How to Bleed & Fillet a Catfish with an Electric Knife / No Waste /
Merch at thewaterswatters.com/
I'll show you a couple little tricks that will make filleting catfish with an electric knife quick and easy. If you like this video check out some of my other cleaning and processing wild game videos. Thanks for watching and don't forget to subscribe.
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Пікірлер: 189
Very nice video! Those fillets looked like they were very delicious! I have filleted fish all of my adult life (I'm a senior citizen now) and still like to watch videos of a proud fisherman cleaning his fish!
@TheWaterSwatters
Жыл бұрын
I watch'em too when they pop up on my home page!
WOW man you made this look so easy, after all these years now I know. My wife loves those backbones. Great looking filets, well done!!!
Best job ever seen 😮. Thank you for the video
That was very glorious!! And i didnt know electric fillet knives existed. My grandad only ever used a fillet knife. Learned something new!!
@TheWaterSwatters
Жыл бұрын
Cool! I was just the opposite I always watched my dad and grandpaw use an electric knife. I was good and grown before I knew anyone used a regular fillet knife to clean fish.
Just coming back to rewatch this video and drop a comment. Nice work.
@TheWaterSwatters
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks!
Thanks for showing how ! You make it look so easy.
@TheWaterSwatters
3 жыл бұрын
You're sure welcome, its sure not hard after ya done it a couple times.
Excellent job
Subbed. I never figured why people skinned cats before filleting them. I've always done it this way and it is so much quicker and just as thorough.
@wagstag89
Жыл бұрын
I skin catfish in 10 seconds or less then plop them on the fillet board and grab the electric knife. Done in probably 15-20 seconds total but I haven't seen anyone on KZread skin them the way I learned. I have a hook screwed into a wooden post and you just push it through the catfishes chin, make 2 slices, and pull the skin off with skinning pliers. There's trade offs because you need extra stuff for that set up like a post or something solid you can screw a hook into but you also put half the mileage on your electric knife and blades
Excellent vid and technique sir. 👍
Good job
Just came across your video. Really nice video. The more i see those electric knife the more i want to try one. By the way, those fillets were looking good. I would love to see the cooking video.
@TheWaterSwatters
7 ай бұрын
I'm not sure I have a catfish cooking video up anymore. I use to but they got cut over the years. I'll get another one up this spring!
Great video!
Best video on youtube. ❤
@TheWaterSwatters
4 ай бұрын
Wow, thank you!
If you bleed it by the gills instead you can stop short of cutting the filet off at the tail.. leave it connected, then you can flip the filet back and skin it with the knife much easier because you won't struggle holding onto a small piece of skin.
@girthbrooksvr5335
Жыл бұрын
Cut the gills
@ronchildres2451
Жыл бұрын
@@girthbrooksvr5335 Is there a video out there somewhere showing that process?
@girthbrooksvr5335
Жыл бұрын
@@ronchildres2451 I’m sure there is but literally just take some scissors and snip the red gills and when they get a lighter color red that means they are all bled out
Very nice work, THANKS
Excellent video thanks
Beautiful job
Great video.
That looks real nice!
@TheWaterSwatters
3 жыл бұрын
Thank you sir!
That was masterful. Imma start keeping my cats now
@TheWaterSwatters
3 жыл бұрын
Thanks! Good deal I bet ya will enjoy'em. I know I sure do
@frankthetank1369
2 жыл бұрын
Keep your blue fish also.
Dang Im going to have to try that way because I what some good liking fish like that.👍
Darn good video. Thanks
@TheWaterSwatters
3 жыл бұрын
You're very welcome thank you for the kind words!
Look great
Great video! We have a city pond here and the city says the water is fine. The pond is full of channel cats . I think the folks here are scared to eat the fish. I might have to eat some anyways with the help of your video. Thanks!!
@TheWaterSwatters
Жыл бұрын
A person does have to be careful these days we've polluted a lot of our waterways. Most of the water around me is good so I'm prone to not taking that into consideration when talking to people in other places. I'd eat'em if the city said the water was clean!
Cant believe you threw away the back bone. Thats one of the best parts. Bout a half inch of meat on those.
@TheWaterSwatters
Жыл бұрын
I really should keep those. I always scrapped anything with bones because of the kiddos but they're bigger now.
Nice video 👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽
Great video! Subbed!
Good tip friend , so i was just checking out your channel and i joined up
@TheWaterSwatters
3 жыл бұрын
Thank!
Wonderful.
