How do you kill a catfish? 2024

Fishwhittler reply :

I caught one yesterday and I took it home to clean it and I had a heck of a time killing it. Anyone got any suggestions on how to kill one?

ValkyrieRider reply :

Three words-

Compound Miter Saw.

JigMe reply :

Hit it on the head with something hard.

Sfritr reply :

For killing a Catfish you must hit it on the head (9) times : :

Jake. reply :

Try drowning it.

Daniel My Brother reply :

Throw 'em on ice immediately after catching. Makes cleaning a whole lot easier.

done reply :

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Hit it on the head with something hard.

LOL, I once caught one, took it home hit it for 5 minutes over and over with a framing hammer square in the head, it still kept moving.

That's what will live after a nuclear apocalypse, catfish and cockroaches take over the earth.

.dsaavedra. reply :

any way you like.

when you're done make sure you eat its liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti.

looking4structure reply :

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Throw 'em on ice immediately after catching. Makes cleaning a whole lot easier.

1inStripes reply :

Stick a knife in the top of the head and then run a piece of broom straw inside its back to basically paralyze it.

scootz reply :

havent done it in a while but a nail through the head makes it alot easier. Or just cut the head off, used to freak me out as a kid to see a headless fish still moving. My grandpa would cut them off and throw the heads in a bucket at the river, and fish with them later in the night.

Bassn Blvd reply :

Put a nail through its head and into a tree. Make a 1/16 incision around the head, below the gills. Grab skin with pliers and pull down. Once skinned, cut off head.

NewAngler reply :

find your stone and rip it from the gills.

kidding.

stab head. nail in head to something. skin it. cut head off.

clean, and fry.

-HAWK- reply :

With a knife.

Fishwhittler reply :

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Try drowning it.

I thought about shooting it but that would have been a bit much.

Seriously, I think I'll try nailing its head to a tree next time. I would just cut off its head, but that would leave me without a handhold for skinning it. That was only the second one I've cleaned and it was 20" long, not real big but big enough to have an impossibly thick skull and a tiny brain. Hopefully the next one I do will be a little easier.

Thanks

Ben

Bassin_Fin@tic reply :

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Try drowning it.

I just lol'd at that.Thats kinda funny right there. ;D

seyone reply :

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Try drowning it.

I just lol'd at that.Thats kinda funny right there. ;D

I actually woke up my girlfriend laughing at that.

DawsonH reply :

1. Draw imaginary line between eyes

2. From center of this line follow head back until you are between gills

3. Use nail, pellet gun, or other object. Should get the brain and spinal cord

4. If still alive keep looking poking along that line, all the nerves are along it

DawsonH reply :

1. Shoot it

2. Burn it

3. Fry it

4. Stomp on it

5. Throw it in air and allow to fall to ground

6. Grab tail with towel and slam on rock

7. Chop off head

8. Crush with sledge hammer

9. Bite the jugular

10. Run over it with truck

11. Throw into fan

12. Throw in front of moving vehicle

13. Leave it on bank all day and night

14. Place in bathtub along with hairdryer

15. Add seasonings and wrap in foil alive and hole, then cook on open flam.

Bassin_Fin@tic reply :

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1. Shoot it
2. Burn it

3. Fry it

4. Stomp on it

5. Throw it in air and allow to fall to ground

6. Grab tail with towel and slam on rock

7. Chop off head

8. Crush with sledge hammer

9. Bite the jugular

10. Run over it with truck

11. Throw into fan

12. Throw in front of moving vehicle

13. Leave it on bank all day and night

14. Place in bathtub along with hairdryer

15. Add seasonings and wrap in foil alive and hole, then cook on open flam.

Thats funny right there. ;D

I wonder what would happen if you zapped one with a tazer? :-?

jeosbo01 reply :

I have several friends who do the whole nail it to a tree thing...I just bash the head in with a 2X4, it works well, but don't hesitate or try to not hit it too hard...bash it hard and the thing will die quick and easy (though not always cleanly)

Stiller reply :

Three silver bullets to the heart.

ValkyrieRider reply :

I've got a buddy who kills them by sticking a knife into the brain through a "hole" he said is in all catfish. I've never been able to find this alleged hole, but he says it works and he's been fishing catfish for about 40 years.

