skinning catfish

[wishbone]

anyone have a good way to skin catfish?
tools
techniques
etc.

[det07]

I just fillet them like any other fish. When you get to the end of the tail leave a small piece of skin attached to hold fillet in place while you run your knife between the meat and skin. Should come off like cutting butter. I have heard all kinds of myths about cleaning cats but I think they are as easy to do as any other fish.

[buck snort]

I agree with det07 just fillet like any other fish, there is no need to skin them.

[rockbass]

Another easy way is to make your cuts, then grab a corner of the skin with needle nose pliers and it pulls right off.

[LTCracc]

Make a cut all the way around the fish, just behind the gills. Hang the fish from a tree and pull down with the pliers, comes off like a sock. Kinda like a rabbit.

[axisgear]

All responses so far are very good and even though I won't eat a channel cat anymore[:cheeky-sm],I have consumed my fair share of shovel heads. I have found that the ones over 20 pounds have the best quality flesh if taken care of properly.

It doesn't matter when or how[I like the slit-and-rip method for skin removal.quick and easy] you get the skin off,but it HAS to come off[period!].After you remove the skin from the fillet and the fillet from the bone,or visa versa,pay special attention to anything still left on the skin side of the fillet. If its not the faintly white-ish color of the meat from the bone,trim it!

Dark catfish meat is NO good![it's actually the fat,but who cares] Any left over skin,if you pulled the skin with pliars,will become a slimy mess during cooking so that has to go as well.

If you are good with your knife and care as much about good food as I do,then a little extra effort will yield fish as tasty as anything swimming in fresh water.Just do well to trim off the waste without wasting the good stuff and a 20# flat will feed your family for a week or more!

Good luck and eat some fish!

[LyonArmonial]

letting the catfish sit whole in some hot water will help get the slime off...makes it a bit easier to work with. just make sure you clean the sink afterwards...women dont care for catfish snot clinging to their sink.

[Loomis]

I use a piece of 3/4 plywood with a 16 penny nail driven through, cut skin around head of catfish place head on nail, pull skin off with pliers then gut. Works well, they are hard to hold on to.

[FlyFisherG]

Ditto what Loomis said, but skinning pliers really are a must have.

[Fishndude]

I use a piece of 3/4 plywood with a 16 penny nail driven through, cut skin around head of catfish place head on nail, pull skin off with pliers then gut. Works well, they are hard to hold on to.

This is pretty much what I have done, except that I use a 2x4, and drive the nail through the fish's head into the wood. Then I grab the skin on each side with regular pliers (2), and skin them like pulling a sock off. Then cut off the head, make sure the guts are cleaned out, and you have a greasy skinless catfish carcass.

[UNCLE AL]

My friends dad had a nail pounded into a tree just for cats. He would impale the head onto the nail after cutting a slit around it, grab the barb on the back with pair of channel locks, and pull the skin off like a sock. I've never done it, but it sure looked easy.

[Doubtndude]

Well see now there is more then 1 way to skin a cat after all. I used to do the nail through the head thing until I learned how to fillet them and its faster and alot easier so now no more nail for me :D