I grew up the son of a commercial fishermen. Your technique is very nice and simple. I also like how you keep that belly meat, so theres very little waste on that fish. Great good man.
@TheWaterSwatters
2 жыл бұрын
Thank you for the kind words!!
Freakin sweet😎👍🏽
Nice video I always had problems with bleeding them someone told me to soak them but I guess its all a process but I enjoyed the video
@A1FishingFamily
3 жыл бұрын
@@TheWaterSwatters thx for the sub
Looks good!! Ive never used a E knife before....Knowing me id take all the bone and cut them all up hahaha. Make a mess knowing me. Good tutorial!!
@TheWaterSwatters
2 жыл бұрын
Only rib bones to deal with when it comes to catfish, no pin bones like in trout. It's hard to mess up
That looks tasty ...!
@TheWaterSwatters
3 жыл бұрын
I sure like'em!
Nice Wiggling Sushi😋!!
@narucraze
3 жыл бұрын
Sashimi. It's not sushi unless you pair it with sushi'd rice.
Just wanted to drop a big thanks your way. The tip on bleeding the fish is definitely something I've been missing. Keep those lines tight brother! 👍😎
@TheWaterSwatters
3 жыл бұрын
You're sure welcome, It sure makes a difference. Guess my grandpa deserves credit he told me how to do it years ago.
Nice, why didn't you thump them in the head before you started cutting (or did you)?
@TheWaterSwatters
3 жыл бұрын
I didn't, never even crossed my mind. Until I uploaded this video I never even heard of anyone knocking them on the head and I've been around it my whole life. Guess I learned a little something too
@stream2watch
2 жыл бұрын
@@TheWaterSwatters "never even crossed my mind" Maybe you're just stupid?
Thanks for sharing
@TheWaterSwatters
3 жыл бұрын
You're very welcome, I caught a sure enough big'en this morning. I'm gonna put up a video on how I clean those with an electric knife here in about a week or so. Thank you for watching!
You definitely have some skills
@TheWaterSwatters
Жыл бұрын
Thanks, lol I'm well practiced is all!
Nice. I'm gonna try this technique whenever I get some kitties
Love the tails when deep fried best part
@TheWaterSwatters
3 жыл бұрын
I'll have to try that. I've eaten the tails of perch and they're good but I've never tried a catfish tail.
Awesome. I use same method. But, there is a nugget of meat I go back for ahead of the dorsal fin towards the head on both sides.
Nice cuttin guy, maybe you could bonk those in the head or nail right before you cut the tail off? a little more humane? thanks for the skin tip though...
@DudleyDoingTheOutdoors
3 жыл бұрын
My family has filleted fish like that for years I have never heard anyone question it being humane or not.
Nice job, cant wait to get the boat out here in Iowa & do some catfishin again
Your first video I've seen fillet that gray membrane off, I do this too, except I use a knife. You need to take the head meat too.
I've caught catfish before but alway through them back. The bleeding and white meat makes me think different. Thanks for sharing
Are you sure the best way of cleaning it out to try it thank you are usually fish for fun never had clean fish but I like fish to eat so I’m starting to age now that I love to eat them
I cut the gills put on stringer and throw back into the lake . If you don’t bleed in water it disrupts the process. Great cleaning video.
So, we catch 100 of more channels on a good day. Toss them in a 120 quart along with a 20# bag of ice. Lifting the bag as the cooler fills with cats. I'd like to start bleading them. So, by the time we get to cleaning they are for the most part dead and cold. Wonder if we could do something easy to them before they go in the cooler.
@TheWaterSwatters
3 жыл бұрын
You can cut their gills before ya put'em in there. I usually do that with bass and smaller fish.
@stevefowler6039
2 жыл бұрын
I too put mine on ice, clean much nicer cold. I bleed mine by cutting that piece of skin between the gills and belly. A large artery and the heart is right there, u can see it pumping.
nice
👍👍👍👍
This is the best that I’ve seen with bleeding a catfish. So with this method you don’t have to remove the blood line in the middle of the fillet?
@TheWaterSwatters
11 ай бұрын
The blood line is just what people call that red meat on the skin side of the fillet. That still needs to be cut off....it's pretty fishy tasting
Is it weak to feel bad for the fish being cut up while still alive?
@jbyrd6292
3 жыл бұрын
Weak isn’t the right word. I grew up eating the filet while the fish was still gasping for air in the sink. Now that I’ve grown I bludgeon it with a hammer and bleed them before I cut into them. I am an RN and I feel it’s not as humane to bleed them while they’re conscious. Hence the bludgeoning. Just a matter of how you were raised.