Smallmouth Bass49 reply :

Smother it with a pillow, no oxygen right so it has to die right?

j/k

Best think to do would be stab it in it's scull on top of it's head. Seemed to work fine for me a few years ago.

Matt Fly reply :

I have hanging tree with baleing wire hanging about every foot an half.

I make hole in bottom lip with knife to pass the wire through, or can puncture a hole using wire. Knife is easier. I wire my fish hanging.

I like the Kitty about chest level, makes easy to reach and work with.

Simply cut the tail off, the fish will bleed out in few minutes.

By hanging, you don't need two hands, one to holding the fish, and other to skin the kitty with pliers.

I make cuts around the head and dorsal fin. I can use my body weight and two hands on the pliers and pull the skin off in less than a minute.

Also, if you made the cut 360 degrees around the Kitty's head, when you pull the belly skin down, its gonna pull some of the guts out for ya.

But once you sever the head , the rest of the guts will pull out and go with the head.

You skinned and gutted the fish in one process without having to get your hands in there to rip guts out.

Best thing of all, fish that are bled taste better anyway in my opinion. Afterall, don't we bleed most things.

I need a video to show this process.

Most will say filleting a cat with electric fillet knife alive is just as easy.

For me, most of the time, I only need a cat or two for a meal, so hanging works fast for me.

Bassnajr reply :

Easy...just sic a DOGFISH on it!!!!!! :

Big Bait Fishing reply :

i don't wait for them to die , i will just start to fillet them !!!! i guess i have no longer the patience to wait for them to die

NewAngler reply :

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Easy...just sic a DOGFISH on it!!!!!! :

ha, so corny i had to laugh.

Triton21 reply :

Run over them with a TANK.

KELLEY

Bassin for Walleye reply :

2 words...twelve gauge

bass or bass ? reply :

A good solid whack on the top of the head with a short "billy" club will do it in .

Elite Image Fishing reply :

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Put a nail through its head and into a tree. Make a 1/16 incision around the head, below the gills. Grab skin with pliers and pull down. Once skinned, cut off head.

bingo!

LCpointerKILLA reply :

if your fishing for a meal bring a cooler and throw your catches on ice

bass or bass ? reply :

Any fish I plan on eating gets cleaned immediately and put on ice.

burleytog reply :

Filet, toss carcass back, watch it swim away.

microman reply : http://www.defensereview.com/stories/m16clinic/M16%20Viper%20with%20the%20Coyote%20Ugly%20Finish,%20by%20M16%20Clinic.jpg

airborne_angler reply :

Be mean to it,say insulting things,tease it,tell it that its mom never loved it,give it a guilt trip about being alive and a bottom feeder.

The catfish will kill itself!!

dave reply :

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Filet, toss carcass back, watch it swim away.

Exactly. I never know why people don't fillet and throw away. The heck with all that nailing and skinning and cleaning.

little_stephen reply :

sharp knife tip the the center of the head. hold the fish firmly around the midsection on something hard, like the deck, and with one stiff blow to the back of the knife handle, puncture the tip down into the fishs brain....... and end of fishy....... or just smack the thing really hard with a rock. ;D

or try drowning it lol

little_stephen reply :

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Filet, toss carcass back, watch it swim away.

Exactly. I never know why people don't fillet and throw away. The heck with all that nailing and skinning and cleaning.

ive watched people get in DEEP trouble for that. for some reason, something about it being against the law for people to clean fish in, on, or near the lake where i lived is chiming in the back of my mind. idk why tho?! seems stupid, but i can clearly remember reading somewhere in a rules and regulations brochure on a local lake that u cant clean or fillet fish on, near or in the lakes waters?! :-?

Eternal Angler reply :

Cut the head off.

TommyBass reply :

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Filet, toss carcass back, watch it swim away.

Exactly. I never know why people don't fillet and throw away. The heck with all that nailing and skinning and cleaning.

ive watched people get in DEEP trouble for that. for some reason, something about it being against the law for people to clean fish in, on, or near the lake where i lived is chiming in the back of my mind. idk why tho?! seems stupid, but i can clearly remember reading somewhere in a rules and regulations brochure on a local lake that u cant clean or fillet fish on, near or in the lakes waters?! :-?

