I've never had the privilege of catching/eating a BIG cat, like 30+ lbs. I'm working on it, though....

I've heard, however, that those big, leg-sized cats can have a sort of oily/fishy taste, compared to your typical eatin' sized cat. Reportedly, there are some things you can do to fix this. One is to keep it for 3 or 4 days in a tank of water (or on a stringer in the lake) without feeding it anything. Another is to put it on ice for several days. This is all hearsay for me, though, not talking from experience.

As I check out some new fishing spots, I might come across a big cat like this, and was wondering if there's anything special to know about eating one that big, compared to the typical 3-8 pounder.

Biggest I have eaten was a 36 lb flathead. It was fine. We did bleed it out. Was an okie catfish caught on a limbline.

Tying them to a tree w/ some rope and letting them swim for 2-3 days works, at least it does on the big ones from Navarro Mills. That's the way my dad and grand dad used to do it when we were gonna have a fish fry.

My goto has been to soak the meat in buttermilk. Or plain milk. Even the small catfish can have a mud twang.

The very next time you catch a BIG Mature catfish try the BSF technique. Bleed him,Soak him ,Fry him.

The only "big cat" worth eating in my opinion is a yellow cat. Bleed it, skin it, cut into fillets. The belly
meat is the best part!

This

big blues are not worth eating , IMHO, they get too fat and strong tasting,

I only eat the small ones,

your mileage may vary


MO

the big blue i caught tasted just fine

!7 lb blue was the biggest I have had tasted just fine also.

Always told when eating old kitty kats. "Once you get past the smell son, it will taste good"..

I usually keep one big male blue a year to fill the freezer.They eat just fine.Flatheads get turned back after I whisper,come back and see me when you're triple digits.To date not a one has come back to see me after they've fully matured.I don't do this because of their taste,I do this because of all freshwater fish they are the most majestic.