Hi just me again with my questions.
I have heard that gafftops make for some good eatin', is this true and if so, how do you clean them? Is there a special way? They are super slimy and can put up a good fight.
Thanks!

Lady_Red

Lady Red,
Gafftop are excellent to eat. I just skin them with skinning plyers, and fillet them like a regular catfish. They are good just about any way you want to cook them. If you are looking for some good recipes. You can look at the TexSafaris website in the "Big Bite" section for some good ones. Feel free to add some of your own recipes to the collection.

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TexSafaris Outdoor Adventures

gafftops are very good if they are put on ice IMMEDIATLY after there caught. no stringers for this fish. also, if you dry out there skulls, they have a bone that goes across the top of there head on the roof of there mouth that looks like christ on the cross. its pretty cool.

Thanks WhopperStopper and CowboySurfer566...I've never skinned any kind of catfish but I'm sure I can find a website that illustrates it.
Gafftop are always in abundance in Port A channel and Indian Point in Portland, Tx. I always release them or give them to someone on the pier who might want them..next time I will keep a few on ice.
Thanks guys!!

Lady_Red

first, how big are they? there not worth keeping unless they are at least 4 pounds. also, exchange some of them for a quick lesson in how to clean them

Dear Cowboysurfer566,

I'm sorry to say that I've never weighed the gaffs but in length I've caught them as big as 25" give or take and they are feisty. Hey that was a good idea to exchange them for a quick cleaning lesson. I've seen people leave with stringers of 'em. Thanks again!

Lady_Red

Lady_Red

Lady_Red, do you filet any other kinds of fish you catch? If you do, fileting a catfish and a scaled fish is almost identical.

I simply ring right behind the gill and up as high on the head as possible, then flatten that knife out and slab that side of the fish off. I know some folks stop right at the tail and flip the slab leaving the skin attached to the carcass, but I simply take both halves off, toss the carcass, then use my middle finger and ring finger on the tail end to pin the skin to my filet board and take the skin off.

If the Gafftop is like a freshwater kitty, I run my filet knife a bit flatter than say on crappie or bass, cause I want to try and leave about an 1/8th of an inch of flesh on that skin. Cause on channels and blues, that is the bad tasting layer on a kitty.

My point being, if you can filet any kind of fish, you can filet a catfish. I don't like to skin them first, because on fresh water kitties like I say I wind up having to go back and slice an 1/8" layer off the filet anyway. So why add an extra step to the process, unless you like eating mud veign??

I remember my Dad when he worked on a shrimp boat laughing about all the Gaff Tops the guys would throw back because they were under the belief they weren't fit to eat. We ate a bunch of them that he would gather up and bring home.

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Mike
www.WhiskerKitty.com

Dear MikeC,

I do filet other fish such as redfish,blackdrum, trout, and I stuff my flounder most of the time.
The gaffs I am talking about are from the bays-saltwater.
I'll just have to get in and do it..thats all there is to it. Thank you for sharing your information with me.
You guys have been very helpful. I will let yall know how it went the next time i catch some.
Thanks again!!

Lady_Red