Yes be careful with that, there are many laws prohibiting such things, especially in public areas.

Remains attract unwanted pests, give off bad smells, and can make the nearby water very unattractive. There are alot of people who don't want to see that.

Personally, I just put them on ice (or in a livewell) and clean them at home. Its easier that way. Its not like a gut shot deer. As long as its cold or alive your meat will be fine until you get where you need to be.

airborne_angler reply :

Doesnt keeping the fish alive ,like on a stringer,cause the fish to stress,thus affecting the flavor?

kikstand454 reply :

.22 right behind the ear.

"two in the head... you know theyre dead"

Whizzer reply :

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Put a nail through its head and into a tree. Make a 1/16 incision around the head, below the gills. Grab skin with pliers and pull down. Once skinned, cut off head.

I have to laugh. I grew up in Florida, and on a Boy Scout camping trip someone caught a catfish and someone else caught an eel. Both got the nail to the tree treatment.

Whizzer

IwillChooseFreeWill reply :

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Doesnt keeping the fish alive ,like on a stringer,cause the fish to stress,thus affecting the flavor?

its a catfish... it sits on the bottom swallowing mud and whatever junk it can find down there... I doubt you can change the taste of it aside from leaving it out in the sun for a few hours.

burleytog reply :

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Doesnt keeping the fish alive ,like on a stringer,cause the fish to stress,thus affecting the flavor?

its a catfish... it sits on the bottom swallowing mud and whatever junk it can find down there... I doubt you can change the taste of it aside from leaving it out in the sun for a few hours.

You don't know just how uninformed that statement is. :

Dan: reply :

who in their right mind would eat a mud eating, garbage chewing catfish?!?

Kowen117 reply :

ME you have to clean them right and they taste great ;D ;D ;D

simplejoe reply :

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Quote

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Doesnt keeping the fish alive ,like on a stringer,cause the fish to stress,thus affecting the flavor?

its a catfish... it sits on the bottom swallowing mud and whatever junk it can find down there... I doubt you can change the taste of it aside from leaving it out in the sun for a few hours.

You don't know just how uninformed that statement is. :

That's what I was thinking. ;D

I had a catfish crush a crankbait 5' below the surface in 15' of water. How about that for a bottom dweller. ;D

Bassin for Walleye reply :

Before you go judging catfish, why don't you get to know them better? Sure channels and blues will eat stinkbait and dead cut up fish but a flathead almost exclusively eats live bait. Plus flathead is some of the best eating in this area. Just cuz it lives on the bottom doesn't mean it eats mud. Clean the fish correctly and take off all the dark meat and I guarantee you some of the best eating of your life.

Bassin_Fin@tic reply :

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Before you go judging catfish, why don't you get to know them better? Sure channels and blues will eat stinkbait and dead cut up fish but a flathead almost exclusively eats live bait. Plus flathead is some of the best eating in this area. Just cuz it lives on the bottom doesn't mean it eats mud. Clean the fish correctly and take off all the dark meat and I guarantee you some of the best eating of your life.

Yup.They will herd shad and shiners and bust em just like bass do. Coincidentally the best bait I've ever used when I used to catfish is live injured shiners and blugills fished on bobbers.

Matt Fly reply :

We take them and hang them with baleing wire already in the "hangin tree".

We cut the tails and bleed them, they will die in minutes. Draining them also will aide in a better tasting fillet.

Plus, you don't need two hands to skin one.

While hanging, make a few cuts around the dorsal and gills.

when you pull the skin down, work your way around to the belly, the strip of skin will split the fish down the middle with out the knife.

Once you pulled the skin off in one piece most of the time, bust the head off and the remains will stay with the head and you don't have much to do on the inside.

Easy to clean 50 with a few guys in short work.

timothy_spain reply :

have yet to catch a catfish. it's on my to do list this year

LunkerBandit reply :

Cut the head off with a strong sharp knife. Its the quickest

brushhoggin reply :

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Stick a knife in the top of the head and then run a piece of broom straw inside its back to basically paralyze it.

huh? :-/

Red Bear reply :

just hang them up, cut the tail off and let them bleed

farmpond1 reply :

I say we stomp 'em!

Then we tattoo 'em!

