Has anyone found a method to optimize the taste of your fried catfish so that they don't taste 'fishy?' The last batch of blues I caught had more red meat on them than usual. In the pasts, it would be a small strip of red down the centerline and I would just cut it out. But this last batch has a broad area of red. What to do? Or do you do anything?

I have a friend who says when he takes his fish out of the freezer, he thaws them and then soaks them in salty water.

After I clean mine, I also soak them in a large bowl of cold ice water and it draws some blood out.

I know some people bleed their live fish by cutting the tail but I really don't want to do that, lol.

Prior to this last batch, after I got my blues dressed, it was really pretty white meat, and they tasted great.

Some blues seem to just have more red. Takes time to learn but try filleting an 1/8th inch or so higher off the skin then you have been. You basically push the knife (SHARP!) thru the fillet with the handle resting parallel to the cutting board. After some practice you will adjust the angle so you get a little more clean meat. You are doing everything else right. The warmer the weather the more you need to soak in fresh ice water, change the water 3-4 times. Don't soak in salt water, you are not trying to brine them.

Meant to add; Only freeze clean fish, smell them, if they have a "fishy" odor at all then clean them some more.

I use salt water on mine.
I rinse a couple times.
Soak in salt water and then rinse a couple more times.

Fishy taste comes from the red meat on the fish. As stated above, remove the red meat. When I soak my fish prior to cooking, I do add salt to the solution mentioned above. Rinse good before cooking fish.

Tex I'm glad you said rinse them good, I had a friend that always fried striper soaked in saltwater and he never rinsed it. It was kind of slimy going into the batter and never very good even through he took great care in removing the red meat. Rinsing would have done the trick.

Cover in mustard

Keep smaller fish

Try bleeding them by cutting them at the "throat" area, right behind the gills. Cut down to the bone. That fish will pump every ounce of blood out from there.

My fish are dead when I clean them.

Fillet them. One the fillets are removed from skin and bone, cut the strip of red meat running rhe full length of the fillet down the middle. That's the bloodline, it can be found in stripers and white bass also.

I saw that method years ago by an ole timer, he put them in a five gallon bucket and let them bleed out for about fifteen minutes before he cleaned them, it works.

Get you a plastic bucket and put your garden hose in it with water running Than put your meat in there and leave them in there while you clean your mess up It will wash the blood out of the meat I even do my dove breast that way Really makes the difference in the flavor

Rinse them in cool water let them set a few minutes then put them in salt water rinse them hard and let them set for about 15 minutes in the salt water after that rinse again in cool water bag them in water for freezing or send them to the fish cooker.

I always put my cats in salt water and my crappie in Sprite.