@KdubTraX
2 жыл бұрын
@@jbyrd6292 I’m a real nigga too 💯💯
Now that is the way to clean a cat. No pliers to remove the skin/
Wish I knew how to do this the one and only time I cleaned a catfish... I was struggling...said I would never clean another catfish. Question: how can a person tell if a fish fillet is actually a catfish or a swai fish that many people are passing off as catfish?
@TheWaterSwatters
3 жыл бұрын
I'm not sure what a Swai is. I usually know what I have because I'm the one that filleted it.
Bleed it out. Sounds good to me. When it's cooked it's dead?
Instead of grabbing the fillet with your fingers try a old dinner fork turned over to hold the fillet down. It works especially well on blue gill and crappies. Also cut the front of the mid line out, or mud line as some call it.
@TheWaterSwatters
3 жыл бұрын
Yeah I cut the line out but I always do it when I cut it up to cook it. Boy ur right though that stuff has got to go, it taste about like fish smells.
@DivergentDroid
Жыл бұрын
@@TheWaterSwatters Here is the deal though.. it's hard to cut the mud line out while the fish is raw. It doesn't come clean away from the meat and you wind up cutting some meat off too. If you cook it first, you can simply very easily scrape it off with a fork or spoon without cutting away any meat. The cooking process breaks down the binds that connect the mud line to the meat.
Missing all that beautiful tasting head meat but great video thanks
How long do you let them hang after you cut the tail?
@TheWaterSwatters
Жыл бұрын
Until they quite dripping when it's warm it only takes a minute or two. When it's cold it takes a bit longer.
What was the table you were using?
@TheWaterSwatters
2 жыл бұрын
Oh goodness Im not sure my wife bought that table several years ago. It's just a plastic top table with fold out legs. It had a little sink that went with it I never hooked up, I think it was supposed to hook to a garden hose.
they look like store bought, are these blues or chanel?
@TheWaterSwatters
3 жыл бұрын
Those are channels.
@ARCSTREAMS
3 жыл бұрын
@@TheWaterSwatters lovely
He got tossed and was still alive. Lol...thats skills.
I like to try the catfish tail, it makes catfish chips
@TheWaterSwatters
3 жыл бұрын
I'll have to try it!
@emeraldfox7175
Жыл бұрын
I've eaten this all my life, fry them up crispy, yum!
I bleed them when caught and put them in a cooler of ice Water less jumpy
@TheWaterSwatters
3 жыл бұрын
Yeah usually I let'em hang for a bit but it was some kind of cold that day.
I always held the skin with a flipped over dinner fork, after the skin cut. Then just go.
What kind of knife is that
@TheWaterSwatters
3 жыл бұрын
It's a Black & Decker bread knife. Got it in the kitchen section at Walmart.
@isidrogarza8309
3 жыл бұрын
Thank man those blades last a long time
what kind of fillet knife is that
@TheWaterSwatters
2 жыл бұрын
It's a Black and Decker bread knife. Got it over in the kitchen section at Walmart
On top of their head in the middle is a small indented area take a knife make a small slit take a broom straw size piece of stiff grass and run that toward the tail of the fish this will kill it instantly.
@thinbluelinebushcraft2316
3 жыл бұрын
Oooor you can just fillet them. 🤷🏼♂️🤷🏼♂️
@rossgourlay7310
3 жыл бұрын
Stiff wire is what my grandfather taught me cleaning catfish on lake Livingston growing up 👍
I put the fish on I've then fillet them cut the skin off cut out the dark spots wash them off and freeze them. And they look exactly right the ones in this video No need to bleed them out
why not bleed em through the gills in a bucket of water or the sink? i bleed all my catch in the water bucket well i use while fishing to keep them alive, i bleed them 15 min before i leave for home
@TheWaterSwatters
Жыл бұрын
That works too. I just find this way a bit quicker. I'll hang up a whole stringer full of catfish and start taking their tails off from the bottom up.
@ARCSTREAMS
Жыл бұрын
@@TheWaterSwatters yup whatever works better for you, for me i prefer to bleed them dead out in the field so the timing works good just before i head for home that way i dont have to bother with the extra tying work even though it may bleed em faster and possibly cleaner who knows but i live in an apartment so cant be doing that outside lol
Man that is some white catfish!
