Catfish swarming in Bushwood & St Clements creek

[kevinfry]

The blue catfish are out in force at Bushwood and lower St Clements after being up the river following the perch spawn....as many of you guys have experienced, it can be really fun and, being so far down river from DC, they are high quality fish. None of the big monsters you have up Ft Washington way, but nice cooler filling size. Here is a link to an old report of moc's that shows how great it can be for blue cats in that spot in the springhttp://www.snaggedline.com/showthrea...light=bushwood

If you are interested, send me a PM and i'll send you a map of the area. As for St Clements creek, I dont have a map, but the fish below was caught from shore in the lower end of the creek this Sat.

[captmikestarrett]

For those who are looking for great ways to cook blue cats here are two:
1: filet and wash and pat dry. Rub with EVO and sprinkle with Tony Chacheres

Place on grill really hot with a Griffo in place. Almost burn one side and serve.
A Griiffo looks like this.

2: Smoke the fish. This is from my favorite charter..
I finally smoked the catfish fillets. They were absolutely delicious and far better than bluefish I have previously smoked. Below is my recipe

1 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbs creole seasoning
1 cup water

Brine for 4 hours then pat dry and let sit for 2 hours on a rack to dry out and form a pellicle. This allows the smoke to attach to the fish.
I used cherry pellets as opposed to cherry wood. This was suggested to me by Eric, owner of Mason Dixon BBQ. I found these pellets to burn more evenly and not create a bitter taste. I set the smoker to 200 degrees and smoked them for three hours. I took them to Snood Fest and got many compliments on them. I also smoked a rock fish fillet and made a dip out of it which consisted of 1 cup sour cream, 1/2 cup cream cheese, 2 tbs Worchestershire sauce, 2 tbs Old Bay, 1 tbs powdered garlic and 1 tbs parsley.

Blue cats are snapping real good in the Potomac right now and will turn on even better as the shad arrive at the end of March. I release all cats bigger than 24" but the ones under 24" come home with me. Very good cut up and deep fried in a Cajun batter too. Go and get you some! Great table fare and helps control this invasive species..................Gary



Also I have a catfish casserole that is not traditional but very good.

Capt Mike