Found it in a few minutes, so I'll post it now.
Also, as to eating MudCats (BullHeads), they can have a strong taste. But then other types of Cats can too. Some can be tamed down. Some can't. Here are my tips, to get the most meat that is the best tasting of your catch. And I do not fillet the meat, as it wastes up to half of possible meat from a catfish.
The biggest strong taste is found in the olfactory setup (sort of tubular fashion) that runs down both sides (lengthwise) of the meat from head to tail in the center (about the main bone line). If you cut the head off, gut them, trim fins, and skin them, then cut your belly straps off & set over to the side. Next, you slice the meat to run along the main bone line. You will come out with 2 Back straps (head to tail). Where the meat had connected, you will notice a redder strip. Take a filet knife & carefully cut that off. Next, cut from behind the ribs to the tail. I refer to it as the 2 bottom straps. Again, where the meat connected to the back straps, there is the redd portion on the outer edge. Trim off carefully. A lot of strong taste is in this portion of both Back (on the top) & Bottom strips.
Next is cut off the upper rib meat portion, by shaving it off the ribs. If you will look, that red portion of the olfactory glands extends into this. Figure out how you can use you (non-electric) filet knife to cut this out & discard. Last is cutting a small sliver off the bottom of the ribs. Simply by shaving it off. Careful not to cut your fingers doing this.
Now we come back to the belly straps. The actual silver lining does not really have the strong taste, so it is up to you, as to get it off or not. The major problem is fat & in a fish, that fat can really taste bad or very strong. See if you can spot these 3 areas. One is where the bottom came together with the other side. Slice a slight section off. Spot the other two areas & slice a small portion off where they are at. Next is crossgrain a few slices on the outher side iof the meat. This also helps to dissipate any inner or stored fats.
Now this is good for cats up to 3 or as much as 5 pounders. The next thing, is to soak the meat out out in fresh new cool water maybe twice. Then dry out some before breading if you are about to fry up.
For larger fish, 5 pounds or more, you do the same thing, except another problem with stronger taste, is fgound in outer fats on the meat (all over the fish), but it usually starts with the belly straps. You must distinguish if it needs trimming off or not. You simply shave off with a fillet knife, the outer layer of fat. It varies in each case. And you must look at the whole body, to see where it might need to have the fat shaved off.
Once you have mastered this, you will have the best tasting fish over others. And they will always look forward to your fish. And as I noted, there are some, which can be of any of the varieties of Catfish, that just plain taste strong. You did your best, and sometimes there is no way to prevent it.
I may batter mine in corn meal with a little flour (to help retain it to the meat, Tony's Crispy Creole, or Bearden's Farm batter, but I always try to fry it in Mrs. Tucker's Shortening. The reason is that you can get it at a higher temperature than oils. Therefore, it fries faster & crispier, not absorbing as much as the oils do. I have fried & forgot the batter & many chowed down & never gave it a thought until after I discovered it & noted it to them. And of course, I usually have ice cold Del Monte ketchup handy. Hunts is too sweet, Heinz is too salty, but Del Monte is just right in there.
OK, as to MudCats ...
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Posted back on - 04/01/17 01:46 PM Re: Mudcat Vs. Yellowcat [Re: txfour]
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YellowCat- MudCat terminology:
My apologies for the delay, As I have cratered the past few nights. I did manage to add a little here & there, then fall asleep at keyboard. This will also be posted on the Catfish Calendar thread after the April calendar is posted here shortly (in a few minutes). If you want to find out more as to what is mentioned at the bottom here, stay tuned to the "Lynn's Catfish Calendar" thread after the May calendar is posted.
Some of you may recall, actually remember, or distantly in some manner or fashion, have heard a YellowCat sometimes being referred to as a MudCat. I'm sure some pondering this right now, are starting to jog their memories a tad bit & it seems perhaps some many moons ago, there is that faint nudge that you have heard that spoken of. Perhaps you know why. Perhaps you never found out why. Well, maybe its time for another slice of the YellowCat profile.