@TheWaterSwatters
2 жыл бұрын
It's sure good stuff, you would probably think I was lie'n if I told you how much catfish my family and I eat every year lol!
My wife is always complaining about the yellow meat in catfish that we catch in our pond... got and tricks for that? Maybe just a pond thing idk🤔
@sirmatt6143
3 жыл бұрын
Thanks for the reply....I’ll try the diet method first 🤣
@nicozuniga7838
3 жыл бұрын
No it's a channel cat thing not a pond thing
@33917roger
11 ай бұрын
You might be catching butter cats
That's how I bleed mine.
Raise your hand if you ever nailed a catfish to a tree, then used the old style catfish skinning pliers !
@TheWaterSwatters
Жыл бұрын
I have but won't again if I can find an electrical outlet 😂
Lol. As he moved the knife.
Maybe you were in a rush due to being filmed, but you can save some of that meat by the tail by using a regular knife and separating from the skin there. I guess would be possible with an electric knife, but would be pretty close to your fingertips, so regular knife would be a bit safer.
@emeraldfox7175
Жыл бұрын
To each his own yeh
that is cruel mister. It's still alive.
@Nilla187og
Жыл бұрын
It's just the nerves
It’s a nasty job. But somebody has to do it.
Good job! I guess not everyone realizes fish can not feel pain.
Thats the Fastes i is seen yett.
May invest In an electric knife May make bullhead less of a pain in the butt to eat
Some people actually kill the fish before filleting. Not only does it make the fish taste better it is more humane. There are numerous videos teaching ikejime on KZread with some even demonstrating on catfish.
@JeffSmith-eq3kc
3 жыл бұрын
Ikejime on a catfish lol that's silly. I spent years in Japan. They do Ikejime purely because it makes the product better when served raw. It creates firmer flesh. It has nothing to do with being humane. If they're not serving it raw, they don't do it. Highly recommend you don't eat catfish raw so Ikejime on a catfish is kinda out there. I agree that filleting live fish isn't right. It's also dangerous. I bleed fish and put them in an ice bath. Pretty darn simple and filleting a firm fish makes life much easier.
@jronche
3 жыл бұрын
He did kill it! What do you think cutting off the tail and hanging it till it stopped bleeding did???
@JeffSmith-eq3kc
3 жыл бұрын
@@jronche yeah but the idea is to kill the fish in the least stressful way possible. This is very, very old school. We now know that stress, like having your tail cut off and being hung upside down, creates lactic acid build up that can impact the quality of the final product dramatically. Regardless of it being humane or not, this simply isn't the best way to create quality tablefare. A simple snip of the gill or a slight tail cut and into an ice bath will create a better product and at the end of the day that's the goal. To each their own, but I think having a cooler or bucket with ice and some water is pretty simple.
@jeffmorris8768
3 жыл бұрын
@@JeffSmith-eq3kc Spoken like a true couch potatoe.
@JeffSmith-eq3kc
3 жыл бұрын
@@jeffmorris8768 lol well that's a first for me being called a couch potato. Given I spend easily 100 days a year on the ocean I find that funny. I guess staying modern on the best way to care for your fish makes you a couch potato these days lol makes sense.
Wtf cant u even kill it first.. it would make filleting easier too
You can't beat these mofo'sSharp outta the box, easy to sharpen, med edge. =perfect compromise.Try oneThe plastic sheath fits dead on.
bro cat fish is alive. you should not do that. they suffer so much.
He needs to get a better knife. That one is weak and dull.
@TheWaterSwatters
3 жыл бұрын
You're very right its getting old but I'm not quite ready to trash it yet
At least like the fish before cutting tail and filleting them, that's what gives fisherman a bad name
Humbly ask Jesus he will answer you
@TheWaterSwatters
3 жыл бұрын
That's a fact!
@warrenrodgers7544
3 жыл бұрын
@@TheWaterSwatters Yes...Yes it is....thank you Jesus..great video😀
Lol I must be a liberal now because I was always taught to put the fish to sleep before cutting into them.
@aaronseward8647
2 жыл бұрын
Keep the heart beating so it keeps pumping blood
@frankthetank1369
2 жыл бұрын
BS I'm pretty sure you cook lobster it is put in a pot alive in boiling water. People think lobster has no feelings. Yeah right.
@frankthetank1369
2 жыл бұрын
@@michaelk077 you keep believing that alive is alive. Dead is dead. Knocked out your still alive.
