Blue catfishing

[Jman]

You definitely can drift fish for cats, but...the bait cannot be on the bottom unless you plan a lot of break off from hangups...You can drop the rig to the bottom and reel it up a turn or two of the reel handle...that only works where the depth is pretty uniform...I prefer to anchor and wait them out...if nothing happens with 30 minutes, I move...but I also CHEAT..side scan sonar allows you to scout out the holes before you anchor up and locate the fish...they usually show as white marks in clusters...

Thanks for the advice Ron, I will have to try those out the next time I am able to try for them. The few that I caught previously were a lot of fun to reel in.

[kevinfry]

I'm a light dredge man. 50/50 corn meal.and corn starch. Put all my strips in gallon Ziploc, put in mixture plus ample old bay and shake. Then into Fry pan..... cornstarch makes it crispy but thin battered....I'd do 75% cornstarch if I planned ahead properly

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[captmikestarrett]

The way I cook them requires no breading or oil except to grease the griffo (flat porcelain covered grilling pan with holes) I smear some oil on the pan and set the grill to high. When pan starts to smoke place the fillets on it. I rub some Tony Chachere on both sides of the fish. Burn it almost and do not turn it. Spatula it off the griffo and eat.


Capt Mike

[ronaultmtd]

There really is no bad way to prepare blue catfish...mild, firm white meat...and I use Tony’s on all my fish recipes...lightly dust with the Creole seasoning...too much and it is way too spicy ��...oven fried, deep fried, grilled, fish tacos, fish salad, fish cakes, broiled...all good..it is my favorite, readily avaibale fish for the table and we are doing our civic duty removing an invasive species for the DNR...and Snakeheads are pretty tasty, too...one other method for catching these is using a banana jig instead of a Fishfinder rig...works especially well for the drift method of not anchoring and having a suspended bait just inches off the bottom...

[M_Duong60]

There really is no bad way to prepare blue catfish...mild, firm white meat...and I use Tony’s on all my fish recipes...lightly dust with the Creole seasoning...too much and it is way too spicy ��...oven fried, deep fried, grilled, fish tacos, fish salad, fish cakes, broiled...all good..it is my favorite, readily avaibale fish for the table and we are doing our civic duty removing an invasive species for the DNR...and Snakeheads are pretty tasty, too...one other method for catching these is using a banana jig instead of a Fishfinder rig...works especially well for the drift method of not anchoring and having a suspended bait just inches off the bottom...

Not to mention that they are one of the safer species of fish to eat in our area, it's sad to see how many PCBs and other pollutants we put in the water. I was surprised that while there are little or no consumption advisories on blue catfish in VA there are some on other species of catfish, is it because the blues are faster growing?

[captmikestarrett]

Yes they are faster growing than most fish. At about 1.5 years they switch to a fish only diet and can pack on 10 pounds a year. Most only 3-6 pounds according the fish biologists. In fact they are safe for eating according to DC Government.

Capt Mike

[mepps3]

Maryland still suggest a limit to how often you eat them. Only 1 meal a month for fish from 24-30", 2 meals a month for fish from 15-24". That for fish caught between the 301 bridge and the DC line.

You can look it up yourself: https://mde.maryland.gov/programs/ma...nadvisory.aspx

[WVKayakFisher]

Hoping to get back over for some more blues soon myself...

I'd like to encourage you to make sure you're harvesting the bellies on any fish over ~24". I put 90lbs of blue cat in the freezer last summer from a total of 20 man-hours of fishing and we didn't keep any single fish under 3lbs, the single best day was 22 fish kept, equal number lost, nothing under 3lbs kept. Couldn't even lift the stringer at the dock, lol.

I picked up the lithium rapala fillet knife at an auction for $4, great investment, lol....that and the "fillet claw" at wal-mart for $7 and a sharp dexter traditional means perfect fillets every time without much extra work.

[M_Duong60]

Hoping to get back over for some more blues soon myself...

I'd like to encourage you to make sure you're harvesting the bellies on any fish over ~24". I put 90lbs of blue cat in the freezer last summer from a total of 20 man-hours of fishing and we didn't keep any single fish under 3lbs, the single best day was 22 fish kept, equal number lost, nothing under 3lbs kept. Couldn't even lift the stringer at the dock, lol.

I picked up the lithium rapala fillet knife at an auction for $4, great investment, lol....that and the "fillet claw" at wal-mart for $7 and a sharp dexter traditional means perfect fillets every time without much extra work.

If there weren't so many pollutants in the potomac I'd agree with harvesting the belly meat, occasionally I'll use a little in dog treats but usually just toss the bits I don't use in the creek out back. At least that way what isn't used goes back into the ecosystem.