Nowadays, when you hear the term MudCat (my File name- MC], the first thing you think of is what we always referred to as a "polly", otherwise known as freshwater BullHeads. I was raised on them in my childhood & early teen years. I thought that was it, as for Catfish. I never even knew there were 3 main varieties of the "polly"- Yellow, Brown, and Black. It was later on that I found out that some called them MudCats. It was in my mid teen years I learned there were other types of Catfish out there in existence & some got huge (so they claimed).
Fast Forward a few years & I found out more on ChannelCats [CC], BlueCats [BC], and the oddity known as YellowCats [YC]. Also of mention are WhiteCats [WC], but I have not caught any of these, or that I am aware of, here in central Texas. And somewhere in that midst of time, I would rarely hear someone refer to these YellowCats as MudCats. And I wondered. Yes, I wondered why. I could understand, or at least get an idea as to why the Bullheads were called MudCats. But YellowCats??? Why would somebody call or refer to them as MudCats.
It seems the term was applied, as to something they did, as to why they drew that term or description from some Catfish fishermen/fisherwomen.
Recently on the thread- "Pre or Post Front?" started by ETX_Chad [was on p.3 about 2/3rds down a few days ago] I spoke of the comparison between Blues & Yellows as to their strength & what they do when they pull jugs under the surface of the water. A big BlueCat will tire out trying to muscle the float down under & stay that course. So the Blue will try, but cannot hold it down for a long duration, unless of course it is a really big one & your jug is smaller. I am speaking of at least a one gallon jug (as to a reference point). But a YellowCat turns on the Tractor gear mode & dives hard without stopping. Why? Because it is seeking a leverage point, or some sort of a safety hold. When it gets hooked, it senses trouble & dives to go under a log, or a crevice if near a bank. If it can't, then only one option remains. That is, to dive straight for the bottom, with everything they have in their "granny" or low gear. When it hits bottom, it will try to bury itself in the mud. If it does, it creates a sort of suction cup & by doing so, it is & stays burrowed in the mud. As to how long it will stay, that depends on many factors. These YellowCat dive tactics are one reason your jug may disappear before some time when it may appear again. But the YellowCat may have managed to pry or work loose in this tactical reaction. Believe me, I have encountered missing jugs, only to find them later with a good size YellowCat still on them. Their tactic failed to free them. And sometimes the jug (attached to them) traveled some distance too, yet would have been found if it was up above the surface.
There is another time a YellowCat will do this same thing, as to burrowing in the mud. I do not know if any of you have ever cleaned a stock tank or sleugh out, in order to restock certain fish, by putting out a certain powder (Rotenone) that takes the oxygen out of the water. The fish start coming up to the surface to get oxygen to breathe. You can remove fish. If not, most will finally die for lack of oxygen in the water. However, the YellowCat is one exception. Somehow it senses the oxygen problem. It will come to the surface once or twice. If not caught very fast, then it dives down into the mud, and it somehow survives. Back in the early 70's, my Dad wanted to clean out our sleugh (nicknamed the "MudHole") & restock it with ChannelCat. I had my 13th Birthday party & a bunch of friend's came out to our land in the country. Most of my friends still remember that party. It was a blast. Two huge YellowCats surfaced their heads, but got away before we could catch them. Never spotted them again. They somehow survived.
Not only have I heard the burrowing in the mud bit from a few others here & there, I also heard it from my two YellowCat teachers & my Dad. While I am not completely sure, it can be theorized that they might have put themselves to sleep in order to alter their oxygen intake. There is also a possibility that by burrowing in their unique fashion, that they release some sort of pocket of oxygen stored in the bottom (or maybe in the mud itself), in order to give them time to survive the ordeal.
I will share how to put a YellowCat to sleep (taught to me by one of my YellowCat teachers) when I post the month of May in "Lynn's Catfish Calendar" thread in May 2017. You will actually be able to observe the difference in them, before & after. That portion will follow in a separate post. Perhaps then, you will get an idea of why the YellowCat is indeed a different breed compared to BlueCats & ChannelCats & MudCats (Bullheads).
Nevertheless, that is why YellowCats have been tagged as a MudCat, from time to time. And that is no April Fools.
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