muddy farm raised filets that are not prepped and trimmed right. The red centerline you refer to is the #1 culprit for sure. If it’s not white, it gets trimmed out.
 
How big of a cat will you guys keep for eating? The lake I primarily fish doesn't allow flatheads to be kept, and channels seem somewhat scarce. I crossed the IL R. in 2 different spots today while bouncing around replanting holes and the shore fisherman were nut to butt. Most of them keep anything, but I wonder if the white bass are running. It's a pretty good catfish river. Not that I'd eat them.
 
How big of a cat will you guys keep for eating? The lake I primarily fish doesn't allow flatheads to be kept, and channels seem somewhat scarce. I crossed the IL R. in 2 different spots today while bouncing around replanting holes and the shore fisherman were nut to butt. Most of them keep anything, but I wonder if the white bass are running. It's a pretty good catfish river. Not that I'd eat them.
Ideal eating size, for me, is in the 3-6# range. I will eat them larger or smaller but those seems to be the easiest to deal with and best eating.
 
How big of a cat will you guys keep for eating? The lake I primarily fish doesn't allow flatheads to be kept, and channels seem somewhat scarce. I crossed the IL R. in 2 different spots today while bouncing around replanting holes and the shore fisherman were nut to butt. Most of them keep anything, but I wonder if the white bass are running. It's a pretty good catfish river. Not that I'd eat them.

We get some big flats on the river, not that clean of water but a hoot to catch. I like eating channels in the five pound range better, they are very common here.

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Cut em up in 2” cubes and douse them in batter and rolled in bread crumbs. I can’t get enough. They are absolutely delicious. Up north here everything is about walleye and perch but those cats are grossly under rated.


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I went flathead fishing on the MN river Backwater once. We had 8-10” bullheads for bait on 5/0 hooks and 3-5oz weights, rods rigged with clicker reels or bells. We camped overnight in some backwater. Tiki torches for lights, campfire, 2 footling subs a cooler full of beer and a fold out lawn chair. Only thing we caught were a couple nice walleyes. I had a 10-12# walleye to the bank and blew it cause I was so damn drunk. Mighta fell in the water a bit. Screwed up on a couple other big ones too. Never did hook a flathead. Haven’t even seen one in person. Huge fish in the MN river. Guy showed me 13# walleye the other day. Plenty of 40+# flatheads caught every year.

I caught 3-4# cat few weeks ago on local lake. I let him go.
 
I travel quite a bit in the south and we call on big Paper Mills in small towns. For lunch we are always looking for small town diners that either do good smoked BBQ, or catfish. Nothings beats a locally caught fresh catfish Po Boy sandwich!
 
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I went flathead fishing on the MN river Backwater once. We had 8-10” bullheads for bait on 5/0 hooks and 3-5oz weights, rods rigged with clicker reels or bells. We camped overnight in some backwater. Tiki torches for lights, campfire, 2 footling subs a cooler full of beer and a fold out lawn chair. Only thing we caught were a couple nice walleyes. I had a 10-12# walleye to the bank and blew it cause I was so damn drunk. Mighta fell in the water a bit. Screwed up on a couple other big ones too. Never did hook a flathead. Haven’t even seen one in person. Huge fish in the MN river. Guy showed me 13# walleye the other day. Plenty of 40+# flatheads caught every year.

I caught 3-4# cat few weeks ago on local lake. I let him go.
You wouldn't catch me eating anything out of that sewer.
 
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