@michaelk077
2 жыл бұрын
@@frankthetank1369 We're talking about unnecessary suffering here, and nobody's telling you what to do, man. Why does reducing suffering bother you so much?
@frankthetank1369
2 жыл бұрын
@@michaelk077 Lol. Sorry I'm just being human I guess. I can't swim if I fall off a boat I hope I'm dead not knocked out.
I'm all for eating fish, but you should never butcher anything while it's still alive. That's torture, and it's wrong.
@drjaywhitlock
3 жыл бұрын
But throwing it in ice and letting it die slow is better? What an idiot remark. How do you know the fish you eat are not done the same way?
@Jay-tk7ib
3 жыл бұрын
@@drjaywhitlock That's your justification for torturing things?
@drjaywhitlock
3 жыл бұрын
@@Jay-tk7ib I don't see it as torturing. He caught it, cleaned it and fed his family with it. I call it being lower on the food chain. No different that when another animal eats another animal and it dies while being eaten. Part of nature and the food chain. Now if he would have cut it's tail off and then threw it back in the water or on the ground and watched it die then I would be on your side. But.........
@Jay-tk7ib
3 жыл бұрын
@@drjaywhitlock You ignore the fact that he could have fed his family with the fish while killing it in a more humane way.
@JeffSmith-eq3kc
2 жыл бұрын
Sure looks to me like the fish is dead before he butchers it. He bleeds it then cleans it. I don't catfish but I basically always will bleed fish before cleaning them. The heart has to be beating to bleed them. 99% of the time I just make one cut through the gills and put the fish into an ice slurry. I fish saltwater so I mix a bit of saltwater and ice and submerge the fish. I would like to see him use ice but just because it keeps the fish firm. There's just no way to bleed a dead fish. If the blood isn't circulating, they don't bleed. I agree with trying to be as humane as possible but he's not filleting a live fish.
You lost me at bleach ✌️
I can't watch this because the fish 😫 😭 were still alive ,that is wrong .
@emeraldfox7175
Жыл бұрын
Agreed! Takes 2 secs to put them out of their misery!
Bro, kill the fish before filleting it. No need to be so barbaric. You are a human not a bear.
Cut the gills to bleed them out dummy lol
Huge waste of meat
@dwalker399
3 жыл бұрын
Not if you fatten up a hog with it!
I like the fileiting part but you don’t do that with a alive animal👎🏻
@thedovahkiin1999
3 жыл бұрын
@@TheWaterSwatters to be eaten by a fish raw but I don’t think your much of a fish to be eating them raw and live in a sitting haha. I don’t buy it. You can hit the head of the fish against the tree, spike it in the head, or hit it on the head with a club or a rock. There are many ways to dispatch a fish before you cut it. If someone decided to filet me I’d rather be dead than Alive
@thedovahkiin1999
3 жыл бұрын
Besides that, nice filets
@bva5362
3 жыл бұрын
@@TheWaterSwatters yes, that is something to think about. 🤔
@chriscook5613
2 жыл бұрын
You do realize you're killing it anyway 😆😆🤦♂️
@miasmicdreamer
Жыл бұрын
Bled, the fish is dead or so close to it that it doesn't matter. I've put salt on a fillet, off the fish, and it will start trying to swim. I'm all for doing it humanely, but in order to get the best out of a cat, you gotta bleed it. And the heart needs to be beating for it to effectively do that. And it's a fish, my dude, getting eaten by another fish, which happens to most fish at some point, isn't much better
I ordered two of these based on the reviews. kzread.infoUgkxqmKabisEv81ul5v7OhvVxxOpt2CJruI- Received them on time and they look good. I really like the handle on these knives as they feel good in my hand. I'm giving them 4 stars on look and feel, but have not had the chance to put them to the test yet. I mostly fish for catfish and can hopefully try them out in the next few days. If they hold an edge throughout a limit of catfish, they'll be worth another star.Update...I used the 9" strong and the 9" fillet on a mess of catfish. I did put a sharpening on these before I started. I want a razor edge to fillet fish but they weren't quite that sharp. The people who gave these knives crappy reviews and said they were sending them back was because they weren't razor sharp. So what, do they not have a knife sharpener?? Good grief! I mean you have to sharpen any knife from time to time.I personally like them and am pleased with them. If you're too lazy to sharpen a knife then hire someone to clean your fish lol.I've never bought a knife in my life that would shave hair right out of the box. Don't be afraid to purchase the knives. They're pretty nice in my opinion.