"Catfish just taste too fishy to me..."  I hear it all the time. Here's another... "Spotted bass taste too gamey."
I'd like to say, "Hogwash!" Having grown up at the marina and on the water, I've watched thousands of people clean and fillet fish-and I've seen it done both right and wrong since my childhood. For those of you who like their fish fillets as mild as can be, I'd like to offer up a few steadfast lessons in fish cleaning. I've learned a bunch in my years at the marina. I'd like to share a few methods with you.

For decades, I've watched folks unload stringers of catfish from the boat and then grab the pliers from the tackle box. I've also watched those same individuals spend hours on end skinning their catch and making a monstrous mess of the place. Aside from the sheer amount of time lost in the cleaning process and the agonizingly long and difficult ordeal it is, this practice of skinning catfish is the leading cause for strong tasting fish fillets. Some anglers still hold true to tradition and continue cleaning fish the old fashioned way by slowly and persistently tearing away at the tough hide. But I've made believers out of many with my simple methods that produce far better fillets. Here's how.

A Cat Fisherman's Paradise

Early spring has always been a favorite fishing time for me here on the Dale. Usually by the end of February, I have exhausted my Float-N-Fly arm and I've drowned a couple hundred shiners in search of those elusive Bronze-backs. And even though I love it when those Smallies ease up onto the points where I can finally start tossing a crankbait at them, there is yet another type of fish I love to catch too ... and that's those giant catfish.

I've never really taken much time to learn to catch catfish on rod and reel. Many have mastered that here on the lake, but it's not as simple as it sounds. I hope that perhaps someone else will write an article about that on this site also (hint, hint), ‘cause hey-I'd like to know how it's done! But there is a method of cat fishing that I can share with you that is fun, productive, and simple. Let's talk trot lines.