Then we hang 'em!

And then we kill 'em!

Owasco reply :

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Filet, toss carcass back, watch it swim away.

Now thats funny!

And kinda true.

Owasco reply :

But seriously though, while on the bank or boat just give em the old columbian neck tie! Slit them from gill to gill and toss them on ice to let them bleed out.

tholmes reply :

Put 'em back in the water, they'll eventually die of old age.

Tom

Fishwhittler reply :

I did finally manage to figure out how to kill a catfish. I drove some nails through it's head into a board (it usually took one 20 penny nail plus about three 16 penny nails before it would stop moving). Then I'd skin and fillet it. I tried nailing it to a tree trunk and cleaning it that way, but the board worked better for me.

After it was filleted I killed it by cutting the head off. ;D No, really. Some of the catfish I cleaned this year really did survive until I cut the head off. It was much easier to clean them with the head nailed in place, but I still had to fillet a squirming catfish on several occasions.

Draining them sounds like a very good idea. I'll have to try that next year. Thanks for the tip!

nashontheriver reply :

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Be mean to it,say insulting things,tease it,tell it that its mom never loved it,give it a guilt trip about being alive and a bottom feeder.
The catfish will kill itself!!

Emo catfish!

Owasco reply :

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I did finally manage to figure out how to kill a catfish. I drove some nails through it's head into a board (it usually took one 20 penny nail plus about three 16 penny nails before it would stop moving). Then I'd skin and fillet it. I tried nailing it to a tree trunk and cleaning it that way, but the board worked better for me.
After it was filleted I killed it by cutting the head off. ;D No, really. Some of the catfish I cleaned this year really did survive until I cut the head off. It was much easier to clean them with the head nailed in place, but I still had to fillet a squirming catfish on several occasions.

Draining them sounds like a very good idea. I'll have to try that next year. Thanks for the tip!

If you drain them they come out a little whiter. Taste better too!

Grey Wolf reply :

Small charge of C-4 works good.

I.rar reply :

dolphin bat?

BassThumb reply :

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Put a nail through its head and into a tree. Make a 1/16 incision around the head, below the gills. Grab skin with pliers and pull down. Once skinned, cut off head.

Yep, thats how you do it. If you have room, wrap it tightly in a garbage bag and toss it in the freezer or in a ice filled cooler for a few hours first.

slonezp reply :

It's been 18 months since this thread started. Just curious. Have you had any luck killing this catfish or is it still alive?

bilgerat reply :

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It's been 18 months since this thread started. Just curious. Have you had any luck killing this catfish or is it still alive?

Now that's some funny shat there...

Talmadge reply :

one time i completely gutted a catfish took the heart out it was still beating and i threw it in a bucket of water and it started swimming it was swimming strong too really strong like it was normal if i would of put him back in the lake it would of been gone! they are indestructible fish!

tmier reply :

On 12/3/2010 at 5:41 AM, Owasco said:

But seriously though, while on the bank or boat just give em the old columbian neck tie! Slit them from gill to gill and toss them on ice to let them bleed out.

This is the best response I've seen on the post so far...you want to bleed the fish correctly and kill it quickly. Best is to cut the gills and toss head first into a bucket with ice AND water. Bleeds out and the fillets tighten up from the ice.

Omg just realized this post is way too old

BTarby15 reply :

Either a)stab it through the head with a sharp knife and a lot of force or get into its gill with a knife and bleed it out. Make sure to put it on ice right away...that extends the life of the fish meat 2-3 days.

Bass-minded reply :

First cut around the tail vertebrae as close to the tail as possible. Then use some tree loppers and lop off the bone. The fish will bleed out. Of course it will still twitch from time to time when you are cleaning it.

baluga reply :

is it still alive ???

It's more than 2 years now. I hope you are already expert in killing it.!

Fishwhittler reply :

On 1/6/2012 at 4:59 AM, baluga said:

is it still alive ???

It's more than 2 years now. I hope you are already expert in killing it.!

I actually did manage to kill the original catfish; it didn't last much longer than the time it took me to fillet it and cut off the head.

On the other hand, this thread has been far more resilient than any catfish ever was.

baluga reply :

True dat! This thread is even older than my membership in this forum.

Well done! :cool-2:

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