Are bay catfish edible?

**mputnal3** · 04-10-2011, 07:36 AM

Does anyone know if sailcats caught in the bay are edible? I have just always heard that they are not but they sure look very similiar to freshwater channel cats and they are very good to eat. I have asked FWC but no one yet has responded. Mullet are one of my favorite bay fish to eat if prepared fresh. If there is no good reason not to eat bay catfish I may never need to buy seafood again because both catfish and mullet are plentiful in our bay.

If anyone has a recipe for baycats (sailcat) then I would give it a try after my next fishing trip because I always catch these strong fighting fish. They are a lot of fun to catch.

**MrMentalFitness** · 04-10-2011, 12:07 PM

Great question!

**ShallowsNole** · 04-10-2011, 05:11 PM

We eat them! Skinning and fileting is a pain, but they are good. Just watch out and make sure that fin doesn't get you!

**kurt** · 04-10-2011, 07:41 PM

I used to know a guy who made REAL catfish stew - you throw in the whole fish and cook 'em down.

**rocketman** · 04-10-2011, 08:04 PM

In answer to your question, bay sail catfish are very edible. The preparation that has always worked for our family was to split the tail portion of the fish about 2 inches and allow it to bleed out as soon as it is caught. As gross as it sounds, it does make the fish more tastier. As mentioned in another post, be sure and skin the fish and you may want to cut out any blood lines in the meat. We always battered and fried the fish. This technique has worked in our household for many years. I've been fishing the bay for almost sixty years and this is the technique that was handed down from the sure enough old timers. Enjoy your fishing....

JC · 04-11-2011, 03:40 PM

Originally Posted by rocketman

In answer to your question, bay sail catfish are very edible. The preparation that has always worked for our family was to split the tail portion of the fish about 2 inches and allow it to bleed out as soon as it is caught. As gross as it sounds, it does make the fish more tastier. As mentioned in another post, be sure and skin the fish and you may want to cut out any blood lines in the meat. We always battered and fried the fish. This technique has worked in our household for many years. I've been fishing the bay for almost sixty years and this is the technique that was handed down from the sure enough old timers. Enjoy your fishing....

Could you explain the split the tail part? 2" from where to where?

**SWGB** · 04-11-2011, 04:49 PM

Originally Posted by JC

Could you explain the split the tail part? 2" from where to where?

I'm guessing in the middle of the tail from the end of it.

**Franny** · 04-11-2011, 04:57 PM

My dad and his buddies always cleaned fresh water cats by placing a board onto a structure, putting in a nail, then attaching the cat to the nail. Made it a lot easier to remove the skin and not get stung.

**jamnolfin** · 04-11-2011, 10:19 PM

Originally Posted by Franny

My dad and his buddies always cleaned fresh water cats by placing a board onto a structure, putting in a nail, then attaching the cat to the nail. Made it a lot easier to remove the skin and not get stung.

This is what we do, mostly with river cat though. Cut around the neck and pull their skin off with pliers. My grandaddy always told me to soak them in buttermilk before frying.